Helideck Lighting Systems

Green perimeter lights around the landing area, floodlights and/or the lit Circle-H for surface and positioning cues, red status lights, a lit wind direction indicator and the controllers that switch and monitor everything. Together with the painted helideck markings they form the visual guidance system required by CAP 437.

To warn the helicopter crew that the deck is unsafe for landing. Red lights flash at 120 flashes per minute when, for example, a gas release or platform alarm is active. They are usually switched automatically by the installation's alarm systems, with manual override.

Green, steady-burning lights around the edge of the landing area that show the pilot its shape and size. On helidecks they are spaced no more than 3 m apart and kept low so they don't become an obstacle. See our Q-Perimeter Light and its explosion proof version.

A helideck is a landing area on an offshore installation or ship; a helipad (or heliport) is on land, at ground level or on a building. Both use green perimeter lights, but helidecks follow CAP 437 with status lights and the lit Circle-H and often need explosion proof fittings, while onshore helipad lighting follows ICAO Annex 14 Volume II and national rules such as CAP 1264.

Circle-H is the lighting scheme for the touchdown/positioning marking (TD/PM) circle and the heliport identification marking "H": yellow lights outline the circle and green lights outline the H. It gives the pilot positioning cues in the centre of the deck and removes the "black hole" effect. In UK waters it is required for night operations; our Q-TD/PM system provides both elements.

The painted markings that identify the helideck and its limits: the white perimeter line, the yellow TD/PM circle with the H, the D-value and maximum allowable mass, the obstacle-free sector and the name of the installation. At night the helideck lighting system makes these markings usable.