Jump to content

Landing light


mcrowley

Recommended Posts

I will absolutly not install that 90's style landing lights!!! The are so huge and produce little light but lot drag.

 

1 or 2 small 20W LED Modules should be more than enough. Alloy is a good heat transporter so no heatsink is needed. Maybe just a water proof cover or they go into an epoxi resin bath. Good position might be the front landing gear.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not allowed to fly at night here in our class....extra weight...get rid of it

We can fly at night here in the US, plus the wig wag during the day is helpful for anti-collision visibility in the pattern.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will absolutly not install that 90's style landing lights!!! The are so huge and produce little light but lot drag.1 or 2 small 20W LED Modules should be more than enough. Alloy is a good heat transporter so no heatsink is needed. Maybe just a water proof cover or they go into an epoxi resin bath. Good position might be the front landing gear.

Yep, I have the same parts as Mcrowley...and I'll be looking round for an alternative too. We're not allowed rec night flight in NZ either, but I think the 'be seen' idea makes a lot of sense.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

to be seen is to use LED's now and strobing..much cheaper and lighter than the old style stuff. A few of us here have 50watt bicycle flashing LED lights...mounted on the front noseleg..works a treat

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For strobe this looks like a good aproach....

 

take an arduino, or smaller version an som LED... the 12V LED's in this video might be not bright enough as strobes on 12V. They are built vor 12V continuos light. Used for 3 small bursts every second, the voltage needs to be higher, I think. That can be fixed, by using some 3V LED's in line. All the electronic could go into a strobe shaped mould filled with clear, uv-resistent epoxi resin.

 

What do you think???

 

small and bright landing lights could be made from something like this.....

 

10W 900LM White/Warm White High Bright LED Light Lamp Chip DC 9-12V

 

.... some alloy on the backside... a cover on the front side... and put on the noseleg

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any helpful hints on how to install the lexan cover for the landing lights? Thanks!

The Lexan tabs goes inside the outer housing, if you cleco the Lexan you'll see how it shapes the front to suit the wing,

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any helpful hints on how to install the lexan cover for the landing lights? Thanks!

I have just purchased a very bright rectangular LED light (20 LEDs) which according to the Ebay seller is IP66 rated and boy its bright, its a little heavy but hardly and current consumption.

I will be mounting it on my Savannah VG front leg

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check this out, this has proven to be a very successful addition to my plane.

 

Xeccon Spiker 1210 - Mtbr.com

 

It is totally independent of the aircraft power and systems.

 

I recharge the battery pack every 2-3 months after using it weekly but only in strobe mode and within 5-10 nautical miles depending on circuit traffic.

 

I have received a lot of positive feedback from people flying with me of its effectivenesss and has encouraged others to buy the same or similar item.

 

I bought mine after a lot of research and speaking with local top bike shop owners.

 

Important to note that I suggest to buy the widest angle of beam and of course the high lumens rating you can afford.

 

I have a video of light operation but the file is to large to send, so PM me and I will email it to you.

 

See and be Seen.

 

 

  • Informative 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Check this out, this has proven to be a very successful addition to my plane.Xeccon Spiker 1210 - Mtbr.com

It is totally independent of the aircraft power and systems.

 

I recharge the battery pack every 2-3 months after using it weekly but only in strobe mode and within 5-10 nautical miles depending on circuit traffic.

 

I have received a lot of positive feedback from people flying with me of its effectivenesss and has encouraged others to buy the same or similar item.

 

I bought mine after a lot of research and speaking with local top bike shop owners.

 

Important to note that I suggest to buy the widest angle of beam and of course the high lumens rating you can afford.

 

I have a video of light operation but the file is to large to send, so PM me and I will email it to you.

 

See and be Seen.

Interesting !

 

Like some others i think that the original light is heavy and useless. I would like to replace this by a strobe and landing light like the one Xeccon, but without creating new wirring. Do you think that it could be connected directly to the original landing light wiring ? (I imagine not).

 

Somebody knows any simple solution to replace the landing light on this way ?

 

Eric

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting !Like some others i think that the original light is heavy and useless. I would like to replace this by a strobe and landing light like the one Xeccon, but without creating new wirring. Do you think that it could be connected directly to the original landing light wiring ? (I imagine not).

Somebody knows any simple solution to replace the landing light on this way ?

 

Eric

It's highly likely it could but we'd have to see a circuit diagram of both the current aircraft light and the new one. Reading between the lines it sounds like the new light has its own battery - which needs charging intermittently. You could probably rewire it with a seperate switch that allows it to recharge off your aircraft circuitry when it's not being used. But need to see the circuit diagrams.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see that most folks prefer a different light, which of course is fine... it is experimental aviation after all. One thing perhaps to note: the new light included in my kit from ICP is an LED... same cover but a new light weight, low draw LED bulb. I'm installing one on each wing because I like the way it looks. To each his own :-)

 

 

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hi all,

 

based on Graham Pukallus great idea, I did a bit of a look around and tried the Magicshine MJ-902 on the Savannah VG.

 

Requirements were :

 

- Not connected to the aircraft power

 

- Small size and light weight but still very bright

 

- Remote control

 

- Being able to switch from Landing light to Strobes from the cockpit

 

- Easy access to battery pack for recharge

 

It's advertised to last 3.2 hours at full bright so I could expect 6 hours in strobe mode. (I manage to have it on full bright light at home for 9 hours)

 

I intend to install another one facing back for the full setup.

 

We the sort of flying I am doing a recharge every couple of weeks is more than enough.

 

$180 with the extended cord and freight to Darwin from the Australian distributor.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi6jBl_khxI

 

Thanks Graham for the idea and the conversations.

 

Cheers,

 

Xavier

 

N.B. :

 

This is not an advertisement for Magicshine, they have no idea their product is used on a plane :-)

 

 

  • Agree 1
  • Helpful 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...