Definition
Civilian airports on land that are equipped with operational lighting for night use. On aeronautical charts and in the Chart Supplement, they are identified by a standard symbol and marked with a rotating beacon that alternates white and green flashes to identify the airport from the air at night.
Plain English
Regular (non-military, non-water) airports on land that have lights so airplanes can find and use them at night. Their identifying beacon flashes white, then green, white, then green.
Context Anchor
Seen in night flying and airport lighting discussions, especially when learning airport beacon color combinations.
Derivation
“Civilian” comes from an older word meaning related to ordinary citizens, not the military. In this aviation phrase, it helps separate regular public-use or private non-military airports from military airports, while “land” separates them from water landing areas.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots must verify an airport is lighted before conducting night operations to meet regulatory requirements and avoid unsafe arrivals at unlit fields.
Grounding Statement
If you are approaching an airport after dark and see a repeating white-and-green beacon, the FAA pattern points to a lighted civilian land airport.
Intuition Check
Do not read “civilian” as meaning casual, unofficial, or uncontrolled. Here it means non-military; the airport may still have rules, lighting systems, and air traffic procedures.
Example Sentence 1
On the night cross-country, the student spotted the alternating white and green flashes of the beacon and confirmed it was a lighted civilian land airport.
Example Sentence 2
Lighted civilian land airports display green threshold lights and white runway edge lights that remain visible from several miles away.