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PrecisionapproachpathindicatorWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Precisionapproachpathindicator
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Aprecisionapproachpathindicator(PAPI)isavisualaidthatprovidesguidanceinformationtohelpapilotacquireandmaintainthe
correctapproach(intheverticalplane)toanairportoranaerodrome.Itisgenerallylocatedbesidetherunwayapproximately300meters
beyondthelandingthresholdoftherunway.

Contents
1Development
2Meaning
3Background
4Design
5Seealso
6References

ThePAPIcanbeseentotherightof
therunway.Theplaneisbelowthe
glideslope.

Development
ThePrecisionApproachPathIndicatorsystemwasfirstdevisedin1974byTonySmithandDavidJohnsonattheRoyalAircraft
EstablishmentinBedford,England.Ittookthemafurthertwoyearstofullydevelopthetechnology.SmithandJohnson'sworkwashonoured
byacommendationfromtheRAE,aFellowshipfromtheAeronauticalSociety,anawardfromtheAmericanFlightSafetyFoundation,anda
GoldMedalfromtheBritishGuildofAirPilots.ResearchEngineers(RE)werealsoheavilyinvolvedintheproject,havingproducedand
suppliedPAPIunitsforthefirsttrialsthatwereconducted.Thesamedesignisstillinusetoday,andinfactwasusedbyNASA'sSpace
Shuttleforitssafelanding,forwhichJohnsonwasinterviewedbyUKlocalnewsmediaandTV.[1]

Meaning
Theratioofwhitetoredlightsseenisdependentontheangleofapproachtotherunway.Abovethedesignatedglideslopeapilotwillobserve
morewhitelightsthanred,atapproachesbelowtheidealanglemoreredlightsthanwhitewillbeseen.Fortheoptimumapproachanglethe
ratioofwhitetoredlightswillremainequalthroughout.
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Background
Thegreaternumberofredlightsvisiblecomparedwiththenumberofwhitelightsvisibleinthepicturemeansthattheaircraftisflyingbelow
theglideslope.Tousetheguidanceinformationprovidedbytheaidtofollowthecorrectglideslopeapilotwouldmanoeuvretheaircraftto
obtainanequalnumberofredandwhitelights.
Studentpilotsininitialtrainingmayusethemnemonic,"REDonWHITEyou'reallright,REDonREDandyou'redead"untiltheyareusedto
thelights'meaning.
ThePAPIisalightarraypositionedbesidetherunway.Itnormallyconsistsoffourequispacedlight
unitscolorcodedtoprovideavisualindicationofanaircraft'spositionrelativetothedesignated
glideslopefortherunway.Anabbreviatedsystemconsistingoftwolightunitscanbeusedforsome
categoriesofaircraftoperations.TheinternationalstandardforPAPIispublishedbytheInternational
CivilAviationOrganisation(ICAO)inAerodromes,Annex14totheConventiononInternationalCivil
Aviation,Volume1,Chapter5.Nationalregulationsgenerallyadoptthestandardsandrecommended
practicespublishedbyICAO.Anearlierglideslopeindicatorsystem,thevisualapproachslope
indicator(VASI)isnowobsoleteandwasdeletedfromAnnex14in1995.TheVASIonlyprovided
guidancedowntoheightsof60metres(200ft)whereasPAPIprovidesguidancedowntoflare
initiation(typically15metres,or50ft).
ThePAPIisusuallylocatedonthelefthandsideoftherunwayatrightanglestotherunwaycenter
line.Theunitsarespaced9metersapartwiththenearestunit15metersfromtherunwayedge.APAPI
can,ifrequired,belocatedontherighthandsideoftherunway.AtsomelocationsPAPIsareinstalled
onbothsidesoftherunwaybutthislevelofprovisionisbeyondtherequirementsofICAO.Thelight
characteristicsofalllightunitsareidentical.Ingoodvisibilityconditionstheguidanceinformationcan
beusedatrangesupto5miles(8.0km)bydayandnight.Atnightthelightbarscanbeseenatranges
ofatleast20miles(32km).

Individualprecisionapproachpath
indicator

Eachlightunitconsistsofoneormorelightsources,redfiltersandlenses.Eachlightunitemitsahigh
intensitybeam.Thelowersegmentofthebeamisred,andtheupperpartiswhite.Thetransitionbetweenthetwocoloursmusttakeplaceover
ananglenotgreaterthanthreeminutesofarc.Thischaracteristicmakesthecolorchangeveryconspicuous,akeyfeatureofthePAPIsignal.
ToformthePAPIguidancesignal,thecolortransitionboundariesofthefourunitsarefixedatdifferentangles.Thelowestangleisusedfor
theunitfurthestfromtherunway,thehighestfortheunitnearesttotherunway.Thedesignatedglideslopeismidwaybetweenthesecondand
thirdlightunitsettings.Dependingonthepositionoftheaircraftrelativetothespecifiedangleofapproach,thelightswillappeareitherredor
whitetothepilot.Thepilotwillhavereachedthenormalglidepath(usually3degrees)whenthereisanequalnumberofredandwhitelights.
Ifanaircraftisbeneaththeglidepath,redlightswilloutnumberwhiteifanaircraftisabovetheglidepath,morewhitelightsarevisible.
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PAPIsystemsarereadilyavailablefromairfieldlightingmanufacturersworldwide.PAPIisnormallyoperatedbyairtrafficcontrol(ATC).If
ATCservicesarenotnormallyprovidedatanaerodrome,PAPIalongwithotherairportlightsmaybeactivatedbythepilotbykeyingthe
aircraftmicrophonewiththeaircraft'scommunicationradiotunedtotheCTAFordedicatedpilotcontrolledlighting(PCL)frequency.

Design
AtypicalengineeringdesignspecificationforaPAPIlightunitisshownbelow:
Opticalconstruction:
Preadjusted2lampopticalassembly.
Anodizedaluminiumreflectors.
Redcolorfilters.
Precisiongroundlenses.
Lampsandreflectorsreplaceablewithoutrecalibration.
2x200W/6,6Aprefocusedhalogenlamps,Pk30dbase.
Averagelifetime1000hoursatratedcurrent.
2008sawtheadventofnewPAPIdevicesmanufacturedusingsolidstateLEDlampsinsteadofincandescentlamps.TheLEDsproduce
sufficientbrightnesstosatisfyICAOlightintensityandbeamspreadstandards,andaveragelifetimewiththeLEDbasedsystemsis50,000
hoursormore.ByusingLEDsthepowerconsumptionisloweredconsiderably.TheLEDsystemsruninternallyonDCvoltagesotheDC
voltagerequirements,alongwiththeLED'sinherentlowpowerconsumption,nowallowforsolarpoweredPAPIs,completelyremovingthem
fromthepowergrid.[2]
ThePAPIsystemiscooptedforusebythefinalapproachrunwayoccupancysignal(FAROS)systembeingintroduced[3]atseveralmajor
airportsintheUnitedStatesforthepurposeofallowingpilotstoresolvearunwayincursionwithoutrequiringapriorinoticeofanoccupied
runwayfromthecontroltower.InFAROS,automatedlineofsightrunwaysensorsdetectifavehiclehascommittedarunwayincursionandif
so,willflashthePAPIlightstoalertthepilotofanaircraftonfinalapproachthattherunwayiscurrentlyoccupied.Thepilotthenbecomes
responsibleforresolvingtheconflictbynotifyingtheairtrafficcontrollerandexecutingagoaround.Oncethetowerhasascertainedthatthe
runwayhasbeencleared,thegroundcontrollerresetsthePAPIsothatlandingoperationsmayresume.[4][5]

Seealso
Approachlightingsystem(ALS)
Pilotcontrolledlighting(PCL)
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Visualapproachslopeindicator(VASI)
Instrumentlandingsystem(ILS)
Runwayendidentifierlights(REIL)
Runwayedgelights(HIRL,MIRL,LIRL)

References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

http://www.researchengineers.com/about_papi.html
http://www.flightlight.com/airportlighting/4.0.1/4.0.1.html
http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/notices/20130530/SC11003.cfm
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/operations/td/projects/faros/solution/animation.cfm
http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim/aim0201.html

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