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05-14-2011, 02:13 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Wauseon, Ohio
Posts: 48
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It is dark out there
I have installed in my wingtips (2 each wing) 4 MR-16 Halogen lamps (12V 75W), as sold by Vans and was taxing around the other night at dusk and they did not seem very bright. As it got darker I expected them to be more visible however that was not the case. I thought I had them focused fairly well, however that may not be the case. Has anyone else run into this? As always thanks for everyone?s help, take care
__________________
Tim Fitzpatrick,
LCDR USCG (Ret)
CWO2-US Army, CPL-USMCR
ATP-H, C MEL/SEL, CFII Helo/SEL, ATC Spec, D-6779
RV-8A, N308TF (Flying 255+ Hours)
Author "The Mortal Horseman"
Amazon.com
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05-14-2011, 07:45 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Arlington, WA
Posts: 799
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If you've got two 75W halogens in each wing, you've got a lot of candlepower! You should be lighting up the runway while on a one-mile final approach!
What size wire did you use? For 150W, you should have at least #12 wire (maybe even #10) running from the switch to the lamps, and then back to battery ground. Since your switch is running four 75W lamps, you should have #8 wire from the battery (+) to the switch. If your wire is sized too small, then it's heating up due to internal resistance (I2R losses) and costing you candlepower!
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Scott "Grumpy" Stewart
RV-7 N957RV (First Flight on Dec 18, 2009 )
RV-14 N144P (Empennage complete, wings almost complete, fuselage almost complete)
#866 on the Van's RV-7 hobbs
#6563 on Van's generic hobbs
Arlington, WA
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05-14-2011, 08:54 PM
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VAF Moderator / Line Boy
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Dayton, NV
Posts: 12,256
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I always described the Halogen lights in the Val as "Adequate...barely". Fortunately, I can land pretty well at night on a lighted runway without landing lights (thanks to a persistent primary instructor decades ago). When I replaced them with HID's, I upped that to "OK". Don't expect extraordinarily good results with the tip light locations and MR16's was my take-away.
We went with AeroLED lamps in Duckworks mounts for the -3.
Paul
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Paul F. Dye
Editor at Large - KITPLANES Magazine
RV-8 - N188PD - "Valkyrie"
RV-6 (By Marriage) - N164MS - "Mikey"
RV-3B - N13PL - "Tsamsiyu"
A&P, EAA Tech Counselor/Flight Advisor
Dayton Valley Airpark (A34)
http://Ironflight.com
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05-15-2011, 03:42 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 976
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In Daylight displays, with my colleague having the LE Landing lights, the extra brightness of the wingtip 75W halogens is frequently commented on
However, they are, I would think, "inclined" somewhat upwards for use as Landing Lights, and if that is what you want them for, need to be aimed considerably "down", esp on a taildragger.
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05-15-2011, 09:17 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Wauseon, Ohio
Posts: 48
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Thanks
Thanks for the advice fella?s, I have #10 wire running out to the wingtips, however I am not real sure if the lights are focused where I want them. I have a set of ANVIS-9 NVG?s for my regular job and will put them on some night and see where the lights are really pointing on the ground. Is there such an animal as a ?spot? and ?flood? MR-16. Just wondering if maybe I have the wrong type of bulb. I have the ones that came with the kit so I bet they are the correct type, but thought maybe this was a possibility, thanks again.
__________________
Tim Fitzpatrick,
LCDR USCG (Ret)
CWO2-US Army, CPL-USMCR
ATP-H, C MEL/SEL, CFII Helo/SEL, ATC Spec, D-6779
RV-8A, N308TF (Flying 255+ Hours)
Author "The Mortal Horseman"
Amazon.com
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05-16-2011, 01:17 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Ashland, OR
Posts: 2,574
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upgrade to HID's
I found the standard 75W MR-16's just about useless. I was carefull about aiming. With two in each tip, I aimed one each for landing light and taxi light.
They are essentially useless as landing lights in my view. So, fortunately, there are at least two suppliers of HID retrofits for the MR-16 bulb mounts. These are only 50W or 55W or something like that, so less power req'd, and MUCH brighter. Actually bright enough to be useful as landing lights.
You have to mount a small power supply on the wing rib. Bob Kuykendall posted a picture of how we installed the power supplies in an earlier thread.
I don't know how to link old threads, but if you search for Duckworks power supply mounting, and look at the third post in the thread, there is a good picture.
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Steve Smith
Aeronautical Engineer
RV-8 N825RV
IO-360 A1A
WW 200RV
"The Magic Carpet"
Hobbs 625
LS6-15/18W sailplane SOLD
bought my old LS6-A back!! 
VAF donation Jan 2020
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05-16-2011, 02:18 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Wichita Falls, TX
Posts: 2,182
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scsmith
I found the standard 75W MR-16's just about useless.
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Me too. The RV-8 in my avatar has a single 75W MR-16 in each wingtip, and I've only tried landing it after dark... once. That was enough for me.
I swear the plain old incandescent GE4509 single 100W lamp in the nose of my old Cherokee did a much better job of lighting up the end of the runway for landing than those two 75W halogen lamps in the RV-8's wingtips do. They're mostly what I'd call "pinspots".
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Neal Howard
Airplaneless once again...
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05-16-2011, 04:01 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Wauseon, Ohio
Posts: 48
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Thanks!!!
Steve,
Thanks for the information. I ordered a set of 2 and will try them out on one side. Take care,
__________________
Tim Fitzpatrick,
LCDR USCG (Ret)
CWO2-US Army, CPL-USMCR
ATP-H, C MEL/SEL, CFII Helo/SEL, ATC Spec, D-6779
RV-8A, N308TF (Flying 255+ Hours)
Author "The Mortal Horseman"
Amazon.com
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05-17-2011, 12:44 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Belgium
Posts: 645
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2 X 100 W
I have two 100W landing lights from Van's in the leading edges of the wings. We are not allowed night flying, but I noticed when landing at around sunset that the lights are certainly lighting the runway and will do fine in an emergency night landing if it would ever come to that.
I get commented that my wig-wag lights are very well visible on final, (during daytime) well before anything else is visible (strobes or the plane itself).
Regards, Tonny
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"Pilottonny"
Tonny Tromp
Lanaken, Belgium (EU)
RV9A, Registration: PH-VAN
ECI-Titan IOX-320 with dual EI, turning a Whirlwind 200RV CS prop.
Sold
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05-17-2011, 01:00 PM
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fugio ergo sum
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Carlsbad, NM
Posts: 1,912
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I have a single halogen, 45W I think. It isn't great but I noticed right away it was better than the factory dual light system in my previous airplane, a Piper Pacer.
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Larry Pardue
Carlsbad, NM
RV-6 N441LP Flying
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