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Avio LED Navigation Lights

Andrew Anunson

Well Known Member
Has anyone tried out a set of these led lights yet?

http://aviolights.com/navigator-ultra-360.html

At $330 for a set (plus $50 for shipping), they are the least expensive navigation / strobe option that I have seen.

nav_360_2_0.png
 
I just went threw the same dilemma on my project and went with the three position Whelen microburst strobes , since they include a tail light for my rudder and are a comet flash that can be synchronized,,, $100 extra for the third possion even tough there are few A/C that are capable of running over our RVs
 
I just bought and built a set from flyleds. Actually kind of fun to build. I did have a hiccup with one of the components but Paul was great to work with! The components are pretty substantial, and while I'm equally knowledgeable with electronics and rocket science, it seems they're well built. Way better than the ztron units I had that kept failing. And on the plus side, if a component would fail, well, I'd just replace the offending part! Try that with a fully potted fancy light!:)
 
Look at FLYLEDS - A great system.

I just finished building a FLYLEDS Nav/Strobe system. They're very straightforward to construct, they look great in the wingtip recess after you trim the pcb's to size.

Paul is great to work with. I could not recommend these lights highly enough.

And you can't beat the price!
 
I am considering FLYLED but a bit concern about open system where water and moister can easily got to the components. I still have some time to decide so any feed back on those flying ones would be appreciate it.
 
I guess you could always coat the components in some sort of epoxy to seal and guard against water intrusion, but that highly limits the serviceability in the future.

Corrosion X spray might also be a possibility.
 
So back to post #1.... has anybody tried these? I emailed the company for some general import questions and got a quick and friendly reply.
 
So back to post #1.... has anybody tried these? I emailed the company for some general import questions and got a quick and friendly reply.
Any important info that you can share, I am really interested in these and are considering it. Of course I have a fair amount of time before I need to buy so any info would be great.
 
I as well, am a long ways out.... but I do a lot of window shopping. I specifically asked about the VAT fee (import tax).

Here is the reply from the owner of the company, I believe:


Thank you for your email. Each week we ship a few sets to the US. In most of the cases the parcels are not charged with VAT, but if they are then the cost is on the customer side.

We deliver the lights directly from Poland to the US. It takes about 5-7days to have them delivered.

Should you have any further questions, feel free to contat us.

Best regards / Pozdrawiam
Krzysztof Będkowski
aviolights.com
 
I bought Nav/Pos/Strobe wing tip lights from Aveo, they are spendy but they are excellent!

From Aveo? Cool, but, this thread is about Avio.

You'd think the rocket surgeons in charge of naming the company would have picked something different. One letter to differentiate between themselves and another LED lighting outfit doesn't seem too bright... :D
 
I bought Nav/Pos/Strobe wing tip lights from Aveo, they are spendy but they are excellent!

Did you buy the ones that are posted here or a different model?
Within the same price range and size, these are the best looking that I have seen so far and honestly the price is not bad at all.
 
As far as i know and have read none of the lights have to be tsod, they just have to meet the requirements.
 
I guess I should have said "FAA approved" instead of TSO'd...

The Whelen brochure (above) gives specs such as:

"These anti-collision systems must produce a minimum of 400 effective candela in Aviation Red or White (REF. FAR 23.1397), 360?
around the
aircraft?s vertical axis, 75? above and below the horizontal plane (REF. FAR 23.1401).
Note: The position lights must be wired independently of anti-collision light"


Implying that lights which don't meet these requirements are not legal for night flight. Then Whelen proceeds to show several lights which are "FAA approved" along with several which are not. The ones which aren't are lower priced.

Wondering if anyone has resolved the confusion as to what is required for legal night flight.
 
Thanks for the write-up Kahuna. It all made sense until the phrase:

"However it is our responsibility to show that what lighting products we install comply with FAR requirements if we choose to fly at night."

How could an individual builder show that? Do manufacturers supply data for their non-TSO'd products which would satisfy FAR requirements? If not, then it seems that anyone who flies at night without TSO'd, FAR approved lighting is in violation and could be held accountable in case of an accident or just a ramp check.
 
Poor Strobe Coverage

I should have followed up with everyone on this....

Here is what I found out about the Avio lights in May of 2017:
Turns out a friend of mine has these lights, and he told me that the strobe portion of the light is not visible from the front. So, when he is on final approach his strobes are blocked from view (by the rest of the light fixture) to people on the ground. That is not good.

I sent the following question to Avio..."In the US, we are required to have 360 degree strobe coverage. What coverage does your Navigator Ultra 360 lights provide ?"

The reply from Avio Lights..."Our Navigator Ultra 360 have only 200 deg coverage of the strobe light (side and back). There is no strobe light in the front of the lamp. The next generation of Navigator Ultra 360 will have 360 deg strobe coverage. We plan to launch the product in the end of the year."

I don't know if Avio has come out with their improved light or not... but in 2017 the 200 degree strobe was not good enough for me. I went with the non-approved Whelen Microburst. Very very bright and visible from the ground when on final.
 
I should have followed up with everyone on this....

Here is what I found out about the Avio lights in May of 2017:
Turns out a friend of mine has these lights, and he told me that the strobe portion of the light is not visible from the front. So, when he is on final approach his strobes are blocked from view (by the rest of the light fixture) to people on the ground. That is not good.

I sent the following question to Avio..."In the US, we are required to have 360 degree strobe coverage. What coverage does your Navigator Ultra 360 lights provide ?"

The reply from Avio Lights..."Our Navigator Ultra 360 have only 200 deg coverage of the strobe light (side and back). There is no strobe light in the front of the lamp. The next generation of Navigator Ultra 360 will have 360 deg strobe coverage. We plan to launch the product in the end of the year."

I don't know if Avio has come out with their improved light or not... but in 2017 the 200 degree strobe was not good enough for me. I went with the non-approved Whelen Microburst. Very very bright and visible from the ground when on final.

Thanks for the update, I think I will wait till there are some lower priced LED options then.
 
The reply from Avio Lights..."Our Navigator Ultra 360 have only 200 deg coverage of the strobe light...."

I don't know if Avio has come out with their improved light or not...
After posting my above comments, I received an email from Avio with an update about their Navigator Ultra 360. Here is what they wrote..."Our new light is nearly ready (see enclosed photos) and right now we make the last changes in the software before it is released to the market." and "As promised before, it has 360deg strobe coverage, 12-24V power input and synchro feature. The new light will show up on our web soon." The email did not mention price.

They (Avio) have added some strobe led's to the front (colored LED) board, and other than that it has the same look / design. So from the email they sent me and the pictures that they attached to the email... the soon to be released Avio Navigator Ultra 360 should have more complete strobe coverage. My buddy with the Avio lights says that they are very bright.

I am not affiliated with Avio in any way... I am passing along information.
 
Avio LEDs

Looks promising at $330 a pair (+$50 shipping), don?t know if US residents pay VAT as well. Even so, that?s less than half the price of the Whelen Orion 600 I?ve been considering for an upgrade for $510 each (plus shipping). The Avio doesn?t specify if they are FAA/TSO approved so I imagine they are not. There is also no US distributor listed on their website so if there?s any issues back and forth you go to Poland via shipping each way ($$).

If they were TSO?d and had a US distributor (like Acft Spruce) I would consider them but still leaning to the Whelen Orion 600 for above reasons. I don?t know how the Avio 360s compare to the Whelen LEDs but they do look like a nice setup.
 
Andrew, Did you end up getting these lights? I'm seriously considering them as well, and I see that the front strobe versions are online for $410 US.

http://aviolights.com/sky-nav-360.html

Not a lot of info on the 'net about these lights.

Nope... I did not, but the current "Sky Nav" version is intended to provide more complete strobe coverage than the previous version (the Ultra). A friend if mine likes his Ultra version of these.
 
For those considering these lights be aware that over time I've seen these "poured epoxy" style solid lights cloud up. I'm sure others have seen it as well. They all tout UV resistant epoxy resin but I've seen many of them cloud up. Just my 2¢.

I recently purchased the Aveo Engineering Powerburst Daylite 3 in 1 lights and absolutely love them. They have a clear lens like other lights and they are not poured solid. The set of two was $436 to my door direct from their distributor. For a pair of Aveo lights this is a great price. Contact Rick at Aveo Engineering Southwest in Livermore California.

I am in no way associated with Aveo or Rick, just wanted to pass along a great deal on some VERY nice lights. I put off LED nav/strobes for a long time because of the cost and these are amazing lights for the price.
 
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Having no lighting currently, I'm not looking to drop thousands on lights since I just did that for ADSB updates. A nice time flying experimental can save some $. This is a price point which has been lacking in quality nav/pos/strobe LED lights. I'm after something that meet FAR reqs for night flight, but might not be certified.

Some of these cheaper lights seem to be for amusement only, which to me is useless. (see Whelen Microburst)

Would be neat to do a side-by-side with the PowerBursts to see which one looks better since their price is similar.

Good point about the full epoxy. UV and time can pretty much destroy anything, so hopefully they could at least be polished back to clear.
 
I noted the epoxy as well. UV resistant epoxy isn't that good, from everything I have heard. There is a super easy fix for that - automotive clear coat. It is the best. I have spent half the year at 5-13 N latitude for the last 10 years. For cars not kept under cover, the clear coat lasts at least 10 years.
 
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