This structure is a 53 foot tall pyramid tower beacon that was transferred to the Imperial County Historical Society following its dismissal from the abandoned FAA control tower facility near the Imperial County Fire Department due the technology involved falling into obsolescence. The tower is fitted with an FAA certified airport Green/White light beacon system, originally used to signify the location of Airports. Historically, an Airway Beacon like this, or Aerial Lighthouse, is a structure designed to assist pilots in navigation using a revolving light assembly sat upon a large tower.
These airway beacons have several main components; The revolving light, a set of fixed colored course lights, a parabolic mirror and a 110-volt, 1 kilowatt lamp. This light is then sent spinning to create a one-tenth second flash every ten seconds. In favorable conditions these lights were able to guide pilot navigation in all directions up to 40 miles. These course lights flash a Morse code letter identifying the beacon to the pilot. 1
- Past Perfect [2002.62.4]
Past Perfect [A2010.31.9] ↩︎