XeVision® XeTREME™ LED LANDING LIGHT (par-36/46)

[201Steve]

And in the latest installment of $1,000 lightbulbs is the XeVision. I got this in an Ad from Spruce today, haven't heard of it, but it's claiming to blow away Whelen. For 2x 3x the brightness of even the best Whelen, maybe we are close to the justification territory or a $850 light bulb? Will it cut 1/4" steel when used in the shop with that intensity?

Any Pireps out there? Knowledge of this XeVision?

 

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/xevision_xetremeland.php?utm_campaign=USA%3A XeVision&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

[Fly Boomer]

[Fly Boomer]

Quick read sugggests you need field approval.  Form 337 has been filed for:
    Lynn Hadler       M20R  N71BF
    Barry Vaughn      M20K  N322BB
    David Fischer     M20C  N6223U
    Scott Sellmeyer   M20J  N11MH
    Pinzon & Jimenez  M20J  N1148G

[FlyboyKC]

At $850 for a light bulb??? I"ll pass!

Its going to have to drop to a 1/3 of that price before I would even consider it. Whelen and AeroLeds are far superior to the old GE indecent bulbs, yes the extra lumens' would be great, but not at 3x the cost.

[EricJ]

4 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

Quick read sugggests you need field approval.  Form 337 has been filed for:
    Lynn Hadler       M20R  N71BF
    Barry Vaughn      M20K  N322BB
    David Fischer     M20C  N6223U
    Scott Sellmeyer   M20J  N11MH
    Pinzon & Jimenez  M20J  N1148G

Shouldn't need it for a landing light, but that doesn't stop anybody from doing it that wants to.

 

[carusoam]

Listed is Scott from Kansas…

We could ask him… @KSMooniac (XeVision question)

How does that sound…?

Let’s see if their references gave permission to be outed in public…   
 

One thing for sure… you get a lot of detail for a light bulb.

PP thoughts only,

-a-

 

[KSMooniac]

I'm still rockin' the XeVision HID landing light kit from 2007! We needed field approvals back then, according to everyone asked but they were simple.

This new LED is probably a drop-in, right? I haven't read the details yet. I paid less for the whole HID kit than what is reported above, but I suppose our money is worth less now.

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

[FastGlasair]

On 2/23/2022 at 9:30 AM, 201Steve said:

And in the latest installment of $1,000 lightbulbs is the XeVision. I got this in an Ad from Spruce today, haven't heard of it, but it's claiming to blow away Whelen. For 2x 3x the brightness of even the best Whelen, maybe we are close to the justification territory or a $850 light bulb? Will it cut 1/4" steel when used in the shop with that intensity?

Any Pireps out there? Knowledge of this XeVision?

 

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/xevision_xetremeland.php?utm_campaign=USA%3A XeVision&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

It's more than a claim, we have Lab certified documented proof.

In fact the same Lab that Whelen (Lopresti / WAT) has used for their recent competitor comparisons graph, where we got all their data from their published graph (see below)..

There is no comparison, in performance, quality of manufacture and repairable/upgradeable. 

Includes an additional mode, included standard strobing affect mode for optimal collision and bird strike avoidance.

https://www.xevision.com/led_aircraft.html

https://www.xevision.com/movie/XV36-LED-7UN-fly.mp4

https://www.xevision.com/movie/VID_20210710_225154_mod.mp4

Edited March 1, 2022 by FastGlasair

[bradp]

59 minutes ago, FastGlasair said:

It's more than a claim, we have Lab certified documented proof.

In fact the same Lab that Whelen (Lopresti / WAT) has used for their recent competitor comparisons graph, where we got all their data from their published graph (see below)..

There is no comparison, in performance, quality of manufacture and repairable/upgradeable. 

Includes an addition mode, included standard strobing affect mode for optimal collision and bird strike avoidance.

https://www.xevision.com/led_aircraft.html

https://www.xevision.com/movie/XV36-LED-7UN-fly.mp4

https://www.xevision.com/movie/VID_20210710_225154_mod.mp4

@FastGlasairreally interesting approach here. 

Is it a fan that actively cools the LED? If so is there feedback /  indication if the fan fails?

how is the strobe function controlled? Can it be used like a regular light without strobe function? Is strobe function on a separate switch/circuit?  I could see flying in IMC distracting if you have to toggle the light on/off to cycle through the functions to get it to turn off   

Is there pAR 46 unit as well or does the smaller footprint fit both PAR36 and PAR46 fixtures?

A lot of the Mooney’s with cowl enclosed landing lights would likely need modification  of the enclosure to be able to accommodate the 90-degree plug.  If there was an adapter available to go backwards along the long axis of the unit, it would fit a lot of the Mooney’s I’d think. 
 

Given I paid $300 for a light that is very reliable but honestly not that bright, 3x the beignets of whelens best offering is certainly a step in the right direction  

 

[FastGlasair]

is it a fan that actively cools the LED? If so is there feedback /  indication if the fan fails? Yes a full immersion waterproof fan.  Yes the light will dim to protect itself if the fan does not work, there is a tachometer circuit coming from the fan itself, The light looks for that signal. Also thermistors are sensing the junction temps as well. Also with the remote indicator (small panel mount) of mode indication (available soon) there is feedback that the fan is inop. The sensing unit displays mode based on current flow and is passive.

how is the strobe function controlled? Can it be used like a regular light without strobe function? Is strobe function on a separate switch/circuit?  I could see flying in IMC distracting if you have to toggle the light on/off to cycle through the functions to get it to turn off   First mode is normally high, 2nd strobe and 3rd is low for dimmed output if you are offending oncoming traffic while taxiing. If you turn it off in high mode it stays in that mode,  ready for next use. You only need to toggle thru the modes if you want the strobing mode or dimmed mode, otherwise its not required.

Is there pAR 46 unit as well or does the smaller footprint fit both PAR36 and PAR46 fixtures? We make an adapter plate to up-size for Par 46 use. We could not fit any more of these ultra high performance optics into a Par 46 form factor, so there was no point to additionally make a Par 46.  Our next size we will make is Par 64 with about 1 million Candela.

A lot of the Mooney’s with cowl enclosed landing lights would likely need modification  of the enclosure to be able to accommodate the 90-degree plug.  If there was an adapter available to go backwards along the long axis of the unit, it would fit a lot of the Mooney’s I’d think.  We should look for a 90 degree elbow adapter,  but it would have to point rearward.
 

Given I paid $300 for a light that is very reliable but honestly not that bright, 3x the beignets of whelens best offering is certainly a step in the right direction  The other products are 'throw away", if a couple of LED's fail (they instruct to discard) also it is doomed for a very short life and then must buy again. Our units are repairable and upgradeable.

[carusoam]

Note to self…

@FastGlasair is the XeVision guy!

 

great details shared FG!

Thanks for supplying the details.

Best regards,

-a-

[carusoam]

11 hours ago, bradp said:

 

Given I paid $300 for a light that is very reliable but honestly not that bright, 3x the beignets of whelens best offering is certainly a step in the right direction  

 

Brad,

Isn’t that a pastry found in the New Orleans area?

My Mooney went their to find out once…

-a-

[bradp]

27 minutes ago, carusoam said:

Brad,

Isn’t that a pastry found in the New Orleans area?

My Mooney went their to find out once…

-a-

That’s a tasty typo!  Mmmm

[bradp]

6 minutes ago, bradp said:

That’s a tasty typo!  Mmmm

@FastGlasair great information! Sounds like you guys have really gotten the engineering worked out. 
 

And regarding the adapter - yes a rearward adapter would likely work best as that’s where the existing wiring enters the cutout.   I’m sure someone would be willing to share some pictures of the various models landing light cutout cowl vs wing setups.  I’d be happy to once my plane comes home.  
 

take care

 

b 
 

[FastGlasair]

On 3/1/2022 at 12:08 AM, bradp said:

@FastGlasair Great information! Sounds like you guys have really gotten the engineering worked out. 
 

Also, we are NOT over-driving the Cree highest power LED's beyond what's recommended by Cree (LED maker) for dependable long life. In the strobe mode we could "push them" considerably harder, but really unnecessary.

We have been developing these Landing and Taxi units for quite a few years. The competitive (racing) and luxury automotive world for some years, has been using active cooling to optimize performance of their high performance LED head-lighting. The thing that held us ( XeVision ) up until late 2019 was the optics, There were not adequately large diameter optics being made, to optimally utilize the Lumens power of these High powered LED's and suitable for an aviation landing light. All of the available optics were far too small to collimate the beam output suitably for a far reaching extreme performance landing light.  They were good for taxiing but could never compare to the output distance illumination of HID landing lights. The main advantage of LED is a much more uniform beam illumination over its entire primary beam angle. Our landing Light produces 1 Lux out at 1/3 mile. that,s a very useful level of long distance illumination.

The landing lights actual Lab measured output 10,870 Lumens and 322,000 Candela even after extended hours of full output use.  Even at the 50% intensity round beam shape 9 degree radius position it still offers > 150,000 Candela as can be seen on the XeVision graph shown very early in this thread. Well above the competitors center beam intensity when initially powered, before dimming as they all heat up. This can also be seen on the WAT (Whelen / Lopresti) graph also provided above in this thread)

Notes: (layman's terms definitions below)

Lumens:  Is the total amount of light being produced, irrespective of where it goes ie stray light, absorbed  etc.  We measure our actual lumens coming out the front (OTF) of our units, not the theoretical output of all the LED's combined from the LED mfg's. spec sheets as is typically done.  An integrating sphere is used to measure total Lumens output.

Candela: Defines the intensity of a beam which determines how far it can reach, this along with the beam angle out to 50% intensity beam edges, determines the usefulness of the beam (ie not like a laser) (Candela ( Cd ) and Candle Power ( CP ) are for practical purposes of equal value and equivalent metrics. ( Candle Power - CP is a legacy term).

Lux:  Is the amount of light falling on an object at some stated distance from the light source. A full moon in very clear dust-free, non-humid air is about 0.25 ( 1/4 ) LUX. and 0.50 ( 1/2 )  LUX is considered the lowest at a distance, useful light value for the human eye.

Edited March 3, 2022 by FastGlasair
additional clarifications, spelling corections

[carusoam]

Great additional details FG!

Thanks for sharing the experience.

Best regards,

-a-

[jetdriven]

How does this unit compare to the Xevision 50W HID I’m still using?  I’m still using this thing and it’s pretty bright

[carusoam]

Note for @FastGlasair above…

-a-

[FastGlasair]

On 3/1/2022 at 9:46 PM, jetdriven said:

How does this unit compare to the Xevision 50W HID I’m still using?  I’m still using this thing and it’s pretty bright

The 50 watt HID still reaches a bit further, because the "hot spot" is only 2-3 degrees round.  The secondary beam (also bright) is 9-10 degrees.

The LED provides a much more even intensity distribution to the eyes, out to about 10 degrees.

I would stick with what you have until there is some other reason to replace it.

Do you have any idea how many hours might be on the bulb ?  If say more than 500 hours, you could be at only 70% of original bulb Lumens light output.

The HID bulbs do slowly loose output with use. As long as you find its performance to be well beyond your satisfaction, wait to replace the bulb some additional hundreds of hours.

Edited April 5, 2023 by FastGlasair
correction

[FastGlasair]

An Interview on “in The Hangar” about Collision avoidance in the air etc. including birds.
https://youtu.be/D7qMpqw6VFI

[FastGlasair]

The post above is a Youtube "in The Hangar" (Taking off) interview was with Dan Blumel of XeVision regarding new developments in LED Landing and Taxi Lighting.

Efficacy of Aircraft Mounted Lighting to Reduce Bird Strikes

USDA Research - National Wildlife Research Center - Phase 2

Our objective in Phase 2 of our research was to quantify the potential behavioral differences in avian response to specific wavelength and pulse frequency. Our Phase 1 testing led us to research the potential response differences when avian specific contrast was greater or pulse rate was closer to the avian flicker fusion rate. The premise for the research was that if key components of a bird’s visual capability in the visual sensory perception namely:

• Color or Combination of Colors in the birds visual spectrum

• Flicker Rate – Ability to perceive fast moving objects could be exploited, our field response could be improved dramatically.

Our research intended to find a combination of these visual characteristics that would produce a consistent and measurable response. The test utilized LED lamps set to similar intensity with a fixed wavelength frequency from small infrared to ultraviolet and varying pulse widths to determine an alert reaction on the part of the test birds. This pilot study found that between 91% and 99% of the birds exposed to the 475-nm and 644-nm lights when pulsed (strobed) at a rapid rate exhibited an alert behavior.

This reaction occurred repeatedly and consistently as the light treatment was reapplied to the subject birds.

[mcarterak]

@FastGlasair Do you have any pics or video showing the beam at distance? Any thought given to aircraft (like an M20J) that only have a single source for landing and taxi light? I'd take a tradeoff in slightly shorter throw if it meant I could have a wider beam width in near range. 

[FastGlasair]

To answer your question, our XeVision XeTREME LED landing light has the brightest part of the round shaped beam out to about 9.5 degrees and a field beam angle of about 15 degrees. Note the 2 stree lights on the left side are off, the control tower light can be seen above one of the street lights that is off.

Just one of our lights alone produces useful light out well past 1/3 mile.

We also have a Taxi beam version that's about 35 degrees wide and about 11 degrees tall.

https://www.xevision.com/led_aircraft.html

https://youtu.be/w5Rv_xqDiYM  -  the strobing mode

In this un-zoomed photo there are 2 lights, one at each wingtip. about 30 feet apart. One is aimed at the very far distant hangars also illuminated ( the street lights in that area are off ), the other one at the 2 nearer hangars on the left side.

The second photo is a cropped (zoomed in) version of the first photo.

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by FastGlasair

[Niko182]

will these fit in the wings of an ovation with the connector sticking out on the side instead of being on the back?

Edited April 5, 2023 by Niko182

[FastGlasair]

13 minutes ago, Niko182 said:

will these fit in the wings of an ovation with the connector sticking out on the side instead of being on the back?

As you can see, the connector is on the side.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by FastGlasair