In Germany I’d estimate that at least half of the airfields still have them and if they are there, the T is actually binding (while what the “man at the radio” tells you is non binding…)
Peter wrote:
If so, how does the owner know how much money is due?
Maybe they don’t charge a landing fee? Custom varies between countries, as usual.
Can’t remember ever seeing one of those in Norway. How are they supposed to work in snow anyway? I have heard/read about them I think, maybe it was PPL training in 92 ? but I was of the impression this was a military thing?
We used to have one here, but it disappeared when we moved the windsock. Nowadays, even if there was one, there would be no one around regularly enough to make the changes.
Peter
The Aldis lamp gets used every time I do a night rating or simulate a radio failure for a student.
A few years back I was glad I took the time to teach this when a student had a radio failure in the circuit at night, Two military helicopters on the runway so ATC fired very flares to signal my student to go around and used the Aldis lamp to clear him to land.
I’ve noticed pretty much all GA fields in NL have these. I found them to be quite funny and antiquated, as in 17 years of flying in the US I’d never seen or heard of such a thing. At uncontrolled fields in the US there is nothing “binding” at all, and even the standard traffic circuit is only a strong suggestion. There’s nothing to stop someone from landing on 09, and the next guy on 27 if traffic allows. For instrument training it’s quite common to find uncontrolled fields with published approaches (many have them) and just go practice while announcing intentions on the CTAF.
OTOH I’ve had to use the light signals twice to get on the ground when I lost power after already being cleared in VFR but before getting a landing clearance (i.e. lost comm while already in the circuit).
Having done 80% of my IR rating & 100% Night training in a grass strip, I think these signals are difficult to see during overhead joins at 2000ft agl in OVC006 or ETA2300Z 
dutch_flyer wrote:
as in 17 years of flying in the US I’d never seen or heard of such a thing.
They were part of my PPL training (KBUR, late 90s) and I recall having seen some at remote untowered strips, e.g. Twentynine Palms IIRC. If they are still in use and if so who moves them in these places I have no idea.
The Aldis lamp codes are definitely still in use and part of every license or rating syllabus in the US.
Malibuflyer wrote:
. . if they are there, the T is actually binding . .
If the field is deserted, and/or even at Licensed fields which has ATC but it is ‘out of hours’, you have no guarantee that the T reflects the latest wind.
It was always drummed in to me that it is the Wind Sock which is the definitive authority.
I’m not familiar with signals squares. I’d go by windsock and radio with other traffic. And I’m a VFR pilot.
An elderly pilot never flew again after wrecking his plane landing downwind at a Scottish strip fly-in. He landed according to the signal square T, which was never moved
A Piper Cub had a radio failure at Inverness. ATC used a while lamp, but didn’t open the window. Due to the glass, he saw it as green and landed.
At Thruxton, in 1964, a busy no-radio training airfield with no ATC, an instructor’s wife was waiting for him, with their young family. The eldest, 7? year old, slipped out, put her younger siblings on the T and used it as a roundabout. Chaos until she was spotted.
