LED tail rotor safety and status indication lighting system
One embodiment is a rotorcraft comprising a fuselage; an empennage at an aft end of the fuselage; a tail rotor connected to the empennage; and a tail rotor guard (TRG) around the tail rotor, the TRG shrouding to the tail rotor; and a light emitting diode (LED) lighting element integrated into at least one surface of the TRG.
1. A rotorcraft comprising:
a fuselage;
an empennage at an aft end of the fuselage;
a tail rotor connected to the empennage;
a tail rotor guard (TRG) around the tail rotor, the TRG shrouding to the tail rotor; and
a light emitting diode (LED) lighting element integrated into at least one surface of the TRG;
wherein a state of the LED lighting element indicates a status of the rotorcraft.
2. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein the at least one surface of the TRG comprises side edges of the TRG.
3. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein the at least one surface of the TRG comprises leading edges of the TRG.
4. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein the at least one surface of the TRG comprises trailing edges of the TRG.
5. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein the at least one surface of the TRG comprises one or more of a leading edge, a side edge, and a trailing edge of the TRG.
6. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein the LED lighting element comprises a plurality of LED lighting elements disposed on a single edge of the TRG.
7. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein the LED lighting element comprises an LED light tube.
8. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein the LED lighting element comprises an LED light strip.
9. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein the state of the LED lighting element comprises at least one of a color of the LED lighting element, a frequency with which the LED lighting element flashes, a brilliance of the LED lighting element, and an intensity of the LED lighting element.
10. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein the LED lighting element comprises a plurality of LED lighting elements, and wherein each of the LED lighting elements is in a different state than the other ones of the LED lighting elements simultaneously and wherein the different states collectively indicate the status of the rotorcraft.