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Ralph Hoover
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 206
Location: Central Ohio
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 Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 2:25 pm Post subject: Those flashing & blinking & blinking and flashing! |
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Towers, no not the ones that are at the airports, but the ones everywhere else. The more I get up (in the air, not out of bed), the more I wonder about the mindset behind the towers: cell, microwave, radio and God know what else out there.
As I go along the freeway (in an automobile, but soon in the Kolb), I notice that there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason (from my prospective) as to when there lit. Tall ones sometimes are lit in some places, while not in other places during the day. Small or low ones close to the ground and near trees sometimes are lit and others in clearings are not. Some are during the day, all day and all night and some, not at all during the day but also not at night. Some are lit when it is overcast or foggy or raining or dark, but not night, while others were not. Some that had taller towers near them (within a couple thousand feet) were not lit if one or another was lit around it. It didn't have to be the taller one that was lit in conditions where there were two or three mixed (read: cell, radio, microwave) towers near them. I could go up the freeway or down the freeway (interstate I-71 or I-70) or major state highways (State route 3 in Ohio) and it didn't make any difference. Nothing from all outward appearances indicated any form of uniformity.
Now I know that as ultra heavy drivers we aren’t supposed to be out more than one half hour before sunrise or same after sunset. But anyone that flies (or drives a car) knows that many of those towers blend in to the surrounding community quite well and on an overcast day darned near impossible to recognize as they are for the most part "grey" in color. So I decided to do a little research. What I found out was amazing and worth everyone’s better understanding. And the ironic way I found out these things and the proper web sites was in itself very surprising.
Now I knew what I was looking for: "Towers" and "lighting"! But you should also know that those words are synonymous with (ready) “Airports”! So I did some further analyzing, which I am not all that good at but knew that somebody within the Federal Avaiation Groups would have to have some major say in what sticks up in the sky. And I was right. Near airports at airports in airports and effecting airports. But what I didn’t know was that the FAA does not dictate towers requirements outside of the above (notice I said dictate as in rule, law over, demand, command). They “study” the potential “effect” to entering into, exiting from, on property and effects upon military set aside areas. In their own words they do not have authority over location, size, color, lighting, blinking, flashing: red or white lighting of towers directly. They “study, advise, suggest” needs, best suited to air safety effects by towers. Other than approach and departures slopes and angles, they have no direct say-so!
The FCC has the say-so! Ah-ha!!
And how I found this information was indirectly through (ready) a bird organization web site. Their concern was that the lights and the towers were major concerns and killers to migrating birds and that someone has to do something about those &^%$#$#7 towers. The FAA responded by indication that they are not in authority regarding the towers that they can only make suggestions. As I continued in my unwavering persuit of “just who in government is monitoring and establishing regulations regarding flight safety, I came across the “book” according to the FAA. This is called “Advisory Circular”
AC 70/7460-1K ‘Obstruction Marking and lighting” (and you may find same by typing in said same in the search engine of your choice). In this advisory there are 62 pages of information. But I still could not decipher why some little towers were lit during the day and no tall towers. Or vice-versa. When do they come on (something to do with lumens and distance) and what takes place if there are two or three in a near piece of geography or what I call “tower farms”. It appears that there are structural concerns, locations concerns for the sake of power lines, buildings, neighbors etc but no continuity that says all 500 foot towers must be lit 24/7 or towers above xx feet above nearby vegetation, buildings or other towers must be lit and blinking at certain times day or night or anything about visibility regarding them in daylight or the lack thereof. Amazing, no?
As a matter of fact, If an individual like you or I see a tower that we believe should be flashing and isn’t we wouldn’t know who to contact or if by the FAA’s study and subsequent suggestion or the manufacturers installation or the owners understand or agreement, even if it’s required to be lit. Now I know that these aren’t concerns to everyone around, say like Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Oregon or other large land masses more sparsely populated. But here in populas Ohio, Ind, PA, Mich, NY, Ill and many other states they are beginning to become great concerns. Especially as cell towers are getting put up everywhere, and these people (Verizon, Sprint, ATT, etc) don’t share tower space that often.
And so we don’t get confused here with my wrongly directed concerns as to night flying or flying at the edge of the “light” envelope. I have to say that the FAA and our mutual concerns should always be “visibility of all obstructions” for the sake of safety. I also know that some will be quick to say “know your flight path” or that’s what charts are for; “read-um”! But I would be somewhat confident in saying; yet I will not speak for the John Haucks of the world, with towers going up everywhere daily, we need all the help we can get. It only makes sense (perhaps not common sense (because we wouldn’t want some bird to be blinded and ram into a tower and get killed), that some major simple standard be established that would say simply “if your flying at 800 – 1400 feet you will know by the blinking flashing light that there is a tower close by even during the day. It wouldn’t be all that difficult to create a reflector that would cause the flashing, blinking lights to be invisible at or near ground level but at tower level or within say 200 -300 feet below, quite visible.
I would really like some feedback here and If the FAA is reading; your advise, wisdom, input would be very welcome. And if you’re a bird lover, I’m sure we can do some multi billion dollar study that would determine bird species in the tower area, their level of color perception and without eliminating the ability on the part of us fliers, produce the flashing blinking light in a mutually satisfactory color.
Ralph of Ohio…good or bad!
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planecrazzzy
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 4:52 pm Post subject: Re: Those flashing & blinking & blinking and flashin |
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I was taught to fly with "current" Charts.....They give the Safe alt to fly in any area....and they also have the towers on them...
Gotta Fly...
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John Williamson
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 146
Location: Arlington, TX
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:09 pm Post subject: Re: Those flashing & blinking & blinking and flashin |
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Hi Ralph,
You must be having one of those days!
The requirements for marking, painting and lighting of towers is very specific.
The FCC is the controlling authority:
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/policy/dtv/lighting.html
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_05/47cfr17_05.html
The FAA has several Advisory Circulars that cover the subject and are made binding by the FCC:
http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/736f762742f45ab9862569ee0077ef5e/$FILE/AC70-7460-1K.pdf
http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/fd38311187c8a5da86256c690074ffda/$FILE/150-5345-43e.pdf
If you go to these links and do the reading, you will have way more knowledge that needed by a pilot.
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_________________
John Williamson
Arlington, TX
Kolbra, 912ULS, 1640 hours
http://home.tx.rr.com/kolbrapilot |
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