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LED lighting products

sahrens

sahrens

Well Known Member
Has anyone installed either the Kuntzleman Ele. LED/Strobes or the Skybright lights? I am looking for information from someone that has installed either product.

Thanks in advance.
 
I have Skybrights installed and flying for 3 years. Decent product now that they've figured out how to avoid premature LED burnouts. The plastic cover "fogs" over the xenon strobe bulb. It's not moisture fogging but rather some kind of deposit on the plastic, likely from strobe light heat. Doesn't seem to reduce visibility of the aircraft as I've had several people comment on how bright the strobes are, and likewise the nav lights. I've installed the strobe power pack under the pax seat (non-RV) and ran Mil-C-27500 18AWG twisted shielded triple wire out to the wingtips. With the shield properly terminated and grounded at the power pack I can only hear the strobes running when the engine isn't running.
 
Thanks for the information

I guess there are not that many installations, at least on RVs. Thanks again for the insight on your experiences.
 
In my home I've replaced most all of the incandescent bulbs with compact florescent and it has made a HUGH difference in my electrical bill. Even though the cost of a compact florescent is about two to four time that of an incandescent bulb, this change is worth it because of the power savings.

I don't plan to convert to LED in my aircraft(s) anytime soon however, even though I fly with lights on during the day. The low power consumption of the LED light ~may~ save me 0.001 gal/hour or cause my alternator to work a (very) little less, but while the lower power consumption is significant, the actual affect on fuel consumption is insignificant. That only leaves the longer life as a benefit.

I see Teledyne Microelectronics will have available in June a PAR36 LED light for $289. At over TEN time the cost of a Q4509 bulb, it may be worth it IF the light levels were the same AND it would last 10 years. The latter may be true but the former has a way to go.

When the light levels become equivalent to halogen and the cost come down to about 2-3 times that o f halogen, I'll be interested.
 
Aveo LED's

Check out Aveo's offerings. Their lights exceed FAA standards they will have both Certified and Experimental/LSA lights. I have the AveoFlashLP Embedded version and will be testing the 6 in 1 lighting system for RV's. These lights are very bright.

The position lights are available now and the Landing/Taxi lights are being released soon. The 6 in 1 is very cool with the Position and Strobe lights mounted on the side of the Landing/Taxi light housing. The package is quite light with no special wiring needed.

Check out the stats on their site. http://www.aveoengineering.com/
 
Aveo's lights

I checked out their website and the vendor in California, but I could not find any pricing anywhere on either website. Is the product ready for sale? Do you know if I just missed the pricing.
 
Exact reason I went with Whelen System 6 and Duckworks 50w HID last week.

sahrens said:
I guess there are not that many installations, at least on RVs. Thanks again for the insight on your experiences.
Click to expand...

As long as LED's have been on the market, I expected to find many you tube videos or installations mentioned on the two main forums. No luck. I was not about to spend $600 or more to test them myself. Like others have said, LED landing lights have a ways to go.
 
LED's have a way to go with respect to cost, that's for sure. I have a pair of MR-16 lights housed in my engine cowling. Each light has 3x 3W LEDs making 9 watts per light, or 18 watts when I run both of them. I turn them on as I cross the runway holdshort line and turn them off once I'm shutting down in front of the hangar. They're not fantastic as landing lights but perfectly adequate for taxi lights. And I have confirmation that they make my aircraft visible at a range of 8+ miles in clear air in twilight (within a minute or two of legal sunset time). In all, I'm happy with these lights, but will be looking to install a real "landing light" when the price of an appropriate LED light comes down.

Just as a note... On some aircraft replacing the landing light is a major pain in the backside. For some of these aircraft the extra dollars associated with an LED light might be nicely offset by the rfeduced need to go through the nightmare of landing light bulb replacement. And you get the benefit of additionial safety that comes from being able to comfortably leave your landing light on all the time.
 
Or you can fool around with bits and parts and have some fun. These are Luxeon navs and a Seoul Semiconductor P7 for a taxi/recognition light, both driven with 1400 mA constant current boards. You're looking at about $65 per side, plus a bulb holder from a Vans lighting kit.

The P7 in an MR16 size reflector/heat sink is amazing. Do you realize there are people out there building flashlights more powerful than "aircraft quality" lights?

Trailblazing credit to "Disco Pete" Howell ;) I know nothing and just stuck parts together.

 
Booyah!

Lookin' Good Dano!

More lights are good for...... Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive...Uh, Uh, Uh, Stayin' Aliiiiive!!

DanH said:
The P7 in an MR16 size reflector/heat sink is amazing. Do you realize there are people out there building flashlights more powerful than "aircraft quality" lights?

Trailblazing credit to "Disco Pete" Howell ;) I know nothing and just stuck parts together.

Click to expand...
 
Dan

Dan, Where did you get the M16 reflector and P7 LED?

This is a great idea. Hope you don't mind if I copy.
 
Bugsy said:
Dan, Where did you get the M16 reflector and P7 LED?
Click to expand...

Pete found them.

Driver:
http://www.acgelectronics.com/index.php?page=drivers

Reflector and P7 LED:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13803

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12721

The 1400mA driver is a little bit noisy, "little bit" being a technical term for "breaks the normal squelch setting on my handheld at 3 to 5 feet". Don't think it is an issue. I did get one bad board which would blow the top off the handheld, but at $8.95 each, no big deal. Get a few extras when you order.

As I understand it, the SSC P7 can be overdriven at up to 2800mA. Gotta try that. At 1400 it will light up my mailbox about 100 yards from the shop porch. Heating is nil, certainly way less than an incandescent MR16.

I machined the reflector slightly to make it better fit the MR16 holder, but it is not strictly required.

Very much an experiment, but fun.
 
Thanks

Thanks Dan,

I might try to parallel 2 D1000 drivers witrh the P7. A little more power and perhaps less noise. I have a couple of the D1400s at home already, I wish that I had a piece of equipement that would measure the noise on a circuit.

It is a fun experiment. I have had a blast playing with leds sinse starting the project with the LED nav lights.

We put together an LED project for the cub scouts last month.

The stuff you learn when building an airplane.
 
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Hey Dan,

All my parts have arrived from around the world and I'm going to start building . Are you going to use the mirrored plexi over the position LEDs ? I'm considering just using the natural shiney aluminum as a relective surface . I was wondering if the plexi acts a bit like a fibre optics cable and spreads the light around ?

Marc
 
777drvr said:
Are you going to use the mirrored plexi over the position LEDs ? ..... I was wondering if the plexi acts a bit like a fibre optics cable and spreads the light around ?
Click to expand...

Yes and yes. I kicked around the idea of polished aluminum, as well as chrome plated fiberglass...the plexi seemed like the most bang for the buck.
 
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Thanks Dan . Another question ... Do you have any other photos that show the reflector mount more clearly ? I'll have to make one up . I have a few ideas but it would be great to see what you did.

Thanks,
Marc
 
Development in LED lighting is moving rapidly. Established vendors are coming out with LED offerings in the standard PAR36 form factor. The Teledyne product has moved up in price from the preliminary $289, but Whelen has introduced a competitor at an aggressive $239 price.

WHELEN PARMETHEUS LED REPLACEMENT LANDING LIGHT $239
11-08292.jpg



TELEDYNE ALPHABEAM LED LANDING & TAXI LIGHT $325
teledynephotos.jpg
 
RV-9

Anyone have any comments on using the AveoMaxx6in1 in an RV9?

How bright are the landing lights, especially with one in each wing?
Has anyone found the price of these units?
What is a good compatible white nav light? I would prefer it be in the wing but might have to place it in the rudder. Any comments?

-ken
new to building. 160 hours into the project and working on the first wing.
 
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