Editing Beacon (section)

== For navigation ==
[[File:Beacon at Orontes Bank.jpg|right|thumb|A navigational beacon denoting the presence of Orontes Bank off [[Port Vincent, South Australia]].]]

Beacons help guide [[navigation|navigators]] to their destinations. Types of navigational beacons include [[radar]] reflectors, [[radio beacons]], sonic and visual signals. Visual beacons range from small, single-pile structures to large [[lighthouse]]s or light stations and can be located on land or on water. Lighted beacons are called ''lights''; unlighted beacons are called ''[[Day beacon|daybeacon]]s''. [[Aerodrome beacon]]s are used to indicate locations of airports and helipads.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mackall |first=K.W. |date=1931-11-01 |title=U.S. Aerodrome Lighting |url=https://doi.org/10.1108/eb029474 |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |volume=3 |issue=11 |pages=285–290 |doi=10.1108/eb029474 |issn=0002-2667|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In the United States, a series of beacons were constructed across the country in the 1920s and 1930s to help guide pilots delivering [[air mail]]. They were placed about 25 miles apart from each other, and included large concrete arrows with accompanying lights to illuminate them.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Street |first=Francesca |date=2018-07-11 |title=The mysterious giant arrows used by airplanes |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/concrete-arrows-america/index.html |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

Handheld beacons are also employed in [[aircraft marshalling]], and are used by the marshal to deliver instructions to the crew of aircraft as they move around an active airport, heliport or aircraft carrier.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}