Runway lights question

[b3burner]

This may seem like a silly question, but bear in mind I've never stood on a real runway before to see these in action, plus... the lighting effect on the simulator is "virtual" and therefore the lights are not actually in the way of the airplanes. So from this perspective, my question is marginally legit:

Regarding the runway lights that are actually in a plane's path (not the ones off to the edges), my question is how do large jets land without cracking/crushing/breaking the lenses of the lights on the ground with their tires?

[jeroen79]

They are recessed into a hard metal casing that is flush with the runwaysurface.

[ReggieF5421]

Here is how they look

http://www.genesislamp.com/hoailifi.html

These Honeywell lights weigh less than 12 lbs, mount in a 'standard base' set 0.75 inches below the surface and extend no more than 0.25 inches above the runway/taxiway surface. Runway lights use 48 watt halogen bulbs and taxiway lights use 30 watt bulbs.

The light fixtures are 8 inches in diameter but the actual lense is much smaller - maybe an inch in size. That speads any weight on the fixture across the metal and base, along with the overlap of the tires on the runway/ taxiway surface.

[b3burner]

Wow thanks! That is hecka' fascinating to me. They are so small... it's hard to believe they can be seen from the distances that they can. I wonder what happened to the blue ones for the edges of the taxiways?

I often thought it would be fun to get a job being the guy maintaining the runway/taxiway lights at an airport... but alas, I think you gotta' be a county/city public works employee, and they just don't hand those jobs out entry level to those who suddenly decide they want to change careers.

Hmm... maybe a job at the company that makes these things would be interesting. Err... scratch that... they're in Painsville, OH... a bit of a commute from Oakland, CA.