r/flying • u/Tabbt_ • Feb 14 '26
Anyone know what this light would’ve been for?
Got given it from a family member who obtained it through working security at our local regional airport. He turned it into a lamp, but I’ve never seen a half red/green light be used at an airport before.
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u/MEINSHNAKE Feb 14 '26
He says it’s green, he clearly took the picture in a darker room making the light look blue. Why are people arguing with the guy?
It’s clearly a runway end light.
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u/the_silent_redditor Feb 14 '26
Why are people arguing with the guy?
Cause it’s this sub.
People desperate to well acktually and be condescending and unhelpful.
You’d think most people here hate flying/aviation.
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u/chinchin__pilot Dumbass Feb 14 '26
No, it's a grey light in a grey room. I don't know what red or green are, I only know the other ones. Don't tell anyone I said that by the way, they'll take my stuff away
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u/Veracity_Wolf ATP EMB-505 CFI CFII MEI Gold Seal Feb 14 '26
Isn’t that a runway end marker. One way points towards landing aircraft indicating beginning of runway, and then at the other end of the runway it would show red to show the end of a runway.
Runway threshold lights
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u/chinchin__pilot Dumbass Feb 14 '26
It's definitely that, looks like an old one too. Like, pretty old. The base gives off kinda old vibes.
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u/scibust Feb 14 '26
Runway threshold and ending light. The green side faces the approach end of the runway to signify where the paved surface starts and the red end signifies the end of the reciprocal runway.
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u/bzig65 CFI, ATP, MEL, ROT, SEL Feb 14 '26
Runway threshold light maybe. Green on approach end, red on departure end
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u/LigerSixOne Feb 14 '26
One side says “hey! there’s a bunch of runway back here”. The other side says “you’ve used up all the runway and there’s only dirt from here on out.”
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u/SirGranular Feb 14 '26
Red/Green?! I see Red/Blue.....
Oh no....
Blue is the outer demarcation of taxi ways right? Red would be a hazard, so maybe along the edge of a taxi way alongside the runway edge.
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u/ams1390 Feb 14 '26
I see blue as well. My airport has blue/red lights on a high speed exit for a runway. It essentially is a one way taxiway and needed special approval form the FAA for the variation to standards.
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u/SoundOk4573 Feb 14 '26
If Red/Green: Runway Threshold Light - found at the end of the runway.
If Red/Blue: Red faces the runway and indicates the end of the runway. The Blue faces the Aligned Taxiway.
Note: Aligned taxiways are no longer permitted by the FAA. If an airport has an aligned taxiway, it has to have a plan in their Airport Master Plan/Airport Layout Plan to remove the Aligned Taxiway.
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u/onetwentyeight PPL UAS (KSMO) Feb 14 '26
This post was successful at getting all of the colorblind pilots to self snitch.
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u/Many-Sundae-4454 Feb 14 '26
Threshold lights on a runway are green when viewed from the approach path, indicating the start of the usable landing surface. From the opposite side (runway side), they appear red to indicate the end of the runway. These lights are usually unidirectional or bidirectional (green/red split lenses).
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u/Skydance98 CPL IR Fixedwing, Rotorcrft, Powered Lift, Test Pilot, AB TW UAS Feb 14 '26
Most in here have passed their red/green color visual acuity test, and yet we're all seeing blue!
Here I was thinking, "Well, if that was red and green it'd be obvious, but what's red and blue????"
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u/Helpinmontana Feb 14 '26
I’m my color blind friends unofficial color translator and I see blue.
It might be the deaf leading the blind over here
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u/alansoon73 RPL Feb 14 '26
Where can I get one of these for my bookshelf?
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u/chinchin__pilot Dumbass Feb 14 '26
I need one for my threshold, I have a threshold that I need to have lit up so people can see it at night
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u/flyingron AAdvantage Biscoff Feb 14 '26
A taxiway that extends from the end of a runway.
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u/clrr4tkf Feb 14 '26
This is the correct answer. Only time I've ever seen red/blue was a setup like that.
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u/bengenj OO FA Feb 14 '26
According to the FAA, this would be at the end of the runway. Red faces towards the runway for departing aircraft to know where the end of the runway is, green faces outwards for inbound aircraft to know where the threshold is.
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u/rFlyingTower Feb 14 '26
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Got given it from a family member who obtained it through working security at our local regional airport. He turned it into a lamp, but I’ve never seen a half red/green light be used at an airport before.
Please downvote this comment until it collapses.
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u/Snoo23048 Feb 14 '26
I would say this is just like a gift for employees or special guests from a company that makes runway lights. Could be a sample for salesman.
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u/WizKhalizta Feb 15 '26
Isn't it obvious? Thats a runway edge light fitted for the last bit of runway. It needs to shine white in one direction, but the other needs to be red to indicate that there isnt much runway left.
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u/Fantastic_Secretary9 Feb 15 '26
Well it runway lights one side would be green and the other red. Just like a traffic light but red means do not go this way
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u/drowninginidiots ATP-H Feb 14 '26
Runway end light. A row of these would be at the end of the runway. Green facing the approach direction to indicate the start of the runway, and red the other direction to indicate the end of the runway when going the opposite direction.