LED landing lights

31 posts in this topic

Posted

Anyone find a good LED light suitable as a landing light without the certified aircraft prices associated with Aeroled type lights?

I'd like to find a 2" round or square size...

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Posted

I like my vision x lights. Draw next to no juice and are bright. I have the spot light on one side and flood light on the other side on the gear legs.

:BC:

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Posted

Got a link?

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Posted (edited)

With more power from the Soob alternator, I like the HID 4" spot drawing 2.9 amps and 3500 raw lumens.  This might be a little too much draw for the 2-cycle engines, but you only use it for a minute or so.

EDMO

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

I use that big ball of fire in the sky as my landing light :)

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Posted (edited)

TJay,

      don't schedule any day-flights for 17 August 2017 - That big light is going to be turned off here for a while!  :lol:

You can always carry a portable light with 3 million cp, mount it in your cowl with a remote switch, or the big tactical flashlight the NRA sells with a Zillion cp hanging on your door!

EDMO

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

I like my vision x lights. Draw next to no juice and are bright. I have the spot light on one side and flood light on the other side on the gear legs.

:BC:

30 as a spot and a 60 as a flood?

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Posted

30 as a spot and a 60 as a flood?

 

I think that is what I have.  I cant swear to it but I can double check when I get off the slope.

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Posted (edited)

10 degrees is normal for a spot light - I think.   30 degrees would be 3 times as wide.

If I used my calculator right, at 1000 feet, a 10 degree light would light a circle 170 feet in diameter, so at 500 feet the beam would be about 85 feet wide....and at 100 feet it would be a 17 foot circle, not including the refracted scattered light.  That is figuring from the bulb, but if this should be figured from the 2" reflector, then those areas would be wider :huh: Of course, the circle would actually be an oval, depending on angle of plane to the ground.

EDMO

The Big Birds my only use 2 degree landing lights and some floodlights?

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

Also check out Crazed Pilot 

 

http://www.crazedpilot.com/

 

Lots of cool stuff ... LED landing lights too.

 

Brian

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Posted

Brian

I was informed by someone who purchased those wig-wag strobes, they do not perform well and are fairly flimsy.

 

Lou

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Posted

10 degrees is normal for a spot light - I think. 30 degrees would be 3 times as wide.

If I used my calculator right, at 1000 feet, a 10 degree light would light a circle 170 feet in diameter, so at 500 feet the beam would be about 85 feet wide....and at 100 feet it would be a 17 foot circle, not including the refracted scattered light. That is figuring from the bulb, but if this should be figured from the 2" reflector, then those areas would be wider :huh: Of course, the circle would actually be an oval, depending on angle of plane to the ground.

EDMO

And I get crap for over analyzing things 😜

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Posted (edited)

Joey, 

      I think you were probably sipping Hawaiin Punch - somebody has to do your analyzing

      while you act like a beach bum!

If I wanted the best landing lights and had the battery/alternator, like the Subaru, to handle them, I would go with the rectangular HID $potlights by XeVision.  They each pull about 8 amps at startup, and about 3 amps after that.

Leni says the LED spotlights will work for him with 582, he has posted a photo of the VisionX spotlight before -

The Wig-wag Crazed Pilots lights are not landing lights.

EdMO 

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

Don't know anybody flying their Avids at night. The low draw LEDs work great for seeing other airplanes in the air. After all the midairs lately I am adding one so hopefully other people can see me better in the pattern. I only have the crappy little strobe on top of my vertical stab.

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Posted (edited)

They have different lighting rules in Alaska with all the high summer traffic, and low-light time in the winter -

not much daylight to fly in winter. 

Most of our little birds don't have the instruments to be legal for night flight anyway.

     Being a lifetime (born) night owl, and retired night-shifter, I usually don't get airborne until late in the day, and try to fudge in a twilight landing just after sundown, knowing that the Father of American Aviation don't like for me to fly after dark without a medical - Really cant see why - I passed last DL eye test without glasses, and I am not colorblind! 

EdMO

being "El Cheapo", I wont buy the rectangular XeVision HID lights even if a new one is on ebay Aviation Parts now for $300, when new retail price is $550 each, because Uncle wont let me fly at night anyway.

     I happened to find a pair of new fairly small rectangular driving lights a long time ago, real cheap. 

They are 100 watt Halogen, and not the usual 50 watt bulbs you find in the fog light section, 

      I saw some small LED lights there at Wallyworld today that might make good Wig-Wag Lights, both 2" small round, and flat / long, and cost $25 to $35 a pair, cheaper on ebay.  Autoparts stores usually stock the wig-wag gizmo that alternates lights, or find cheaper ones, direct from China, on ebay autoparts.

I am looking at 6-LED, 18 watt wig-wag light bars to go in front of my wing spar strut fittings - a high-drag area anyway.

      I have a new set of the Crazed Pilot LED wig-wags that I am not going to use - would sell below cost.

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

Has anyone tried one of the higher capacity "Crazed Pilot" wig-wag controllers, yet?

http://www.crazedpilot.com/aircraft-strobe-light-led-landing-lights-wig-wag-controller/

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Posted

I have one and so far its working great.  Its been on the plane for over a year now.

 

:BC:

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Posted

Does anyone have a picture of how the landing lights are mounted?

I really like the idea but don't know where I would put it.

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Posted

D.I.Y. mount using Grove landing gear bracket attach bolt to fuselage forward float fitting..

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Posted (edited)

I don't consider these as "Landing Lights" - Just recognition lights, and possibly a taxi light.  I don't have photos right now, but Akflyer has a LED Landing light he uses,  and a couple of us have bought some other LED lights which are flatter and mount under the wing at the strut attach fitting.

I have a new, unused, set of these wig-wag lights that I would take $25 for and free shipping.

EDMO

Edited by EDMO

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Posted

Do they make two different controllers?

Or is the one you have, Leni, the same as the one Ed has?

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Posted

I've already got a set of Vision-X lights mounted in the wing tips.  I was hoping to use one of these controllers to get the wig-wag feature.  I have no intention of using them as "landing" lights, more as recognition lights. 

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Posted

Do they make two different controllers?

Or is the one you have, Leni, the same as the one Ed has?

Does anyone know this?

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