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Runway lights for private airports

az_gila

Well Known Member
A question for private airparks/runway owners.

What runways lights do you use?

In researching I can only find two options -

1. Windtek - https://www.bestwindsocks.com/product/complete-runway-light

2. AC Spruce and Wag Aero - https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/wag-runway-lamp.php

We have the second one, but after 16+ years the wiring is getting problematic and attempts have been made to overcome voltage drops with LED lamps. Unfortunately LED bulbs do not really fit the sockets in either design. Re-wiring is being looked at but the cost of 8,000 ft of cable is up there. :)

Does anyone have any innovative solutions that have worked out in practice?

Any special maintenance issues involved?

In our case we have about 56 yellow cone light heads.
 
We have had the wag aero style lights on our strip for a couple of decades. Worst thing about them is that any pressure on the reflectors bends the reflector and breaks the bulb. I've modified most of ours using springs to hold the reflectors which cures the bending, but still breaks the bulb. (Slightly less bad is how fast the paint peels off.) I've contemplated finding some 120V LEDs, removing the bulb sockets, and soldering them in. Barring defects, they'll never need to be replaced. Downside (at least for some) would be that the dimming function of the radio controller would likely no longer work.

What kind of problems with the wiring? If it's really multiple issues on the buried runs, Solar powered LEDs might be cheaper than replacing the wire. There was a company about a decade ago offering self contained (sealed) lights. They sent me several test samples, but they were so dim they weren't visible for more than a couple hundred feet. Then all but one quit functioning after a few months.

I'd seriously consider rolling my own individual solar cell/battery rig for each light. With today's level of tech for solar cells, LEDs, & batteries, It should be far less expensive than re-laying thousands of feet of wire. You could probably use the existing light assys for mounting.

Charlie
 
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Runway lights

Our runway lights are from a municipal airport that upgraded their lights. The bulbs have a special base that must be used - which are expensive. We also have a dimming issue with 3400 ft run of 120 volts. The lights were dim at the end of the run. Our solution was to buy LED household bulbs, remove the bases from the special bulbs and solder them on the household bulbs. This reduced power draw, has eliminated the dim lights, and reduced overall power consumption. The bulbs are much cheaper and, so far, have not had to replace any of the LED bulbs.
Now if we could only figure out why lighting storms turns on the lights.....:)
 
I'm surprised there isn't a solar-powered LED solution available... that would allow installation with no wiring...
 

These look to be the closest -

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/av70lighting.php

But even in the AZ solar capital of the US this sentence is in there -

Are these pilot controllable or always on? How long will the lights stay on, i.e. How long will the battery last each night?
All solar aviation lights come with an external on/off switch. The time each light will last depends on the amount of sunlight accumulated during the day.


I'll call and get quotes on some of the others.

As a backup we have used the low profile "stick on" ones but find they start out well but wear out/fail quickly.
 
Two more considerations:
* Incandescent bulbs will melt snow, LEDs will not;
* If any of the RVs on the field are equipped with IR cameras for low viz landings, incandescent bulbs will be visible, LEDs will not.

Ed
 
With the quality of the reflective surfaces and the bright LED landing lights we have now, why not put threshold lights and fill in between with reflectors. Have you ever noticed driving at night, when you get on a hill, how far you see the reflectors down the road.
Allen Blackwell
South Mississippi
RV7A very slow build
 
Home made out of a sealed LED put on top of a pvc tube and stabilized with a plastic bucket top. $14 each.
I am away but will get a pic posted when I get back next week and a link to the LED product.
No controller. At just a few watts each, they burn 24/7.
In ground wiring was shot. Pulling the new wire was the biggest effort. We lucked out and found a vibrating cable laying machine we ?borrowed?.
 
With the quality of the reflective surfaces and the bright LED landing lights we have now, why not put threshold lights and fill in between with reflectors. Have you ever noticed driving at night, when you get on a hill, how far you see the reflectors down the road.
Allen Blackwell
South Mississippi
RV7A very slow build

I've got some of this specific reflective tape on order and will make up a few FAA-compliant reflectors on a 4 inch plastic pipe to test.

https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/150_5345_39d.pdf

I don't see the local "night-flyers" going for that but it should make a good back-up solution, perhaps interspersed between the runway lights.
 
I replaced the homebuilt runway lights on our runway (73f) this year. We had 45 120v lights - mostly 25w. I bought 80 used commercial lights with the special bulbs and sockets for $400. Each light had an external transformer to connect to the high voltage serial wiring; I didn't use these. I kept the special sockets by removing the glass bulbs from their bases. The old bulb base allowed a standard Edison base to screw into it. I used 3w LED bulbs. This works well. I tried other bulbs but they were too bright.
 
I bought 12 Harbor Freight solar lights, the aluminum base pathway, 1&1/2 years ago only 1 has quit. They will illuminate for several hours. You could glue them on 12?x12? pavers to keep grass from growing near them. They are low profile which allows mowing over them. Work pretty well for the money. I thought about painting the pavers with a reflective coating. YMMV
 
These are some homemade fixtures using standard runway lenses. They were made with large PVC fittings. The nice thing is that they will break if hit by a plane that veers off the runway. You can use any socket for any bulb that you want. You can even put reflective tape around them. They are easy to make.
I will also have one of those high voltage transformers used on normal runways. It will need a little work, but will be cheaper than a new one. You are going to have to want it bad though, It weighs between 600 to 800 lbs.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B4t1Icm8QmkzdktNcFhZWnhWa1E
Allen Blackwell
South Mississippi
RV7A very slow build
 
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These are some homemade fixtures using standard runway lenses. They were made with large PVC fittings. The nice thing is that they will break if hit by a plane that veers off the runway. You can use any socket for any bulb that you want. You can even put reflective tape around them. They are easy to make.
I will also have one of those high voltage transformers used on normal runways. It will need a little work, but will be cheaper than a new one. You are going to have to want it bad though, It weighs between 600 to 800 lbs.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B4t1Icm8QmkzdktNcFhZWnhWa1E
Allen Blackwell
South Mississippi
RV7A very slow build

Neat - Where did the glass globes come from?
 
Gil, The lenses can be bought from any company selling runway lights.
Allen Blackwell
South Mississippi
RV7A very slow build
 
Heh. The little strip where I learned to fly had six kerosene lanterns, a few strands of Christmas lights, and a couple of stolen road sign blinkies. Pilot-controlled too: if you were planning to fly at night, you were responsible for setting out your own lights before takeoff and putting them away when you were done.
 
I use solar dock lights every 150 feet. I put them on 14"x14" pavers. They go 72 hours on a charge. I have to replace about 10% per year from water infiltration, but have begun to experiment with different sealants to keep them dry. At $10 a piece it is a very cheap and effective way to light a strip.
 
Heh. The little strip where I learned to fly had six kerosene lanterns, a few strands of Christmas lights, and a couple of stolen road sign blinkies. Pilot-controlled too: if you were planning to fly at night, you were responsible for setting out your own lights before takeoff and putting them away when you were done.

The three jets that are shareholders/residents for our runway would probably not go for that idea...:D
 
I have used Striplin Runway Lights on a private strip. Not fancy but they do the job at reasonable cost.
 
Howdy Gil

We just replaced our runway lights at 1T7. I found these, link below, but made by Lithonia for $19 each. Well built, fully sealed, standard bulb socket. Mounted to 1/2 pvc to make them breakaway. We have 12 approach/eor lights that I designed an led PCB socket, and built to put in these fixtures. $300 for all parts to build led sockets. The LEDs pull 5 mW and are easily visible from 2 miles. Happy to answer any questions.

https://www.amazon.com/EATON-Lighti...ocphy=9028313&hvtargid=pla-338343361437&psc=1
 
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I have used Striplin Runway Lights on a private strip. Not fancy but they do the job at reasonable cost.

Thanks... I seemed to have missed this company in my on-line searches.

Just spoke to them and they seem to have a nice product with glass globes and standard sockets big enough to take LED bulbs.

I'll get a sample to try out and we can have a "light off" test - or should that be "light on" test...:)

Our problem is probably going to the the 18 year old wiring and connections in plastic conduit.
 
Well the drug runners have a few cars drive to ends of runway and turn on the high beams.... :eek: (from what I see in the movies...)

This is not a recommendation but curiosity. I have a bunch of solar powered LED lights linning my drive (about 20 of them). They have been working for 2 years. Had to take them apart and clean corroded switch contacts (actually bypassed switch). They are cheap and work. Have no idea how ideal that would be for runways... They are white, medium brightness and light is focused light towards ground, They are cheap. I bought boxes of 10 or 12 for $15.00 on sale from HF. You can litter the edge of the runway for a few hundred bucks. If you have full sunlight during the day they last about +6 hours. Overcast about 4 hours run time. Of course they come on automatically at darkness....

I am very particular about night approaches and runway lighting... Unless I know the runway, terrain and/or there is moon light and/or PAPI or VASI, with legit standard runway/taxi lighting, not landing there. Private strip, never been there, non standard lighting, no approach aid... nope....
 
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Well the drug runners have a few cars drive to ends of runway and turn on the high beams.... :eek: (from what I see in the movies...)

This is not a recommendation but curiosity. I have a bunch of solar powered LED lights linning my drive (about 20 of them). They have been working for 2 years. Had to take them apart and clean corroded switch contacts (actually bypassed switch). They are cheap and work. Have no idea how ideal that would be for runways... They are white, medium brightness and light is focused light towards ground, They are cheap. I bought boxes of 10 or 12 for $15.00 on sale from HF. You can litter the edge of the runway for a few hundred bucks. If you have full sunlight during the day they last about +6 hours. Overcast about 4 hours run time. Of course they come on automatically at darkness....

I am very particular about night approaches and runway lighting... Unless I know the runway, terrain and/or there is moon light and/or PAPI or VASI, with legit standard runway/taxi lighting, not landing there. Private strip, never been there, non standard lighting, no approach aid... nope....


When I flew gliders out in the Mojave desert several folks had maps marked out with locations of straight roads with clear shoulders. A lot had landing tires marks on them...:)



We are using as back-ups the solar powered small lights that look like normal street centerline reflective 'bumps' and are glued down.

They seem to work well when new, but lose brightness fairly quickly and then fail completely in 1 - 2 years. I'm sure the AZ summer heat on a black runway surface doesn't help longevity.

We do have a VASI for approach on the preferred (uphill) night runway.
 
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If you have full sunlight during the day they last about +6 hours. Overcast about 4 hours run time. Of course they come on automatically at darkness....
That's basically why the Home Depot-grade lights aren't suitable... You have to limit night ops to 4 or less hours from sunset, because you don't know what the day's light profile looked like, or what the age of the batteries/LEDs/etc. are in the lights.
 
We looked into the solar bump lights as well, even got a sample of a couple designed and sold for airports. If you don't have power or want to use as taxi lights they are a good option. They do not work well for runway lighting as they cannot be seen well at all unless you are on the glide path and even then, they cannot come close to a 40 watt equivelant bulb and fixture. They also have a 10% failure rate from what we could gather and the batteries are only rated for 5 years, so plan on replacing them all again in about that time frame.

We already had the wire run for 120vac and were just replacing lights, so replacement fixtures were our best choice. Added plus was same fixture for eor as runway light. The prototype red/green led bulb I made ran perfect for 6 years, until I just replaced it with the final version.
 
A question for private airparks/runway owners.

What runways lights do you use?

In researching I can only find two options -

1. Windtek - https://www.bestwindsocks.com/product/complete-runway-light

2. AC Spruce and Wag Aero - https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/wag-runway-lamp.php

We have the second one, but after 16+ years the wiring is getting problematic and attempts have been made to overcome voltage drops with LED lamps. Unfortunately LED bulbs do not really fit the sockets in either design. Re-wiring is being looked at but the cost of 8,000 ft of cable is up there. :)

Does anyone have any innovative solutions that have worked out in practice?

Any special maintenance issues involved?

In our case we have about 56 yellow cone light heads.

Gill,

We have the Wag Aero fixtures on TA67 3000? grass. 2 years ago we traded out the 15W E17 incandescent bulbs with LED Microwave bulbs 6000K which are equivalent to 35W Halogen. The concensous on the field is way better, brighter, whiter light, with less energy consumption, and less voltage drop due to lower wattage. Only complaint is the LED?s are more prone to failure with lightining strikes than the incandescent.

The LED?s we used are 4W 360 Lumens 6000K, E17 base, Silicone coated. You can find them here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HPHEM7...olid=35EHCVTUR7G52&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
 
Gill,

We have the Wag Aero fixtures on TA67 3000’ grass. 2 years ago we traded out the 15W E17 incandescent bulbs with LED Microwave bulbs 6000K which are equivalent to 35W Halogen. The concensous on the field is way better, brighter, whiter light, with less energy consumption, and less voltage drop due to lower wattage. Only complaint is the LED’s are more prone to failure with lightining strikes than the incandescent.

The LED’s we used are 4W 360 Lumens 6000K, E17 base, Silicone coated. You can find them here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HPHEM7...olid=35EHCVTUR7G52&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Thanks - we'll look into those. Our manager has been buying Chinese LED ones by the box but they seem to the taller than the ones you show and don't fit well under the Wag Aero glass domes.

As far a lightning goes, it looks like we are pretty similar to your area....:)

https://images.theconversation.com/files/149439/original/image-20161209-31402-akeyik.png

We had a lightning detector station on our airpark for many years until Global Atmospherics Inc. of Tucson got bought out by Viasala, who made the map above. How the whole detector network works is quite interesting.
 
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