Airport beacon

Airport beacons help a pilot identify an airport at night. The beacon typically rotates at a constant speed, which produces the visual effect of coloured flashes at regular intervals. The combination of light colours from an airport beacon indicates the type of airport.

In real-life aviation, airport beacons are operated from dusk till dawn and sometimes they are turned on if the ceiling is less than 1,000 feet and/or the ground visibility is less than 3 statute miles (visual flight rules minimums). However, there is no requirement for this, so a pilot has the responsibility of determining if the weather is VFR.

Colour combinations

Lights	Airport type
White and Green	Civilian land airport
White and Yellow	Civilian water airport
Green, Yellow, and White	Civilian heliport
White, White, Green	Military airport
White, Green, Red	Hospital and/or Emergency Services Heliport

Images