A windsock is the least sophisticated instrument on a helideck and one of the most
important. It shows the pilot the wind at the deck, at the moment of landing, in a form that
needs no interpretation - direction from the way it points, strength from how far it lifts. No
anemometer reading relayed by radio does the same job, because what the pilot needs is the
airflow where the aircraft will be, including whatever the structure itself is doing to it.
Illumination is what makes it useful for the two thirds of the day when it would otherwise
be invisible. An unlit windsock on a night approach is not a degraded aid, it is no aid at all,
and the pilot is left with a wind figure from the radio and no way to see the local flow. A lit
sock keeps the reference available through the whole approach.
Q-Aviation offer this as part of their helideck lighting range, which spans the HAPI approach
path indicator, the Circle and H marking, windsocks, perimeter, flood, status and obstruction
lights. They describe a high-end windsock assembly finished in FAA orange powder coat, with
portable, solar and rigid solutions available. The FAA orange is a standard conspicuity colour
rather than a styling choice, and the powder coat is what keeps it that colour in sunlight and
salt. The solar variant is worth knowing about for positions where running a supply is
disproportionate - a remote pad, a temporary site, a structure with no spare circuit.
The explosion-proof construction applies to the lighting, since the fabric sock itself is
inert. On a hydrocarbon facility the luminaire and its wiring are certified equipment like
everything else in the classified area, and the zone, gas group and temperature class for the
variant supplied are confirmed against the classification drawing at quotation.
What actually determines whether a windsock works is siting, and it is worth raising early.
The sock has to be in clean air, visible from the approach, and not in the wake of the derrick,
the accommodation block or a crane - otherwise it faithfully reports a disturbed flow that
tells the pilot nothing about the deck. That is a positioning decision made with the deck layout
in front of you, not a product choice.
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