My power supply for my whelen wingtip nav/strobe/position combination lights has bit the dust. I’m not up on the latest led stuff. Any advice on what to replace these with that will similarly mount on the wingtips and not require mods such as lens installation? I see whelen has the microburst 3 that appear would be a good replacement but figured I’d ask if anyone had some good info on other equipment. I appreciate any help.
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Advice on LED replacement for whelen wingtip nav/strobe lights
- Thread starter trib
- Start date
I just replaced my 22 year old power supply and wingtip lights with the Whelen Microburst. There are 5 wires out to each wingtip, so plenty of wires for the lights and synch. (you'll only need four of them) As far as the power supply, you can just remove it, splice the wires appropriately and all the old switches will work with the new setup without any alterations.
I replaced mine with FlyLeds ‘the works’. I found the kit easy to put together (I’ve done a lot of soldering) but they’ll solder them for a modest fee. They even have a board with connectors so you can re-use the Whelan wiring, just unplug/re-plug in. I replaced the aft strobe - white nav light while I was at it.
This is the type I am replacing, mounted on each wingtip. If there was just an led strobe that would fit inside the current lens somehow that would be the most convenient since the nav/position lights function fine still
BH1166
Well Known Member
I replaced exactly what you have last year. AeroLed pulsar. Exact foot print as the Whelen mounting plate. All the wire you need is already in place. Basically, remove power supply, properly labeling of each wire. Remove tip lights, and twist on proper wire for each need (nav, strobe, recognition). Test. You’ll have a wire you can just join, and have them synchronized if you like. There was some touch up painting as foot print not the same, but the swap out was a few hour job. My power pack was easy to get to, under pilot seat on my 6A .
aeroleds.com
Pulsar 660 EXP LED FORWARD & TAIL POSITION/ANTI-COLLISION WINGTIP LIGH - AeroLEDs
EXPERIMENTAL - LED FORWARD & TAIL POSITION/ANTI-COLLISION WINGTIP LIGHTS Tech Specs Current Draw (ea): 14VDC: Position Light: 0.8 Amps | Anti-Collision Light 0.8 Amps (Average) | 3.8 Amps (Peak) 28VDC: Position Light: 0.4 Amps | Anti-Collision Light 0.4 Amps (Average) | 1.9 Amps (Peak) Weight...
aeroleds.com
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This is what I did on my -7 too. Fit nicely, used the heavy installed wiring. Times have changed, but I bought through (old) Vans at the time and the price was much lower than others.I replaced exactly what you have last year. AeroLed pulsar. Exact foot print as the Whelen mounting plate. All the wire you need is already in place. Basically, remove power supply, properly labeling of each wire. Remove tip lights, and twist on proper wire for each need (nav, strobe, recognition). Test. You’ll have a wire you can just join, and have them synchronized if you like. There was some touch up painting as foot print not the same, but the swap out was a few hour job. My power pack was easy to get to, under pilot seat on my 6A .
Pulsar 660 EXP LED FORWARD & TAIL POSITION/ANTI-COLLISION WINGTIP LIGH - AeroLEDs
EXPERIMENTAL - LED FORWARD & TAIL POSITION/ANTI-COLLISION WINGTIP LIGHTS Tech Specs Current Draw (ea): 14VDC: Position Light: 0.8 Amps | Anti-Collision Light 0.8 Amps (Average) | 3.8 Amps (Peak) 28VDC: Position Light: 0.4 Amps | Anti-Collision Light 0.4 Amps (Average) | 1.9 Amps (Peak) Weight...
I’m in a similar boat, wish I could replace just the Whelen white strobe in my wingtips. My ancient LED nav lights work fine and have a sort of retro cool quality. There don’t seem to be many options. I suspect that, unless you use strobe technology, it’s very difficult to get the required performance out of what amounts to a very small light bulb.
Anybody have any experience with these?
www.aircraftspruce.com
Aveo Powerburst NG Daylite Light Set - Green / Red / White | Aircraft Spruce ®
Aveo Powerburst NG Daylite Light Set - Green / Red / White At only 26 millimeters in height (1.024 inch) the PowerBurst DayLite is a value light that does not sacrifice anything in performance or standards as other economy-priced lights.
BH1166
Well Known Member
I think my research on these showed no evidence they meet FARs for night use. Maybe why “DayLite” is used in the product description.Anybody have any experience with these?
Aveo Powerburst NG Daylite Light Set - Green / Red / White | Aircraft Spruce ®
Aveo Powerburst NG Daylite Light Set - Green / Red / White At only 26 millimeters in height (1.024 inch) the PowerBurst DayLite is a value light that does not sacrifice anything in performance or standards as other economy-priced lights.
Hi Doug
I'll invite you to have a look at the Flyleds website! The Essentials kit can replace what you have there for navs and strobes.
Tim (OP) we don't do externally mounted strobes at this point, but if you have light bays similar to the above we can help you as well.
Please click on the Flyleds logo below.
Paul
Hey Paul,
I've looked at your equipment and seems great but I don't have light bays, which is why I have the external combination whelens.
Tim
That may be for these. But I have the AVEO Ultra Galactica version, and they are certified, and work great.
Ultra Galactica - Wingtip Navigation / Strobe / Position Light for Aircraft or Helicopters - AveoEngineering
Ultra Galactica - Wingtip 3-in-1 Navigation / Strobe / Position Light for Aircraft and Helicopters - TSO Certified
www.aveoengineering.com
AIRCRAFT NAV / POSITION BULBS | PilotLights.net
Pilotlights sells innovative LED lighting and PWM dimmers for car, RV, Truck, Marine and utility users
You can remove the box and replace the bulbs. They are not 777 bright but a nice economical solution.
BH1166
Well Known Member
Im sure they would work. The strong point for AeroLed is it uses same mounting holes. Reason I went with AEROLED. Bolt on, al needed wiring is available from your old Whelen setup.
“ Designed with an industry-standard mounting footprint”
Mezzplayer
Member
I have the same legacy Whelan A600 on my plane. In anticipation of them dying some day, I did a little research on an led replacement. The Whelen Orion 600 is advertised as a direct replacement for the old A600, matching the footprint and mounting holes.....so presumably no mods and/or painting.
flywat.com
I think this is the ticket, but I would encourage you to call Whelen to be sure.
Orion 600 Series Forward & Tail/Anti-Collision Wingtip Light | Whelen Aerospace Technologies
The Orion 600 series products incorporate a RED or GREEN Forward Position Light, the WHITE flashing Anti-Collision light, and the Tail Position Light functions.
flywat.com
I think this is the ticket, but I would encourage you to call Whelen to be sure.
I installed these about 10 years ago. They have worked flawlessly. The lenses has yellowed slightly but that does not appear to have affected function. The white rear position lighting is probably not all that visible immediately behind the aircraft so a taillight is probably a good idea. And they are much brighter than the legacy lights if my Mk I eyeballs are to be believed.Anybody have any experience with these?
Aveo Powerburst NG Daylite Light Set - Green / Red / White | Aircraft Spruce ®
Aveo Powerburst NG Daylite Light Set - Green / Red / White At only 26 millimeters in height (1.024 inch) the PowerBurst DayLite is a value light that does not sacrifice anything in performance or standards as other economy-priced lights.
Cheers, Sean
So I talked to a rep at whelen about the microburst wingtip units (which are about half the price of certified units) and he didn't really feel they were the correct ones to install. Reading the whelen website, it discusses how proud they are of these units and that they are "state-of-the -art for experimental and light sport aircraft". I've emailed them and asked for specifics on what aspects of the units meet and which do not meet FAR requirements. The FAR specify that they are for type certified aircraft, so we are not required to use those on RV's, but I would like to know what I am sacrificing using the non-rated components. We often find things used in experimental that exceed type requirements but have not gone through the certification process for cost reasons, so I am interested in if Whelen will provide the details on their "state of the art for experimental" so I can decide if they are appropriate for our use. I do fly at night and light IFR as well so want to make an informed decision. Personally, I don't understand the usefulness of daylight lights which provide NAV and Postion lighting as they are not really visible during daylight and definitely not necessary.
r/,
Tim
r/,
Tim
Also considering these. Anyone have experience with them?
www.aircraftspruce.com
Whelen Blaze™ LED Wingtip Position / Anti-Collision Light For Experimental / Lsa | Aircraft Spruce ®
Whelen Blaze™ LED Wingtip Position / Anti-Collision Light For Experimental / Lsa whelen Blaze™ an all LED wingtip position, anti-collision and tail light assembly for the LSA and experimental market. Low drag and light w
If you want to fly at night your OpLimits will say you need to follow 91.205. That, in turn, says you need “approved” lights. The consensus seems to be that approved means ‘meets the performance specifications’ of the applicable TSO. The reference you provided explicitly says these are for day use only, as they do not meet the brightness and coverage specs of the TSO. So I’d say, no, these are not suitable for night use in any aircraft, including EAB. Ymmv.Also considering these. Anyone have experience with them?
Whelen Blaze™ LED Wingtip Position / Anti-Collision Light For Experimental / Lsa | Aircraft Spruce ®
Whelen Blaze™ LED Wingtip Position / Anti-Collision Light For Experimental / Lsa whelen Blaze™ an all LED wingtip position, anti-collision and tail light assembly for the LSA and experimental market. Low drag and light w
kswanson
Active Member
I went with Whelen Blaze. Simple job, remove the big jumbo power supply boxes, slice into whatever wires you need, 86 any you don’t. I did have to make a bracket to mount the led too since they were smaller footprint than the original stuff. Otherwise clean simple install. Very, very bright.
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Direct bulb LED replacement for your Whelens. I used these on my first RV4. Direct bayonet light bulb replacement. If your power supply is INOP, use the existing Whelen wire in the wing (sans power supply) and connect to 12v through your NAV/POS switch. Worked fine for me (no noise), and much brighter.
