[TowerTalk] Tower lighting (when not actually required)

[Ryan Niemi - AV]

Hi everyone,
	I've been browsing through the TowerTalk archives, and noticed a
discussion back in 1997 that mentioned something about the FCC requiring
certified lighting equipment if you decide to light a tower that doesn't
actually require lighting.  I have a 60' tower at the top of a local hill.  
My nearest airport is 27,000 feet away, so by Part 17, my tower isn't
required to be lighted.  There's a 160' lighted cell tower a couple
hundred yards away, but in the evenings I still occasionally see aircraft
zip by at rather close range (sight seeing?).  As a pilot myself, I don't
see the point in flying close to those pretty red lights at night, but
each to his own I guess..  The top of the hill is slightly higher than
pattern altitude at the airport and the site is right on the edge of the
city 900' below, so perhaps that has something to do with it.  To make
things more interesting, the contour of the hill and location of other
lighted towers appears deceiving from the air at night.  Here's some crude
ASCII drawings of a side profile:



              160' Cell     My 60' tower          140' Cell

                  |
                  |            |
                  |            |
                  |     ___------_
             _---------/          \
          __/                      \
                                    \                 |
                                      \__             |
                                          \___      __|_
                                               \___/    \     Airport ->
                                                          \___  (4.5 mi)

	The result is that from the air at night, it appears there's
nothing between the two lighted cell towers although the hill slopes up a
bit and my tower is at the highest point on the hill (to within a few
feet).

	For a while I was considering putting a small (non-certified)  
white strobe near the top of the tower, but the discussion in the 1997
TowerTalk archives now has me unsure.  I can't find in Part 17 any
applicable rules about equipment usage when lighting isn't required.  
Could someone point out where in the FCC regs I should be looking?  Does
the FCC actually run around fining people that use non-certified lighting
in situations where no lighting was required?  It seems counter-productive
that the FCC would prefer no lighting over non-certified lighting, but
that's government I guess.

	One thought I had is that the strobe could be considered an
'aiming aid'.  At the top of the tower is a point-to-multipoint microwave
system that requires tight aim on the high gain dishes at other sites.  
It can be pretty tricky to pick out my wimply 60' Rohn 25 at any
appreciable distance even with binoculars.  It would certainly be easier
to pick out with a small strobe firing every 2 seconds.  Could I make a
reasonable case that the strobe is really there for aiming, and not for
obstruction lighting?  Of course, aircraft seeing the strobe and avoiding
my tower would just be a side benefit..  I assume the same case couldn't
be made for a non-certified steady burning red light.

	Do I really run any appreciable risk by lighting with
non-certified lights?  The site is about a mile down a closed-access dirt
road.  Should I expect FCC people to go off-roading to check out new
lighted towers that have popped up, rather than more important things like
DF'ing pirate FM stations?  Does this only become an issue if an aircraft
crashes into the tower despite the light(s)?

	If you have a tower that doesn't require lighting but you light it
anyway, does the tower suddenly become subject to the painting
requirements too?  Are you still required to make nightly lighting
observations and inform the FAA if lights are out?  I can hear it now,
"Umm, my tower wasn't required to be lighted and it was a non-lit tower
the night the lights were out.."

	Anyone have an inexpensive source for certified single 116W or
125W red obstruction lights, or even white strobes if there are any
affordable options around?  Some time back I found certified 125W red
obstruction lights listed on the 'net for around $100, but it seems I
didn't bookmark the page..

-Ryan


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