EFFECT OF BACKSCATTER FROM AIRCRAFT BEACON LIGHTS ON TARGET VISIBILITY IN FOG.

Abstract

Tests were performed in the fog chamber to determine how the backscatter from aircraft beacon lights (collision-avoidance lights) in a fog of 0.21 per mile transmittance affects an observer's ability to see a set of target lights at a fixed distance equal to the corresponding visual range of 3 miles (approximately 16,000 ft). The tests investigated three white and three red beacon lights, both steady-burning and flashing, with peak intensities from 1200 to 200,000 cp in white and 1200 to 25,000 cp in red. Results from a total of over 10,000 observations, made by 34 observers, show that use of the beacon lights produced no appreciable reduction in target-light visibility except with the highest white-light intensity. There was no apparent difference between the steady-burning and flashing modes of the beacons insofar as target visibility is concerned. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1966
Accession Number
AD0648611

Entities

People

  • D. M. Finch
  • E. C. Curwen
  • L. E. King

Organizations

  • University of California, Berkeley

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Backscattering
  • Beacon Lights
  • Beacons
  • Collision Avoidance
  • Collisions
  • Intensity
  • Military Aircraft
  • Observation
  • Observers
  • Transmittance
  • Vehicles
  • Visibility
  • White Light

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Test and Evaluation
  • Atmospheric Remote Sensing.
  • Vision Science/Vision Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience.