PAPI Lights

Avlite's AV-PAPI Series 3 is a precision approach path indicator providing pilots with accurate glide-slope guidance on final approach through a four-unit (L-880) or two-unit (L-881) array of LED light heads. Each head produces a sharp transition between red (below glide path) and white (above glide path), allowing the flight crew to read their position relative to the target approach angle from extended final without ambiguity.

The Series 3 completed FAA L-880/881 (L) Intertek certification to AC 150/5345-28H Style A Class I and ICAO photometric and chromaticity third-party testing. It meets UFC 3-535-01 requirements for military applications. A US national Buy American Waiver (jointly with the AV-70) allows AIP-funded airport construction projects to procure the unit without a domestic manufacturing waiver process.

The patented LED optic achieves the sharpest red/white transition available in an LED PAPI, which is the critical safety parameter: a smeared transition produces an ambiguous signal to the pilot and widens the window of incorrect approach angles. Power consumption is correspondingly low — enabling solar operation and reducing demand on existing CCR circuits. Available in both two-box (A-PAPI for helicopters and smaller aerodromes) and four-box (standard PAPI) configurations.

For GCC procurement teams, the permanent AC or CCR installation version suits main international airport runways. The portable configuration with retractable legs allows rapid deployment for displaced threshold operations, emergency runway closures, or temporary airfields. IR and NVG variants are available for military applications across the region.