Which Lights to use at which time | Real 737 Pilot

Let's look at the different lights and which light to use at what time.
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Tools and addons used in this video:
OBS Studio
Nvidia Shadowplay
My system specs:
Intel i9-9900k@5,2GHz
RTX3080Ti
32GB RAM
Windows 10 Pro
My hardware:
Thrustmaster Boeing Yoke and Throttle
Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog
Thrustmaster Pendular Pedals

[@Smasher77th]

This is pretty much how I have always used my lights. Only difference: I didn't know you have to turn off taxi lights if you stop briefly during taxi, also if there's a follow-me vehicle. Good to know these two incidents too. Thanks a lot for the video.

[@KaitlynnUK]

Interesting, thank you. Many years ago I knew a Britannia Training Captain, who was a bit of a character. He told me once that they used the Wing lights in stormy/inclement weather to assure the passenger's that the wings were still attached :)

[@AdnanYILMAZaday]

I have been flying with simulators for more than 25 years. I was using the lights on the right side almost correctly, but I used all the lights on the left wrong all these years. I was taking them all down when entering the runway, and lifting them all up after leaving the runway. It was a very descriptive, informative, excellent video. Thanks... ​

[@aviator1111]

Birkaç sene önce VOR yaklaşmayı araştırırken sizin kendi yaptığınız havalimanındaki 737 videonuza denk gelmiştim. Tekrar karşılaşmak güzel.

[@Aleksandar6ix]

I use my wing light like is commonly used in North America where its on during lower altitudes and on the ground which helps with visibility

[@qf11bd]

Great video! Similarly to some of the US based commenters below, it’s also standard procedure at Qantas to use wing lights on their NG’s in conjunction with turnoffs for greater visibility. Unsure if it’s also practiced at Virgin Australia and/or REX. Always interesting to see the nuances in SOP’s between countries and operators!

[@pupaepedorra]

Thank you sir, i am adding this to my favorites for reference.

[@williamwidjaja850]

Thanks Captain Emi, to clear my doubt on some of the older tutorial . Keep going

[@Titanium_fighter]

@737NG Driver , It is a very nice and interesting video about B738 NG lights. I am agree with turning off taxi lights when you follow de follow me car (Its driver go blind while driving!), and when you start entering your stand, because you can blind the marshaller that give you signals. Once you have already stopped engines, it should be very interesting to know when do you turn off the "anti collision" lights (I do not remember if it is when "N2" reaches 10% going down). Thanks you. Greetings.

[@A330Driver]

Hi CreS, we turn the anti collision light off when both engines are below 20%N2.

[@catiiiresponse2223]

Great video! PMDG should add an option for flashing landing lights. I believe that certain companies opt for them to help prevent bird strikes.

[@retroflashhd]

Hey Sir, flashing lights are avaible at this time! Look in the Equipment Options?

[@LethalThreat]

Yes, this is already available. It is called either ORIGINAL LIGHTS WITH PULSE or LED LIGHTS WITH PULSE in the aircraft options menu.

[@yams900]

Excellent information, just what I needed to know :) Always get confused what light 💡 to use when

[@daveorr5858]

Didn’t know about retractable lights informative video

[@francobobfred]

When I park my plane at the gate at night I turn all my lights on (landing, taxi, etc) so I wake the sleeping passengers In the terminal to avoid delay once we deplaned 😂 Kidding of course. Good video Captain

[@A330Driver]

😂😂😂

[@86abaile]

This was a good explanation, very helpful. Thanks.

[@richardboll8763]

In the US, we have slightly different exterior light usage as described in AIM paragraph 4-3-23. Use of Aircraft Lights. Here’s the link to it: www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim_html/chap4_section_3.html

[@CanadianStig990]

Love your videos! Please tell PMDG to fix the wing flex animations they look extremely cheap!

[@A330Driver]

Wingflex is a topic I'm staying out of. In my opinion it's obsolete. Something you simply don't have anything to do with as Pilot. First of all you can hardly see the wings at all from the flight deck and second when there actually us turbulence you surely have better things to do that to press your head against the window so that you could see the wings.

[@patricecerasoli6944]

Very usefull, thanks a lot.

[@michaelshostack2547]

This would be way more useful if it showed the external view side by side.

[@Estraying]

These videos are extremely helpful! Being on Xbox, I’m patiently waiting for the PMDG 737-800 to come. Even though we haven’t got this aircraft yet, it’s great for me to get better knowledge before it releases.

[@A330Driver]

Glad you like them!

[@WarHawkAU24]

Very nice video! Very informative.

[@wowisthatgami8293]

Thanks for shining a light on this edit: dammit the joke was already made in the video

[@jman-oz6rr]

This is very very subjective and contingent upon the airline you fly for. Pretty much nothing in this video is accurate when it comes to Southwest Airlines for example. Every airline flies their aircraft in a different way. it is not cookie cutter at all. Interesting to see how y'all do your lights over across the pond though! Thanks for the video!

[@AFO3310]

Would love a guide on how to set the lights to bind to the Honeycomb Alpha switches...can't find any guide on the web

[@jincyayrattu6606]

TNX CAPT❤

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

The only difference is how I use the turnoff lights. I use them according to their name, meaning I don't switch them on before entering the runway.

[@leandroinski1320]

Hi, I've heard that the light thing is a thing of Boeing and not of the Airline. But I saw many real life 737 takeoff and landing videos from the cockpit, and sometimes they're landing without Taxi light, or taking off without taxi light, landing with retractable ldg. lights with good weather. What's the reason for that? Ok, you've said it's a thing of the airline, but why did a real Ryanair pilot said me it's a thing of Boeing? xD

[@juliashenandoah3965]

They say these new Boeing flashing LED-lights prevent birdstrikes after take-off.

[@VictorThu]

The only difference is the use of the wing lights. The wing lights are kept on until climbing passed 18,000 feet or when descending below 18,000 feet. Others are pretty much the same.

[@A330Driver]

For what reason though? What is the logic behind it?

[@VictorThu]

@@A330Driver 18,000 ft is the transition altitude in the US so it's implemented as an SOP for many airlines. It also increases visibility to others.

[@A330Driver]

​@@VictorThu Interesting, in my opinion the light is so weak, I (quite literally) don't see how that would improve visibility to others.

[@SSAviation737]

@@A330Driver Southwest, for example, uses wing lights with the other lights used for takeoff below 18000. I like it because as a passenger at night I can see the winglets in 737s with winglets better.

[@christophermclaughlin5650]

Great video. I was boarding a RYR 737 the other day and noticed near the rear on the fuselage , just behind and above the main gear; there is a small circular light which was faint. What is that light ? Some kind of evacuation light or something ?

[@kevinburrell8431]

Where is the nav and beacon lights ?

[@yams900]

Beacon light on, before engine start ? I’m thinking CRJ here, assuming procedures applies to all aircrafts, at least airliners

[@A330Driver]

Yes, turn the beacon on just before engine start. It alerts ground crew that startup is imminent. That applies to any aircraft.

[@a.nelprober4971]

7:35 i think that might be your operator only. Not actually standard practice afaik.

[@ResurrectorRTX]

Awesome video, Emanuel! I knew most of it already from other tutorials but still learned a few more things here. One question though: Do all pilots generally switch off the landing lights at 10000 feet or does this depend on the transition altitude of the country you're flying in?

[@A330Driver]

Generally. Only exceptions are when operating to high altitude airports (no SOP in my airline, generally I'd just do it at 10.000 plus field elevation if the field is higher than 2.000ft - that's personal taste though) and for some US Operators who use 18.000 instead of 10.000.

[@GrannySmith1313]

Thanks for doing this video, very illuminating. Can it be company policy to (not) use lights at the moments you described? I've been watching some real-life 737 cockpit videos over the past few days as I've been curious about this exact subject, and noticed that some 737 operators (in EU) never turn on the retractable landing lights or taxi lights on landing. *edit: I really should have waited for the final 20 seconds of the video before commenting. Never mind...

[@A330Driver]

Glad your question answered itself!

[@pop_3310]

very illuminating, nice...

[@louradman7166]

I cannot get my anti-collision lights to come on at all. Sometimes they do but most of the time they do not. I don’t understand if I have to have certain other lights on before they are activated can somebody please help me. I’m sorry this is for the PMG 737 800 for MFS 2000.

[@A330Driver]

Are you using any light mod? If yes please remove them and try again. If it still doesn't work I suggest to contact PMDGs support. Except for electrical power there is no prerequisite for the anti collision light to work in the 737.

[@christopherstolzke1931]

Are there any regulations about the PULSE Landing Lights? They are an option but I've never seen them on a real 737...

[@A330Driver]

Not that I am aware of. But my airline doesn't have them, so there might be something I'm not aware of.

[@christopherstolzke1931]

@@A330Driver No Problem. I already saw it on small jets like the CJ4 and they used it on takeoff and landing all the time, so maybe the same rules like ordinary landing lights. 🤔

[@Adamsk1010]

Some airlines within the US keep their wing light regardless of the time of day.

[@DiamondAviation727]

Southwest keeps inboard landing lights, runway turnoffs, logo light (if needed), and wing lights on up to FL180, only exception I know of to this.

[@A330Driver]

The big german airline flying to the US certainly does not do that. Why would you keep it on?

[@DiamondAviation727]

@@A330Driver I believe because the transition level in the US is FL180, FAA recommendations, and high volume of VFR aircraft above 10,000ft that may not be in contact with ATC, Southwest and maybe a few other airlines like to keep lights on up to FL180.

[@ALTFlying]

@@DiamondAviation727 Alaska does this as well.

[@andrewbennett4638]

When you say engines spool below 20%, to turn off Anti Collision Light, do you mean N2 below 20%?

[@A330Driver]

Yes, N2.

[@andrewbennett4638]

@@A330Driver thanks Emi

[@captainphilip2236]

What about Pulse Lights? 😕

[@essamahmod]

The lights is not bright I like night flying when I turn on my taxi lights and landing light still dark I wish pmdg fix it

[@A330Driver]

They are not searchlights after all....

[@karldenton]

What is the wing light used for? Thanks

[@LethalThreat]

Hey Emi, I'm not sure if PMDG have commented on this recently but do you know if PMDG will be adding an additional lighting option to allow for the classic retractable+fixed halogen landing/taxi lights, while also having LED strobes? Lots of operators in the USA, upon receiving the split winglet retrofits to their 737's, changed the strobes on the wings to be LED, but kept the classic halogen based landing/taxi lights. As of right now, you can only have all halogen classic lights, or all LED's. We cannot mix and match both. Would PMDG be interested in adding a 5th lighting option for us with this configuration in one of the upcoming updates? I remember someone asked about this on the PMDG forums when the NGXu released for P3D in Nov 2019, and PMDG said that they were not interested at this time in adding any more lighting configurations. Hopefully their mind has changed on this and we can get this common 5th style of lighting option in the aircraft options.

[@A330Driver]

Hi, I don't think so.

[@directive5216]

I am wondering with the VOR approaches - Can you do a non terminal VOR approach tutorial like Split Airport LDSP. The vor is on the right side of the airport and not on the approach.

[@yams900]

Landing lights, let’s assume you are taking off. Do the lights need to be turned off just before 10,000 ft…or as you’re reaching 10,000 ft and go slightly above….or above 10,000 ft ? I started to fly Virtual Airlines, and get points reduced because I do the wrong thing :(

[@A330Driver]

Those VAs are over overly critical... they should be turned off when passing 10.000, but in real life it really doesn't matter if you turn them off a thousand or two thousand feet later as well. Let's say you get a radio call at FL100, you'd simply delay the checks you'd normally do at that level until you're done handling ATC. If that means the lights stay on a bit longer that really doesn't matter at all. I found that many VAs show very little flexibility on this topic.

[@danielvidal705]

Nice video. Just a question. What lights should be used in those cases where there is no taxiway and the plane must turn 180º and use the runway to reach the apron after landing? Thanks.

[@A330Driver]

Before runway entry: As if you were on the taxi way. Once entering the runway use the lights as appropriate for entering a runway as in the video.

[@Carlo-f1e]

Interesting and useful question 👍🏻

[@jarzo9259]

So do you ever turn the strobe light to off or when you completely shut down the aircraft is it in steady

[@A330Driver]

The strobes are off when the switch is outside the STROBE AND STEADY position. It's a position light switch, not a strobe light switch. Welcome to the confusing world of the 737 ;-)

[@Pollot]

Hey captain, I wonder about one thing. Is it mandatory to turn on landing lights when lined up on the runway without takeoff clearance? Can I use it as a reminder of clearance instead of turning off the taxi light?

[@A330Driver]

Yes, it is mandatory. There have been collisions because pilots weren't able to see each other.

[@alikamran6414]

I've heard that the Position lights come on when the AC Power is alive. How true is it?

[@A330Driver]

Very true. That's why I say it in the video 😉

[@flighterer]

flightdeck2sim said the LED lights in the PMDG have the same level of brightness as the conventional ones. However they should be twice as bright. Is that true?

[@A330Driver]

Yes but if you set them to the correct brightness - or rather distance - levels MSFS will totally overdo it on objects close to you. Say you used the taxi light while taxing into the gate the terminal in front of you would become one bright white spot.

[@and696]

Hi Captian: the taxi light, wings light and langing in my opinion appers too low, the visibility by night are very poor: is that possibile to increase the lights ??

[@A330Driver]

Especially the original light package is very very weak. Like in the real aircraft. We often use the landing lights for taxi in the conventional aircraft. Of course that's not officially approved, but... doesn't help me if I crash into a lightpole. The LED lights are not bright enough, that's true. The problem is, if you make them as strong - or rather: If you make them shine as far - as the real ones then anything close to the aircraft would appear simply white. Limitation of the MSFS engine.

[@christophermclaughlin5650]

@@A330Driver why is it that the light on the trailing edge of the winglet is so so faint, it looks like there’s a single small candle inside the tube , it’s so weak

[@TheDamnoranges]

Hey Emi, thanks for the video! Are landing lights turned off at 10,000 AGL or MSL after take off in the case of airports with high elevations? KDEN and MMMX come to mind.

[@ALTFlying]

In the US it's MSL, I fly often out of Denver and United typically shuts them off then. That being said as indicated in post below that 18,000 is used for some airlines such as Alaska and Southwest.

[@A330Driver]

Normally MSL but when we fly into really high elevation airports we adjust it to higher altitudes.

[@safetytorchMedia]

Hey I have one question: Will it be possible in the (near) future to move the Cockpit cam through the Cockpit door to the cabin?

[@A330Driver]

No idea

[@safetytorchMedia]

@@A330Driver Okey..Thank you anyway for the pretty fast answer!

[@kukydevil]

I have accidentally selected one aircraft config for all the 737-7 models I have. Does anyone know how I undo this? Thank you!

[@specialneedsmolester1957]

Probably just uninstall

[@A330Driver]

Did you check the manual if there's any guidance in it?

[@kukydevil]

@@A330Driver I did not check it at the time I wrote the comment. But I will, thank you!

[@itshector9188]

I thought the wing lights stay on till 10000 ft??

[@A330Driver]

No, why should it?

[@Fcreceptor]

Probably depends on the operator. I notice a lot of the airlines that overfly my house are at the 10,000 mark and still have them on. They use wing lights here no matter what. Maybe not at night all the time but daytime for sure. I’m in Phoenix Arizona. Just watch plenty of live streams and you’ll see the wing lights on. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@tjbrecht2237]

I think in the US they are used for better visibility of the aircraft for other especially GA traffic - I think its an FAA recommended thing or maybe even mandatory

[@markjackson5333]

@@A330Driver so when do you use runway turn off lights and wing lights ?