Cockpit lighting

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Cockpit at night

As cockpit lighting refers to the entirety of the device for generating light using an artificial light source in a cockpit . The purpose is to enable the cockpit crew to read the instruments, displays and important documents in any weather condition and time of day. The cockpit lighting includes lamps , spotlights , the lighting integrated in the control panel, as well as illuminated displays and switches. The cockpit lighting is divided into four sectors:

With other aircraft, the distribution of the lighting components can be classified differently; For example, the following components are listed for the Airbus model A321 :

  • general lighting of the cockpit instrument panel, instruments and work surfaces
  • integral lighting of the instrument panels and instruments
  • Test system for display lighting
  • Darkening system ( dimming system ) for display lighting

The direct lighting usually runs with 28  V DC (the on-board voltage of most aircraft), the integrated lighting with 5 V AC . The lighting is usually infinitely variable, and the color of the light can also be chosen between white, red and fluorescent.

Trivia

In the US film The Stuff the Heroes are Made of, actor Ed Harris, in his film role as Major John Herschel Glenn Jr. , tells the story of an incident in which he only found his way back to his aircraft carrier at night because the cockpit lighting was out. because it enabled him to recognize its bioluminescent wake.

Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashed after a defective light distracted the pilots so much that they did not notice that they were flying too low.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Detlef von Ahlen, Peter Brückemann, Klaus Engmann, Willy Fahje, Bernhardt Fleischer, Gernot Fries, Arne Göpelt, Dr. Rüdiger Grube, Rainer Hinz-Raulfs, Matthias Jürgens, Heiner Krämer, Horst Mentzel, Manfred Porath, Dirk Ritter, Torge Voss, Carsten-Michael Waschk, Andreas Wichtrup-Ovie, Bernd Zessin: Technology of the Airplane . Ed .: Klaus Engmann. 6th edition. Vogel Buchverlag, Würzburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-8343-3304-9 , p. 884 .
  2. ↑ Aircraft Systems : 11 - Lighting , information from the University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Technology and Computer Science, Department of Vehicle Technology and Aircraft Construction , Hamburg, online at: fzt.haw-hamburg.de / ...
  3. ↑ Section light in cockpit, cabin, cargo hold , online at: md-80.com / ...
  4. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report in the Aviation Safety Network , accessed on January 4, 2016.