Definition
Civilian water airports — areas of water designated for the takeoff and landing of seaplanes — that are marked at night by a standard pattern of yellow and white lights. Yellow lights mark the perimeter of the usable landing area, and white lights identify obstructions and hazards within or adjacent to that area.
Plain English
A stretch of water set up for seaplanes to take off and land from, with lights at night so pilots can see where the safe landing area is and where the hazards are.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of airport lighting and beacon colors, especially when identifying airport types at night.
Derivation
‘Civilian’ distinguishes these from military water operating areas, and ‘water airport’ simply means an airport whose surface is water rather than pavement or turf. The lighting colors follow the broader airport convention: yellow for boundaries, white for hazards.
Why Pilots Care
These facilities allow safe night water landings and takeoffs by providing visual references that reduce the risk of misjudging the water surface or colliding with unmarked obstacles.
Grounding Statement
If you are looking for a seaplane base after dark, white-and-yellow beacon flashes tell you it is a lighted civilian water airport.
Intuition Check
Do not read “water airport” as an airport near water. Here it means a designated landing area on water, intended for aircraft that can take off from and land on water.
Example Sentence 1
Before the night flight to the lake, the pilot reviewed the lighting layout for the lighted civilian water airport so they could distinguish the landing area from surrounding obstructions.
Example Sentence 2
After sunset the seaplane instructor used the lights at the lighted civilian water airport to align the approach over the water.