Sunspot 46 vs. PAR46 GE4553

[Dean_aeroleds]

Here is a video that compares the GE4553 250W 28V PAR46 incandescent landing light bulb with the new AeroLEDs Sunspot 46 85W 14 or 28V PAR46 LED landing light.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB6JpYKIGxQ

The GE4553 draws 9A at 28V and generates about 5000 lumens.

The Sunspot 46 draws 3.0A at 28V and generates about 6500 lumens.

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC

[Dan Blumel]

Originally Posted by Dean_aeroleds

Here is a video that compares the GE4553 250W 28V PAR46 incandescent landing light bulb with the new AeroLEDs Sunspot 46 85W 14 or 28V PAR46 LED landing light.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB6JpYKIGxQ

The GE4553 draws 9A at 28V and generates about 5000 lumens.

The Sunspot 46 draws 3.3A at 28V and generates about 6500 lumens.

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC

Dean,

When making this comparison, you needed to tilt both of these lights in the video up toward the horizon to show their downrange (distance) capabilities. The GE4553 has a "hotspot" in the middle of its beam which can be seen in the video but its capability is not shown. This hotspot would illuminate way down that dirt road. The way you have compared is more meaningfull for taxiing purposes not for landing looking for obstacles (deer etc.) in the distance.

For that same wattage ~85 watts a 75 watt HID (proprietary XeVision) would produce well over 8000 lumens with incredible distance capability of over 1/2 mile. These are sold to the cropdusting market to replace the 600 watt incandescent lamps they typically use. They (75w HID) can only be offered in Par46 (5.75) diameter (minimum size) reflectors or the larger (Par 56 (7 inch) or Par 64 (8 in)).

3.3 amps X 28V = approx 92 watts thats about 70 lumens per watt. Our 50 watt HID and 75 watt HID are both about 100 lumens per watt including ballast losses (10%) which most HID sellers do not include.

Dan Blumel XeVision

[Dean_aeroleds]

Dan,

The scene I created is what a pilot sees just before touchdown, and the light are aiming where they will be pointed when a plane is about 10 feet above the runway. It is not what you will see while taxiing. I also wanted to show that the beam patterns are very similar between our LED Sunspot 46 and the PAR46 it replaces. As can be seen the LED beam is much more uniform than the incandescent.

The total wattage is 85W, not 95W. The current of 3.3A is at 26V which is the typical battery voltage on a 28V system.

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC

[Dan Blumel]

Originally Posted by Dean_aeroleds

Dan,

The scene I created is what a pilot sees just before touchdown, and the light are aiming where they will be pointed when a plane is about 10 feet above the runway. It is not what you will see while taxiing. I also wanted to show that the beam patterns are very similar between our LED Sunspot 46 and the PAR46 it replaces. As can be seen the LED beam is much more uniform than the incandescent.

The total wattage is 85W, not 95W. The current of 3.3A is at 26V which is the typical battery voltage on a 28V system.

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC

Yes, your LED beam is more uniform than the incandescent you compare to, but no hotspot to reach out any great distance. The beam angles vertical and horizontal do look quite similar.

I noticed you corrected your first posting which said 3.3 amps at 28VDC (see my prior quote of you). OK so now its ~ 86 watts (3.3 X 26). I never said 95 watts, the math was 92 watts until you made the correction.

You have not addressed the distance issue, critical to some or even many users.

Dan

[Dean_aeroleds]

Dan,

We don't have a distance issue. The Sunspot 46 puts out a high enough Candela that it reaches out to a respectable distance.

The hot spot in the 4553 is actually not very beneficial as it make a very non-uniform illumination of the ground ahead of you, and your eye adapts to the hot spot, making it harder to see the other areas around it. The illuminated area is easier to see when the beam pattern is more uniform.

If you really think that a high candela hot spot is great for landing an airplane, I have a 5mw green laser pointer that generates over 3 million candela in a beam that is only 0.05 degrees wide. I can see that spot on trees several miles away. By your logic, it should be an awesome landing light!

By the way, why are you planning on developing an LED light if you believe that HIDs are so much better than LEDs?

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC

[samray]

Dean
I'm in the process of wiring my RV8. I'd really like to use LED landing lights (two) because I want to use a 45 amp alternator with a 80% of capacity full load, something attainable with your LED nav lights and the Dynon heated pitot tube- not an easy thing to do with a full panel. I sized my landing light wires based on the Whelen Parmetheus LED landing light (1.2A @ 14VDC per lamp) because it's supposed to be a PAR36 "drop in" replacement for certified aircraft. I took "drop in" to mean it both physically fits and has real world lighting performance that meets the original certified aircraft configuration. How far off is this assumption?

Sam

[Dean_aeroleds]

Originally Posted by samray

Dean
I'm in the process of wiring my RV8. I'd really like to use LED landing lights (two) because I want to use a 45 amp alternator with a 80% of capacity full load, something attainable with your LED nav lights and the Dynon heated pitot tube- not an easy thing to do with a full panel. I sized my landing light wires based on the Whelen Parmetheus LED landing light (1.2A @ 14VDC per lamp) because it's supposed to be a PAR36 "drop in" replacement for certified aircraft. I took "drop in" to mean it both physically fits and has real world lighting performance that meets the original certified aircraft configuration. How far off is this assumption?

Sam

Sam,

The only thing I can say about the Parmetheus light output without having measured it is that at 17 Watts of power it won't produce as many total lumens as our Sunspot 36 that uses 30 Watts of power assuming equivalent LED efficiencies based on the current state of the art.

Candela is lumens/steradian (solid angle) so the candela is determined by how narrow the beam is. As the lumens are concentrated into a smaller beam the candela go up by a square function. As the beam angle approaches 0 degrees the candela approaches infinity.

There is a balance between candela, beam angle, and lumens. More lumens is always a good thing. Higher candela does help with distance, but it can come at the expense of useability on short final where a really narrow intense beam can make judging your flare and height above the runway difficult. From my experience, it is best to have a fairly uniform candela intensity within the landing light beam and to have a beam that is about 20 degrees wide (total angle) to provide a reasonable width for short final.

Physically, it looks like the Parmetheus will fit in exisiting mounts, as will our Sunspot 36.

At Oshkosh this year we are introducing a 45 Watt version of the Sunpot 36 and will keep the 30 Watt version as a lower price point option.

Best Regards,

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC

[Dan Blumel]

Originally Posted by Dean_aeroleds

Dan,

We don't have a distance issue. The Sunspot 46 puts out a high enough Candela that it reaches out to a respectable distance.

The hot spot in the 4553 is actually not very beneficial as it make a very non-uniform illumination of the ground ahead of you, and your eye adapts to the hot spot, making it harder to see the other areas around it. The illuminated area is easier to see when the beam pattern is more uniform.

If you really think that a high candela hot spot is great for landing an airplane, I have a 5mw green laser pointer that generates over 3 million candela in a beam that is only 0.05 degrees wide. I can see that spot on trees several miles away. By your logic, it should be an awesome landing light!

By the way, why are you planning on developing an LED light if you believe that HIDs are so much better than LEDs?

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC

Dean,

OK, then show us that distance performance that you claim is "respectable" compared to this GE4553 you have referenced.

For a landing light the hotspot is valuable to show deer, fences, trees and other possible obstructions.

For a Taxi light a hotspot is of no benefit, you are correct. That is why it is best to have 1 landing and 1 taxi light the best of both worlds.

My logic is perfectly fine until you take it to a ridiculous extreme that is irrelevant. You knew that when you said it. Come on a laser, Really.....?

1/4 mile to 1/2 mile is valuable and you know it. Thats 10-20 seconds warning in many single engine aircraft.

We believe LED has great possibilities for Taxi lighting and for slower landing speed aircraft as a good landing light. We have said this all along (2+ years) that LED is great for close in taxi lighting. The right "tool" for the job is always the best choice.

Dean, you have missed your "calling" you should have gone into politics or been a lawyer, where you can "spin" every story in your favor.

Dan

[samray]

Dean
From the internet, a 55W H1 Halogen puts out 1550 lumens. This is my reference light based on past experience- the original Duck Works setup, which later had upgrades for a 100W Halogen. The Sunspot 36 puts out 2800 lumens, while the Whelen Prometheus dissipates 16.8 watts or 2800*16.8/36=1306 lumens if it had your LED efficiency. So it appears the Sunspot 36 is equivalent (roughly speaking) to a 100W Halogen? I understand beam width plays into the equation; just trying to get an apples to apples comparison so I can do a power/lumens tradeoff for my RV8. Am I very far off base?

Sam

[Dan Langhout]

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