Did I miss the memo....

[Way2Broke]

We don't use memos in aviation.

I have worked at various 135 and 121 operaters and have recieved memos at all of them. However, I prefer to call them nastygrams, because I have never seen anything good for me come out of one. So in that since I guess your right. Now that I am done with a completely useless post I will shut up.

 

[glasspilot]

If you're not actually sitting in the airplane, you can tell by the brightness of the nav lights whether the GPU is providing proper power or you're discharging your batteries.

Don't know if that's the "official" reason, but it's what I was taught, and why I do it.

Fly safe!

David

Another reason is it lets you know from the outside that the aircraft is powered. I know you can hear the GPU, but you don't know the power is switched on from the inside unless the Navs are on. On most aircraft you shouldn't / mustn't turn off the GPU / APU with power on it.

Another consideration is the glass cockpits in use today. Many of those screens run well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and operators don't want them on any more than they have to to extend the life. Leaving the Nav lights on when ever powered (eng, APU, or GPU) lets folks away from the plane know the glass is lit too.

Hope this helps.