I’m trying to learn how to fly ‘properly’ but there’s a lot to learn .
Rather than start on the runway, I now start from a parking place, switch the engine on, then navigate to the runway (stopping where I’m told lol). ATM Ctrl-E is my friend but I’ll progress, over time, to a proper start sequence.
I play with the OnAir which often marks me down because I didn’t have this light on, or that light was on when it shouldn’t be.
Nav light, beacon, landing lights etc. etc. is there a guide somewhere (or maybe someone could reply) what lights should be on at start up, when I should turn them off etc.
usually beacon comes on first, before engine start to signal, that somesthing is going on
nav light after engine start
strobe not when taxiing (too bright), only as part of take off checklist before entering the runway,
off as part of after landing checklist
landing light usually on before takeoff, off after takeoff (e.g. 400AGL checklist), maybe keep on when remaining in the pattern; on on approach/final
taxi as needed while taxiing (as it suggests) (more for yourself to see)
Usually, they are all mentioned as part of the checklists.
Nav / Position: ON as long as aircraft is powered (batteries / ground) gate to gate; may not be necessary during daylight
Beacon / Anti-Collision: ON when you’re about to start the engines until after engines are shut down
Taxi: ON when you’re away from the ramp and about to start taxi; usually turned off automatically when landing gear is retracted
Start(Taxi): ON when you’re about to enter the runway; auto off when landing gear is retracted
RWY Turn-Off: ON when you`re taxiing at night or under low visibility; auto off when landing gear retracted
Wing: ON at night or under low visibility at all times;
Logo: ON at night or under low visibility at all times; usually gets turned off automatically when landing gear is not pressurized (= after lift-off)
Landing: ON when you’re about to enter the runway after take-off clearance up to around 10,000 feet; ON when descending through 10,000 feet until runway is vacated
Strobe: AUTO during daytime; ON during night when you`re about to enter the runway / got take-off clearance until runway is vacated after landing
This is how I do it in the A320neo after having learned a thing or two about the topic.
It should be roughly the same with other aircraft as there’s good reasons for the lights to be set at a specific point as explained in these videos:
For OnAir specifically, the ones I believe it cares about are:
Beacon (and only Beacon) on before engine start. Some planes have Beacon labeled as something else, look at the in-game checklist to see what light goes on before engine start.
Landing lights OFF below xxx altitude. This is different between props and jets. For jets it’s is 10,000ft, I forget what it is for props but I believe it is low 000s. The error message from OnAir will give you this. As long as you turn them on before take-off you are good. If you fly high enough where you need to turn them off (see below), you need to turn back on during descent.
Landing lights ON above xxx altitude. Again, this is different between props and jets. For jets, you need to turn off above 12,000 feet (yes, you have 2,000ft to act, which with the bizjets, is like ~30-40 seconds). I believe the buffer on props is more forgiving. Thia can also hit you if you turn them back on too early in your descent.
Lights at shutdown - Once you are parked, you need to shut every light off except Beacon before shutting down the engine.
Cadence I try to follow (on cj4, happy to take feedback from people if any on this is incorrect):
Electric on
Beacon On
Engine on/avionics on
Nav and logo on
Do clearance and request taxi
Taxi lights on
Taxi to runway
Taxi and Logo off, Strobe and Landing lights on
Take-off, fly, and land, obey rules on landing lights above
Turn-off Strobe and Landing lights as departing runway, turn on logo and taxi
Taxi to parking
turn off all lights except Beacon
Turn off Engine (OnAir should say flight completed
Turn off avionics/electronics (msfs should record flight)
For GA…
Nav lights on any time you have power on. You might as well leave the switch on full time. When you turn on the battery, they’ll come on.
Beacon - if equipped, just before start and on until shutdown.
Taxi lights when moving.
Landing lights and strobes when you enter the active runway.
Landing and taxi lights off above 10k feet, back on when descending below 10k.
Landing and strobes off after exiting runway after landing. (Taxi still on while moving.)
Shutdown is the opposite of startup - kill engine, then beacon. Nav’s stay on until battery switch is off.
The first to ever come on are the position (nav) lights. These are the green/white and red/white lights (whites at the back). They signify that the airplane is electrically energized. Depending on time of day, the logo lights can come on at this time too.
Then comes the beacon. You turn these on to let the ground crew know that the aircraft is about to move or be moved (towed). You turn them on before starting the APU. This light remains on the entire flight, you turn it off after the aircraft has come to rest and APU is off.
Taxi lights and runway turn-off lights: you turn these on before beginning your taxi. More on this later.
Strobes: turn these on before ever entering or crossing the runway. Remains on the entire flight. Turn off after exiting the runway after landing.
Landing lights: you turn these on before entering the runway, turn off above 10,000 feet. Back on as soon as you get to 10,000 and leave on until you exit the runway after landing.
For the taxi lights, combine with landing lights for takeoffs and landings. What some airlines do is, when you’re cleared to line up and wait, then turn on landing lights and turn off taxi as a reminder that although you’ve been cleared onto the runway, you’ve not been cleared for takeoff. Turn on as soon as you receive clearance for takeoff.
On approach, wait until final clearance to land, then taxi lights on. Leave on until you’re about to turn into your gate or ramp, then turn off to avoid blinding the ground crew. Always combine the taxi and runway turn-off. When going unto the runway, all lights on.
Thanks to everyone for the excellent replies. I’m guessing most of the info is aimed at Airbus or similar. In OnAir I’ve just started with the Cessna 172 and it tells me off if landing lights are off between 100 and 1,000 feet .
TBH, there’s an option in the game (OnAir) to switch off these penalties, they are very minor anyway about 0.02 points against reputation lol.
As an aside, I recently retired but for my 40th Birthday the family bought me a 2 hour flying lesson in a Cessna and, to this day, it was the best experience I’ve ever had. Unfortunately I wasn’t financially able to carry on paying for lessons (and at 67 it’s a bit late to start now lol).
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