I have no idea, honestly. One assumption is that, since these are the landing lights, you may want a short period of constant lighting before they start blinking, to make sure you don’t lose sight of anything critical.
Yes, plausible. According to Perplexity:
In the real world, the rationale for a “steady‑first‑then‑pulse” design still exists, even if the cockpit offers separate STEADY and PULSE positions:
- It guarantees that if you bring the lights up on short final or during flare, you initially get a stable beam for depth perception rather than immediate wig‑wag
You get that control anyway with a 3 way switch. Off-steady-wigwag.
If you re-read the text you’ll realize that the delay is possibly a safeguard, even if it’s a three-way switch…
I don’t need to re read I understand what was said. I was just responding to your rational that a steady first then pulse design intention is also achieved with a 3 way switch. Switch to steady wait 30 secs then pulse achieves exactly the same functionality was the point. I’ll dig deeper on this as it intrigues.
Could you post the section of the POH that mentions this because the POH I have doesn’t seem to mention it at all.
The POH I have is under NDA, but in the Airplane Systems & Descriptions, Exterior lighting, Landing lights, there is a note saying:
Pulse landing lights will not begin their strobe function until about 30 seconds after being turned ON
That is particular to the Kodiaks that use Landing Lights for pulsing.
Your messages aren’t available, but there is a POH available with a google search. While you may be logically correct that, “Sure, you could do that”, but what he said is what’s written in the POH.
It is indeed in the POH linked above my post, page 357. 
I already had a POH but it is not mentioned in the very section mentioned here. I can only conclude that either they added clarity to the POH after customer queries or the system has changed and now has the delay. I think we’ve established now why there is a discrepancy. I’ll compare the 2 POH versions later.
Except of course that the pilot doesn’t need to be counting to 30 and switching landing light modes while 100’ above the ground on final
Why is anyone fiddling with the landing lights 100ft from landing. The wig wag feature is meant for improved visibility on approach and it’s claimed also helps with scaring birds. Changing to flashing suddenly just before landing kinda defeats the purpose.
Exactly, from my understanding wig-wag has nothing to do with the pilot’s point of view; it is meant to draw more attention to the aircraft from outside in daylight conditions.
I cannot imagine why any pilot flying in the dark should want to have a ping pong light bouncing over the ground in front of him.
EDIT: I just sent a message to 11aviation; since they sell those machines they know for sure what that delay is all about. When/if I get a response I’ll let you know.
I am sure Mark will respond soon. You will find the language in the current POHs. The earlier models used the landing lights for the pulsing on a 3 way toggle. The newer ones with the LEDs use the Taxi lights for pulsing now and there is no delay.
When landing and taking off in IMC or at night, it is good to have the lights on steady. Any other time in flight, it is perfectly acceptable to have the lights on pulse to make your aircraft more visible. In older incandescent lights, the pulsing can put an undue strain on the system as the relay is constantly turning on and off. Since the toggle twitch has pulse in the middle, as you move through the toggle positions to Landing and pass the Pulse mode, the Pulse mode is not activated since there is a delay. This is not an issue anymore with LEDs and now that it is on the Taxi lights.
I hope that helps. I am a Kodiak/TBM pilot and work for a Daher dealer as a salesman, not to mention avid simmer.
"Today we’re excited to release Update 2.2.0 for the Kodiak 100 in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.
Over the past several weeks, we’ve been working on one of the most comprehensive updates the aircraft has received to date. At the heart of this release is a new FS2024-native flight model, bringing noticeable improvements to handling, stability, and overall flying characteristics across the aircraft’s operating envelope.
The update also includes significant refinements to engine and beta range behavior, avionics and systems improvements, updated interactions, and numerous fixes and quality-of-life enhancements throughout the aircraft.
This release represents an important milestone not only for the Kodiak 100, but also for future development, as many of the technologies and improvements introduced here are already being carried forward into the Kodiak 900.
As always, thank you to everyone who provided feedback, reported issues, and helped us test along the way.
We hope you enjoy the update, and we’re looking forward to hearing what you think."
I checked, but there’s no new update in the Marketplace for Kodiak 100 for MSFS2024 (PC) yet. Do you know when it will be available?
Not even on Contrail which is usually faster than Marketplace. I think we must wait…