91.209 Aircraft Lights

Archimago

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Archimago
Do I have never heard of "lighted anchor lights" does anyone know what those are?

(3) Anchor an aircraft unless the aircraft -

(i) Has lighted anchor lights; or

(ii) Is in an area where anchor lights are not required on vessels.

I am assuming they have something to do with sea planes.

Thanks in advance!
 
It does. An anchor light is a 360 degree white light hoisted in the rigging. An aircraft, like all vessels, anchored in a navigable body of water has to have an anchor light dusk to dawn, unless in a designated anchorage area (usually a field of mooring balls). Vessel, including seaplanes, have sometimes arcane responsibilities under maritime law that greatly affect insurance & liability when ignored.

I remember an unlit sailboat anchored at the edge of the Intrecoastal Waterway back in our cruising days. When the tide changed, the sailboat drifted into the ICW & was mashed into the bottom of the ICW by a tug & barge, drowning the family on the sailboat. No fault on the tug skipper.

of course, seaplanes, being shallow draft, tend to anchor in very shallow water. But close to shore is where skiffs, jetskis (jetsperm) & other penis extenders operate at high speed, often by drivers in a high states of inebriation. Under maritime law, near absolute liability attached to the question of whether the vessel struck was lit by an anchor light at night.

so anchor lights are important. Until now, however, I’ve never wondered if seaplanes like the Lake LA4 come with anchor lights.
 
How can you tell if a vessel at the bottom of the inter coastal was lit by an anchor light?
 
How can you tell if a vessel at the bottom of the inter coastal was lit by an anchor light?

Switch position is near 100% reliable indicator of whether the circuit was activated or not. Usually discovered during the investigation when vessel is salvaged/surveyed.

In other instances the anchor light may be on a removable stalk that was found stowed as well.
 
. But close to shore is where skiffs, jetskis (jetsperm) & other penis extenders operate at high speed, often by drivers in a high states of inebriation. Under maritime law, near absolute liability attached to the question of whether the vessel struck was lit by an anchor light at night.
A light the size of an airport beacon wouldn't save you against these idiots.

Amusingly, I find the nav light switch on my boat is wired up backwards. It's supposed to turn on the anchor light in the first position and then the running lights and the anchor light in the second. It works the other way (running lights on first, then then adds the all around). Fortunately, I don't anchor out much at night. In fact, I think my anchor is in Margy's boat right now.
 
The NTSB can determine whether a bulb was illuminated after a crash by looking at the filament. An illuminated bulb will show stretching of the filament prior to failure, whereas an extinguished one will just have a cold break.
 
Can someone list the so called “penis extenders” in order of effectiveness?

asking for a friend
 
Wow, never knew any of that. Thanks for all the info!
I need to add seaplane to my bucket list.
 
A light the size of an airport beacon wouldn't save you against these idiots.

A coworker's son passed in that fashion. He and a buddy had been drinking all evening and thought a 70mph run down the lake at 2am would be a great idea. They both perished instantly when the waverunner hit an unlit dock.
 
I recently saw a business jet that left their position lights on over night at an uncontrolled airport. Given the poor location it was parked it was a good idea.
 
Back in the 90's we had a boat and a jetski. So I both despised them and was one of them.
 
The jetski has been replaced by the wake boat as the most hated thing on our lake. These are to watercraft what snowboarders were to skiers in the early days.
 
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