We bought four complete HID units from a scrap yard @ $50 each for two Cozy MKIV's. Two were out of an Audi and two from a Mercedes.. They were installed in the leading edge of each strake. They look and work great!
 
David Clifford said:
We bought four complete HID units from a scrap yard @ $50 each for two Cozy MKIV's. Two were out of an Audi and two from a Mercedes.. They were installed in the leading edge of each strake. They look and work great!
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David
The junk yard route is exactly what I was planning on for my 8A project. Could you tell me the year (approximately) and model of the vehicles you got the HID lamps out of?
Charlie Kuss
 
Sorry I don't know the year's or models of the donor cars. Here's some pics.

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David Clifford said:
We bought four complete HID units from a scrap yard @ $50 each for two Cozy MKIV's. Two were out of an Audi and two from a Mercedes.. They were installed in the leading edge of each strake. They look and work great!
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Are those lights built to withstand the vibration environment of an aircraft cowling? I'd be very cautious about the possible failure modes of the light, to make sure nothing comes loose inside the cowl or causes any shorts in your electrical system.
 
BrickPilot said:
Are those lights built to withstand the vibration environment of an aircraft cowling? I'd be very cautious about the possible failure modes of the light, to make sure nothing comes loose inside the cowl or causes any shorts in your electrical system.
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Vibration is not the achiles heel of HID lighting. They hold up VERY well. The concern is turning them off,,,then back on before adequit cool down time between cycles. That is why the auto companys use HID for low beam(always on), and regular filament bulbs for high beams. Wired properly, these are no more likely to short out than any other lighting system.
 
FYI - I read that the 2007 Lexus LS600h L will use LED headlights. How long will it be until this technology is available to stuff in our wings? I can't help but wonder if this isn't a better solution.

BrickPilot said:
Are those lights built to withstand the vibration environment of an aircraft cowling? I'd be very cautious about the possible failure modes of the light, to make sure nothing comes loose inside the cowl or causes any shorts in your electrical system.
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BP, very few RV builders place their lights in the cowl, thus this is not an issue when placed in the wings. (Less heat, less vibration, better light pattern, etc.)
 
BrickPilot said:
Are those lights built to withstand the vibration environment of an aircraft cowling? I'd be very cautious about the possible failure modes of the light, to make sure nothing comes loose inside the cowl or causes any shorts in your electrical system.
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Jeff,
HID lights have a very high rated life expentency. They have no filiment to burn out or break, like a flouresent bulb. This makes them ideal as landing lights, as they are very resistant to vibration.
Charlie Kuss
 
chaskuss said:
Jeff,
HID lights have a very high rated life expentency. They have no filiment to burn out or break, like a flouresent bulb. This makes them ideal as landing lights, as they are very resistant to vibration.
Charlie Kuss
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I wasn't thinking about the bulbs themselves, but rather the connectors / other equipment. What motivates me to be gun-shy about automotive parts is a local RV-8 accident where the builder used an automotive ignition (Subaru? Mazda?), which apparently vibrated loose internally and he lost his engine on approach and didn't make it to the runway. Makes me very cautious about considering auto parts.
 
Automotive vs. Aircraft

I think using automotive landing lights vs. automotive ignition systems are two completely different things with two completely different risk factors.

You'll find that many RV's have 'automotive' type stuff in them. The ductworks kits themselves are automotive lamps (I believe). The overwhelming majority of RVs out there use automotive contactors/relays/fast-on/ring terminals/alternators, aux power plugs, etc. Heck, my battery (Odyssey PC680) is a ATV/motorcycle battery, and seems to be one of the more common batteries these days for RVs.
 
HID Advantages and cheap(?) MR16 Units

HID has lots of advantages over halogen, but the biggest IMHO is that you get bright light with less current draw. When you couple this with a long bulb life, you see that you might use the landing light more, which is particularly good for traffic recognition. Visibility was in the 4-5mi range with ceilings about 4000-6000 around Dallas weekend, and I was amazed at how much easier it was to see the traffic that had its landing light(s) on.

I agree that the cheapest source will be "recycled" automotive lights, but there is a company that offers 13W MR11 and 30W MR16 - sized HIDs designed for ATVs at a decent price ($100 to $150/ea). They contain their own balast and have internal rubber shock mounts.

A 30W HID is very bright and would be plenty for a taxi-recognition light; I'm not as sure about the 11W version. The MR16 form factor seems to be very common in the RV community (including Van's RV-7/8 tip lights) and it might be very easy to adapt the HIDs to a stock tip setup. So, the 30W MR16 light might be worth a look.
 
RatMan said:
If you don't like the auto stuff, how do you feel about low voltage kitchen lighting?
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Didn't say I didn't like the idea, I just meant that I would exercise more caution in evaluating an automotive component for use in an aircraft versus a component that was designed and tested for use in an aircraft.
 
BrickPilot said:
Didn't say I didn't like the idea, I just meant that I would exercise more caution in evaluating an automotive component for use in an aircraft versus a component that was designed and tested for use in an aircraft.
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Why? Something special about aircraft component manufacturing that I am not aware of? I sure wouldn't believe the standards are any higher, or for that matter, lower because of some tightly held manufacturing standard. In fact, in most cases it is the very factory and workers building automotive components that are also building the aircraft components if the "widget" is shared by both industries.

Perhaps there could be some component that would go into our aircraft from the automobile world that we may need to scrutinize with suspect but I have a hard time seeing where putting auto head lights in our aircraft for bright landing lights would cause a catastrophic failure if we were to use them.
 
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I'm all about experimenting and trying new things - even if just for fun. But weighing cost, performance and longevity together, don't discount the halogen MR-16's entirely. I have 4 each 35-deg 75-watt MR-16's for landing/taxi lights and have been told I look like a 747 at night. Whole system cost me about $40. Allowing for severe vibration life degradation, I may get only 500 hrs on my halogens. That's about $4-5/yr in bulb costs.

Anyone concerned about using non-aviation components sure doesn't want to look at my plane!! Automotive alternator, household halogen MR-16's, commercial construction equipment strobe power supply, Home Depot aluminized insulated sheets for the backside of the firewall, etc, etc.

Just think before you bolt it in place. IMO, and FAA STC or PMA does not necessarily guarantee a superior component. Just one consistent with the specification.

2 cents.
 
HID xenon light

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HID Light with good quality and competitive price

Hello,everybody,

We are the professional manufacturer and exporter of HID light,we have all the type of this HID light,including(H1,H3,H4,H7,H8,H9,H11,H13,9004,900 5,9006,9007,D2C,D2R,D2S),and all the products are of high quality and competitive price.we can promise give you our best price and service if you buy from us.any need pls feel free to contact us,
E-mail: [email protected]
MSN: [email protected] :) :)
 
Gary Bricker

Auto Parts vs Aircraft quality. You have to know what brands of A/P to buy. Stay away from the house brands and foreign made products. The certification process give a false sense of quality. Get to know your local home owned parts store if there is any in your area and stay away form the retail chains. I have 43 years in the A/P business at all levels and I can assure you there are some very good products and some very poor ones. As we are pushed to the foreign products because of price it gets harder to find good product. Like someone mentioned in the AN fitting discussion the racing fittings are as good as any AC. These stainless hoses didn't originate from AC. The starter swithches are old tractor and ford's. Where do you think Sky-TEC starters come from before they are converted.
 
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