Helipad (Heliport) Lighting

Helipad (heliport) lighting normally consists of a circle or square of inset lights around the surface called the TLOF (touchdown & lift-off area) and another around the overall landing area called the FATO (final approach & takeoff area). The later encompasses the TLOF as well and the lights may be elevated or inset.

Both sets of lights are now recommended to be green by ICAO and FAA. Yellow (amber) was the former standard and is still preferred in many locations. There is a great deal of variance in color depending on the owner and jurisdiction. These lights were traditionally incandescent but are now increasingly LED with brightness control.

The TLOF and FATO lights may be supplemented with surface floodlights. A lighted wind cone is necessary. At ground-based locations, a row lead-in lights in the preferred direction of approach is sometimes used.

Visual slope guidance systems (such as HAPI, PAPI, etc) are recommended in both ICAO and FAA documents but are rarely deployed due to the high cost relative to the rest of the lighting system. While airports commonly use 6.6A constant current power, heliport lighting is normally AC powered. Radio control by the pilot via a ground based controller is also common.


Quoted from Wikipedia