In nautical navigation, lighthouses are used to inform sailors of upcoming ports or to warn them of dangerous rocky coastlines, reefs, or sandy shoals that may be difficult to see in high tide. The iconic rotating flashlight on a high tower warns maritime sailors or ship captains of the environmental dangers, allowing them to avoid collision and possible damages. The same principles apply for aviation navigation. Tall buildings and large telecommunication towers pose as serious safety hazards to pilots the same way a rocky cliff would to a sailor. Therefore, there is a distinct need for some sort of warning system for pilots and navigators of the skies. This is where aircraft warning lights come into play. Essentially, the warning lights are put in place in order to notify the pilots that there is an object that could be in their way.
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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a helicopter? Fixed-Wing Vertical Take-Off and Landing Aircrafts (Fixed-Wing VTOLs) are the fusion created to fill the void that previous aircrafts created. There are two distinct types of aircrafts, each with their own of advantages and disadvantages. Fixed-wing aircrafts are exactly as they sound; they have wings that are locked into place and cannot move. Because of their structure, they resemble the shape of a bird during flight. Typical airplanes like the Airbus A300 Beluga and the Boeing 777 are fixed wing aircrafts, they require landing strips in order to take off/land and are typically used for commercial air travel. On the other hand, rotorcraft relies on rotary wings positioned on a mast in order to achieve take off. Helicopters and drones are examples of the vertical take-off capability of rotorcraft. Fixed wings have larger capacities and are able to achieve higher speeds, while rotorcrafts are able to stay hovering in the air, making them more practical for emergency scenarios or for dramatic action movie scenes.
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