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Landing light replacement suggestions

S

Sig600

Well Known Member
So attached is a picture of my wingtip setup. Taxi lights are standard, Landing lights are HID. They suck. Radio noise when they're on I haven't been able to isolate, and now one of them just up and quit. A new bulb (if that's all it is) is $150. So rather than continuing to fight with them, I'm looking to just toss them and go with something else.

Looking for suggestions... preferably a drop in replacement. If I'm going to rework all this it'll probably be the AeroLED setup, but I really REALLY don't want to worry cutting/sanding/damaging the paint.

Whose got ideas?

j7ua09.jpg
 
It depends if you really want good light or not. I went from standard lights to HID's there, and have the same issues, plus you just don't really get much in the way of light on the runway ahead of you. WHen I have teh time, money, and energy, I'm going to cut Duckworks into the leading edge and use a good quality LED system.

I'm talking about the Valkyrie here - the other two airplanes have LED lights in Duckwork's mounts, and they are greta!
 
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Have you thought about just replacing the bulb with a high lumen (1,000+) LED? Most common headlight bulbs now have drop in replacements. I have used superbrightleds.com and they carry lots of different LED bulbs.

Just a thought.

:cool:
 
I started with Duckworks HID for landing on the right, halogen on the left for taxi (taildragger). So, so. After adding AeroLEDs Vx in the tips, it's like sitting in an IMAX theater. The HID helps with long-range narrow penetration, but the LED diffusion is across the entire 100 foot runway for superb peripheral vision and filling in the black hole forward.

You won't damage paint if you take care making the cut-out. The raw edge is mostly hidden by the bezel, and can simply be brush touch up.

John Siebold
 
I went from your style of light only halogen, to a Xenon HID and now to a Trust fire flashlight LED. The amount of light that I get from these flash lights are just not comparable to the other two version (11000 LM each) and I have zero detectable RF noise or interference with my NAV where I could hear a hummm even with the halogen lights. The cost was about $100 total and I get wig-wag, SOS with the setup.
 
I've been very happy with the Baja Designs Squadron Pro LED lights. They fit quite nicely in the wingtips and output a lot of light (4,300 lumens)!

DSCN2940.JPG


They work great on the ground.
DSCN2944.JPG


And on landings.
DSCN2946.JPG


They aren't the cheapest lights out there ($225 each), but they have proven to work well in my RV over the last 100 hours. I get compliments almost every flight for how bright they are when wig-wag'd!

My full installation write-up is here:
http://rvplane.com/?categoryid=10000&dayid=1143
http://rvplane.com/?categoryid=10000&dayid=1144
 
Bavafa said:
I went from your style of light only halogen, to a Xenon HID and now to a Trust fire flashlight LED. The amount of light that I get from these flash lights are just not comparable to the other two version (11000 LM each) and I have zero detectable RF noise or interference with my NAV where I could hear a hummm even with the halogen lights. The cost was about $100 total and I get wig-wag, SOS with the setup.
Click to expand...

Can you post a pic or source?
 
GalinHdz said:
Have you thought about just replacing the bulb with a high lumen (1,000+) LED? Most common headlight bulbs now have drop in replacements. I have used superbrightleds.com and they carry lots of different LED bulbs.

Just a thought.

:cool:
Click to expand...

I ordered a couple LED MR16 replacement bulbs. We'll see how those work. I find the light output of the vans 75w lights to be adequate, I really just want to cut the current draw and see if I can eliminate the RF noise. If this doesn't solve it ($30 for 4 400 lumen bulbs) I'll have to get drastic.

Mike I saw your write up last night, looks like you went with prett heavy aluminum to handle the weight?
 
These have been pretty popular for a wingtip solution. Unfortunately no matter what you do, you just cant get past the wall in the lens that parallels the fuse. Anything forward of that slant wall and your now in FAA reg trouble with viewing angles at night.
KitLandingLightWingTip.jpeg
 
Sig600 said:
Can you post a pic or source?
Click to expand...

Let's see if this works as flicker has changed much and not as easy as in the past. The only photo of the installed I have currently


LL6 by bavafa1, on Flickr

and this is what the inside looks like for the connection. As for the installation goes, I used the same method of how your lights are connected with three screws and spring for adjustments.


photo by bavafa1, on Flickr

other info that might be useful. My total draw at full brightness is less than the halogen light or the HID that I had in the past. I use the lights in strobe or SOS mode during each take off and landing during the day now and have had no issues with them so far (roughly 8 months of operation)

I ran a shielded wire to get the noise to zero level. Without a shielded wire, I had a slight noise when both were connected and some effect on my VOR when farther away.
 
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Kahuna said:
These have been pretty popular for a wingtip solution. Unfortunately no matter what you do, you just cant get past the wall in the lens that parallels the fuse. Anything forward of that slant wall and your now in FAA reg trouble with viewing angles at night.
KitLandingLightWingTip.jpeg
Click to expand...

For those who have the Whelen 71685 series lights installed and operational, I am curious to know how much light they really produce. How do they stack up against the typical 4509 incandescent? How do they stack up against the halogen MR-16's that we often see in these wingtip installations?

I'm looking for wingtip lights which will serve dual purposes - recognition for that "see and avoid" requirement in the air, and, more importantly, to actually be able to SEE down the runway to land at night. Our airport has lots of critters running around so I'm looking for lots of light to enable me to "see and avoid" on the ground, too!
 
AndyRV7 said:
What are the legalities with these lights? I was under the impression that there needed to be 110 degrees of visibility to the position lights?
Click to expand...

Yes, and the position lights do meet the 110 degrees of visibility. The position light is located in the front of the Pulsar NS90, and the Aerosun Vx does not block it at 110 degrees.
 
"I'm talking about the Valkyrie here - the other two airplanes have LED lights in Duckwork's mounts, and they are greta!"

Paul, which lights are you happy with in the Duckworks mounts?

I have one old incandescent in my left wing and would love to add a second mount on the right and go bright LEDs with wig wag for super visibility.

Randall in Sedona.
 
Randy said:
"I'm talking about the Valkyrie here - the other two airplanes have LED lights in Duckwork's mounts, and they are greta!"

Paul, which lights are you happy with in the Duckworks mounts?

I have one old incandescent in my left wing and would love to add a second mount on the right and go bright LEDs with wig wag for super visibility.

Randall in Sedona.
Click to expand...

One has the Aerosun 1200 lights from AeroLED, the other has Whelens purchased from Team Aerodynamix. The AeroLED's have a built-in wig-wag capability - the Whelen's are less expensive. Both look like 737's coming down final at dusk.
 
This is how my landing lights are mounted. Lens only on wingtip, no cutting of leading edge of wing. Sheldon
led%20landing%20light%20009_zpsmdnnbaol.jpg.html
 
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