86 252 LED recognition lights

[David Mazer]

Being the conformist I am, I have already purchased 2 of the ones you have working and I am discussing it with my A&P.

[smccray]

Quote: N1026F

 

I'm not sure if you've solved your problem or are still looking for suggestions but I had the same issue with my wingtip incandescents melting the polycarbonate.  My solution was replace the bulb with a much brighter but cool 10-30v 15led tower. The first thing to do is pull the reflector out, remove the bulb mount and replace it with a "mini bayonette" mount from Radio Shack. I soldered the lines together, put liquid electrical tape around the union and the back side of the reflector, let it dry then coverered it with waterproof electrical tape, then inserted the 15led unit.

They work well enough for me to taxi without the landing lights or taxi lights and they draw imperceptable power.

by doing this and changing your strobe only, you'll get the best of both worlds; the gas strobe can't be matched for intensity by an LED.....yet.

My A/P assisted with the alignment and the paperwork.

You can see a copy of the marine grade lamp here:

http://www.ecovantageenergy.com/catalog/items/item1146.htm

and in my wingtip as attached. 

 

[fantom]

Quote: smccray

[David Mazer]

No PM was sent to me.

[smccray]

Quote: Mazerbase

No PM was sent to me.

[smccray]

Quote: fantom

[fantom]

PM Sent

I'm soooooo confused  

[N1026F]

This is not a major modification nor are these lights a required safety item.  The log entry was made pursuant to CFR 14.91.  I'll ask the A&P and the A&P examiner if more was needed if I see them this weekend. The FAA examiner owns the shop where I get things done and I'm upgrading the landing/taxi lights this weekend to Whelen LEDs ( a safety item)--hopefully, I can supply the full panoply of CFRs and regs to put minds at peace.

[fantom]

Maybe you can ask them why the heck the FAA requires a 337 to be legal when screwing in a set of Rosen sunvisors.

[jetdriven]

Someone decided it was a major alteration.  That person was likely a nimrod.

 

Major alteration. An alteration not listed in the aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller specifications—

(1) That might appreciably affect weight, balance, structural strength, performance, powerplant operation, flight characteristics, or other qualities affecting airworthiness; or

(2) That is not done according to accepted practices or cannot be done by elementary operations.

[David Mazer]

As is often heard, but bears repeating, the FAA isn't happy until you aren't happy.

[bumper]

I'm new to this forum (Hi!).

 

An old thread, but since LED technology continues to rapidly advance, thought I would ressurect it and add some . . .

 

There are "high power" metal plate mounted LEDs available that can be driven using a small "buck converter" to limit current (so no resister is required for either current limiting or driving with higher voltage - one unit will work on 14 or 28 volt systems). A 20 watt flat plate LED with no reflector will have a beam spread of about 140 degrees, will output a truly astonishing amount of light as compared to the 25 watt quartz lamp now in use, and do all this while making much less waste heat.*

 

*I did a side-by-side test of a 20 watt LED element vs. the existing 25 watt lamp under an acrylic lens. Ambient temperature was 40 F. After a couple of minutes I measured a temperature rise of 10 F on the lens over the 20 watt LED and while the lens over the quartz halogen lamp experienced a 70 F rise! (No wonder they melt.)

 

Parts used for the LED test:

 

LED element - http://www.ebay.com/itm/350594813028?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

Heat sink for LED (must be cut to size to fit and also use heat sink paste) - http://www.ebay.com/itm/380483543558?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

buck converter (LED driver) - http://www.ebay.com/itm/130824483431?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

Cost? About $25 for all three components. Light output is some 1600 lumens, compared to 873 lumens for a GE4509 landing lamp.

 

One would also need to use a ferrite on the input power lead to the buck converter so as to suppress any possible electrical noise.

 

all the best,

 

bumper

[andrew]

I'm new to this forum (Hi!).

 

An old thread, but since LED technology continues to rapidly advance, thought I would ressurect it and add some . . .

 

There are "high power" metal plate mounted LEDs available that can be driven using a small "buck converter" to limit current (so no resister is required for either current limiting or driving with higher voltage - one unit will work on 14 or 28 volt systems). A 20 watt flat plate LED with no reflector will have a beam spread of about 140 degrees, will output a truly astonishing amount of light as compared to the 25 watt quartz lamp now in use, and do all this while making much less waste heat.*

 

*I did a side-by-side test of a 20 watt LED element vs. the existing 25 watt lamp under an acrylic lens. Ambient temperature was 40 F. After a couple of minutes I measured a temperature rise of 10 F on the lens over the 20 watt LED and while the lens over the quartz halogen lamp experienced a 70 F rise! (No wonder they melt.)

 

Parts used for the LED test:

 

LED element - http://www.ebay.com/itm/350594813028?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

Heat sink for LED (must be cut to size to fit and also use heat sink paste) - http://www.ebay.com/itm/380483543558?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

buck converter (LED driver) - http://www.ebay.com/itm/130824483431?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

Cost? About $25 for all three components. Light output is some 1600 lumens, compared to 873 lumens for a GE4509 landing lamp.

 

One would also need to use a ferrite on the input power lead to the buck converter so as to suppress any possible electrical noise.

 

all the best,

 

bumper

Sounds like a good design. Is this a solution you are working on, or has it already been completed? Pictures and copies of relevant paperwork would make this easier to assess and understand.

[bumper]

 

Sounds like a good design. Is this a solution you are working on, or has it already been completed? Pictures and copies of relevant paperwork would make this easier to assess and understand.

 

At this point, I'm more into the experimentation side of things just to see what's possible. There is no completed installation nor paperwork. This is offered simply to share the idea and hope someone with more free time might want to pursue it. Sorry for the blurry pictures, this will hopefully convey the idea.

 

What it looks like in place (no power applied).

 

http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv107/bumperm/recogLED2_zps2ed34c42.jpg

 

The parts, (LED mounted to heat sink, buck controller mounted to flat aluminum plate, ferrite on input power leads). Also note that the outboard side of the heat sink (shown) would need to have two 6-32 taped hole in the center, thick, portion of the web to allow it to be mounted to the inside of the fiberglass end fixture. (I guess there are "end fixtures" with closed forward ends, so those would need to be modified  . . . mine has an open front end and is an early 90's version from LASAR.)

 

http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv107/bumperm/recogLED3_zps6276477c.jpg

 

Notes: The heat sink must be cut and shaped to fit (since it's rated for up to 50 watt installations, there is more than enough thermal effeciency). LED needs to be mounted with thermal conductive paste. DC-DC Buck Controller is set for 13.5 volts regulated and 1.5 amps max output for 19.5 watts of power to the LED, just under its 20w rating. The buck controller is shown mounted to an aluminum plate with standoffs using rivnuts so it could be mounted to the outboard rib near the wiring hole. Oh, and the toroidal transformer on the buck controller should be "ruggedized" with some hot melt glue or potting compound so it can't fail due to vibration.

 

all the best,

 

bumper

[Steve Dawson]

^{Very nice. Can you show some practical results in action?}

[bumper]

Sorry there aren't any, it's not a finished install - just static tests. I'll try to get a comparison photo (LED vs halogen) against my hangar door.

[bumper]

These pictures were taken with a Canon DSLR inside my hangar in daylight (skylights) with manual exposure of 1/500 sec f 5.6. Intentionally underexposed to better show the delta between the halogen and LED - actual light output was much more than shown. Distance from light to wall is 23 inches. One thing that's very apparent is that the halogen with reflector projects most of its light in a relatively narrow pencil beam, there is side scatter too, but it is not intense and so this area shows dark in the photo. On the other hand, the LED is using no reflector and has a broad beam of nearly 140 degrees. The entire area is illuminated with no central hot spot. For an anti-collision or recognition light, I prefer the broader beam of the LED as it appears brighter to the eye at a greater distance from ahead of the aircraft when almost anywhere in the hemisphere. While, with the halogen, you'd have to be almost dead ahead for the light to appear bright, or perhaps even visible at distance in daylight.

 

The LED is so bright that you cannot look directly at it for any length of time or at close range without risk of eye damage.

 

halogen  http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv107/bumperm/IMG_0668_zpsdc1fff4f.jpg

 

LED  http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv107/bumperm/IMG_0669_zps70e14029.jpg

 

bumper