Safety challenge accepted!

In the mid 1940’s the US Navy experimented with 5,000-watt natural gas lights mounted on 75-foot towers at the Landing Aids Experiment Station in California.

The towers were designed to help guide aircraft in at night or in foggy conditions. Two rows of nineteen towers stretched for 3500 feet (1067m), each tower was topped with one 5,000-watt light. Needless to say, this setup would not meet today’s safety regulations and would most probably be considered a maintenance nightmare.

Today approach lighting structures are an integrated element of any airfield, helping pilots land safety, day after day, year after year. They play a critical role in keeping airports open and flights moving and on schedule, and yet are probably something most passengers don’t notice or consider.

These first approach lighting structures are primitive compared to to today’s technology. Yet they were built to solve a safety challenge; and they have since continued to evolve, and so has our understanding of what exactly approach lighting should be.

At Exel Composites, we’ve been working with airports around the world to solve not only safety challenges but also meeting up the operators expectations in pricing, long lasting and low maintenance systems.

Material design and selection is our specialty. Our approach to mast structures, using composites, means more flexibility. Our fiberglass masts are engineered to be frangible from the bottom of the mast to the top, without having to design in frangible zones. And fiberglass is a proven material; almost as old as that early gas-lit approach lighting system in California. Yet fiberglass remains a very relevant and high-performance material that withstands the elements; is durable, and low maintenance.

Also the safety requirements and regulations must be met. This contributes to the design of the system. This places a great importance on the mechanical design of the mast, and the choice of materials used to build the mast.

If you are interested in finding out more about our approach lighting mast designs and possibilities, give us a call or leave your contact details on our website.

Pertti Kainu
Product Business Owner
Mobile +358 50 573 4979
pertti.kainu@exelcomposites.com