Each helicopter has two independent light systems, both operated by the pilot only.
Spotlight
A long-range white searchlight mounted on the helicopter.
- Activated via the Toggle Spotlight hold action (pilot only)
- Illuminates a wide cone forward from the aircraft — useful for night operations and searching terrain
- Requires battery charge to turn on. If the battery is dead, the spotlight cannot be activated
- Turning the spotlight off is never blocked — you can always shut it off regardless of battery state
- Drains the battery at
CZH_batteryLightDrain units per second while active
Navigation Lights
Standard aviation navigation lights for visibility and orientation.
- Activated via the Toggle Navigation Lights hold action (pilot only)
- Includes:
- Port light — red, left side
- Starboard light — green, right side
- Tail light — white, rear
- Anti-collision beacon — red, flashing
- Requires battery charge to turn on
- Turning off is never blocked
- Drains the battery at
CZH_batteryLightDrain units per second while active
Battery & Lights
Both light systems share the same battery drain rate. If both are on simultaneously, the drain doubles.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|
CZH_batteryLightDrain | Battery units drained per second while any lights are on | 2.0 |
CZH_batteryChargeRate (default 5.0 units/second) while running, so lights during flight will typically not drain the battery.
To disable battery drain from lights entirely, set CZH_batteryLightDrain = 0 in the helicopter’s JSON config. Lights will still require charge to turn on, but won’t drain the battery while on.
HUD Indicators
The HUD displays light status icons visible to both pilot and co-pilot, showing whether the spotlight and navigation lights are currently on or off.
See Controls Reference for the full light toggle action details. 