Wingtip to Runway light protector Concepts

Most runway lights I know of are designed to break off at the base when struck. Putting a reinforced structure over them seems problematic, particularly if you strike them from the side with, say, the fuselage or a power plane hooks the loop with a wheel. You also might want to see if the FAA has any requirements about what sorts of obstructions are permitted near a runway..

I like the system Rex Mayes installed at Montague, CA. Each light was put on a simple pivot slightly below ground level and encased with an irrigation box with a notch cut in the center of the long edge of the cover for the light post to fit through such that the closed cover holds the light in the up position. It covers the retracted light completely and is flush with the ground when the light is retracted.

You put the lights down at the beginning of operations and put them back up at the end of the flying day - before dusk of course. Changing configurations takes about as long as it takes two people to walk the length of runway you want clear. Generally this is only a few hundred feet if you are concerned about wing drops on takeoff, but may include the primary rollout area as well.

Here's an example of the irrigation box:

http://tinyurl.com/hkxoqa6

Hope that helps.

Andy Blackburn
9B

On Monday, January 2, 2017 at 5:53:09 AM UTC-8, wrote:
My club recently had its first wingtip damage from a runway light. These lights stick up about a foot or so and are sometimes hard to avoid.

What solutions have other soaring clubs found to deal with them?

I was thinking that it maybe a good idea to put a deflector in front of the lights. If the wing is going to hit, it would hopefully deflect the wing up and over the light.
I was hoping the right design might not obscure the light any more than a tall weed. What are chances of getting something like this approved or accepted by either an airport authority or the FAA?

My first two concepts we
1. form a steel rod that goes over the light, and then front and back ends form spikes that could be hammered into the ground.
2. A wedge shaped cut plexiglass/acrylic sheet that the light could pass through. The bottom would have flanges heat formed to a allow it to be secured to the ground.

Please post any feedback or thoughts on if there is some solution to help protect glider wings.

I made simple sketches here, Please forgive the really crude drawings:

https://docs.google.com/presentation...it?usp=sharing

a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1DhfbsEk49m-3LS-Vzs8YO-487Gv1YDjZNICBma72tlE/edit?usp=sharing"concept drawings/a

Chris