Landing Lights: Whelen LED vs Aeroled or others

[Greg Ellis]

I need to replace the landing light on my 1963 C model.  I am going to put in an LED light but they seem confusing on which to go with.  I have done a search of Mooneyspace but the search function leaves a lot to be desired.

Anyways, does anyone have experience with Whelen or AeroLEDS or any other brand and can clear up some of the confusion for me?

AeroLEDS have a high candle power but according to a chart on Whelen, it drops off after being in use for a while.  Whelen has a couple of different type (Parmetheus G3, Parmetheus Pro, Parmetheus Plus).  I assume that I am looking for a Par36 for my year and not a Par46.

I know we have a Whelen dealer on the forums, @OSUAV8TER and I am hoping he can give me some guidance as well.

Thanks for any advice and any pireps from anyone who has an LED landing light.  I am not limited to or tied to these two companies if there are other options out there that you guys know of.  Thanks again.

[Pinecone]

I researched last summer.  Too many flags about AeroLED, so I went with Whelan.   LONG track record of aircraft lighting.

And the Oshkosh sale helped.

Finally flew them at night last month, and they are awesome.

[McMooney]

I installed the Whelen Parmetheus  Plus 46 in my E maybe 3 years ago, No complaints.   Very Bright.   I believe the newer version is even better

[Andy95W]

What were the red flags about the AeroLED?  I’m considering upgrade also.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Andy95W

[MikeOH]

I went with Aero-Lites Fusion PAR46 (not the same as AeroLED). I’ve had it for about 4 1/2 years and 400 hours with zero issues. No problem with installation.

Two caveats:

1) I don’t fly at night; just wanted a full-time recognition light that didn’t have to be replaced all the time.

2) It’s not FAA/PMA approved. Oh, the horror! For the Karen’s out there I had my A&P install with a 337 so some future AR A&P wouldn’t refuse to sign off my annual!

[Marc_B]

FWIW. I had the parmetheus plus previously, and the G3 are noticeably brighter. Only downside is they draw a little more current. G3/plus are both cheaper than pro. No experience with the other brands. But haven’t been inclined to switch brands. 

[hypertech]

I have AeroLEDs and they've been flawless.  I put them in maybe 4-5 years ago.  At the time, they were far brighter than the Whelen offering and I did not even select the highest output ones.  I believe both companies have since updated their products so I don't know who is winning that race now but I would not hesitate to go with AeroLED again.

Edited January 16, 2023 by hypertech

[Greg Ellis]

Those of you that have used the Whelen products or AeroLeds, were they truly drop in replacements?  No modifications needed?

[Bunti]

My Whelen was drop in. Very easy. But be aware that LED lights have to be connected with the correct polarity. If the shop installs + and - back wrong after an annual, it will not work. I had that more than one time and landed with no landing light at night. Always check that the light is working after it may have been disconnected.

[Hank]

I like my Whelen Parmetheus. It has literally been turned off two times since installation in April 2014, once during annual and once during IFR cert testing.

I've thought about upgrading to the newer Parmetheus, but it's not worth the expense to me. Replacement was drop in, and I took the opportunity to splice in a longer lead just in case I ever need to remove the lower cowl again.

My 1970 C uses a PAR46 in the front of the cowling. The PAR36 is a pretty small diameter bulb, seems like mine is well over 4" across, but I don't remember the sizing convention to go from PAR sizes to inches.

[Fly Boomer]

9 minutes ago, Hank said:

My 1970 C uses a PAR46 in the front of the cowling. The PAR36 is a pretty small diameter bulb, seems like mine is well over 4" across, but I don't remember the sizing convention to go from PAR sizes to inches.

Parabolic Aluminum Reflector.  The number is eighths of an inch.

[Hank]

Just now, Fly Boomer said:

Parabolic Aluminum Reflector.  The number is eighths of an inch.

Eighths in diameter or in circumference?

By Diameter:  PAR36 = 36/8 = 4½"; PAR46 = 5¾".

[Fly Boomer]

Just now, Hank said:

Eighths in diameter or in circumference?

By Diameter:  PAR36 = 36/8 = 4½"; PAR46 = 5¾".

Diameter.

[Greg Ellis]

2 hours ago, Hank said:

I like my Whelen Parmetheus. It has literally been turned off two times since installation in April 2014, once during annual and once during IFR cert testing.

I've thought about upgrading to the newer Parmetheus, but it's not worth the expense to me. Replacement was drop in, and I took the opportunity to splice in a longer lead just in case I ever need to remove the lower cowl again.

My 1970 C uses a PAR46 in the front of the cowling. The PAR36 is a pretty small diameter bulb, seems like mine is well over 4" across, but I don't remember the sizing convention to go from PAR sizes to inches.

Thanks for that.  If I recall, mine was larger as well.  I will measure it this weekend.

[EricJ]

On 1/16/2023 at 9:00 AM, Greg Ellis said:

Those of you that have used the Whelen products or AeroLeds, were they truly drop in replacements?  No modifications needed?

I replaced my PAR46 bulb with a Whelen PAR46 tractor lamp off Amazon.   It is essentially the same as the landing lights they sell in form, fit, function, etc.   There were no significant installation issues, it was essentially a drop-in.

[Pinecone]

9 hours ago, Andy95W said:

What were the red flags about the AeroLED?  I’m considering upgrade also.

It seems they over drive their LEDs, leading to decrease in light over time and heating issues.

Not sure, but enough I felt more comfortable with Whelan.    I got whatever the latest and greatest ones.

[jetdriven]

these new G3 Whelen lamps are seriously bright.

[Hank]

4 minutes ago, jetdriven said:

these new G3 Whelen lamps are seriously bright.

How far out can you see the runway numbers at night?

Bright is nice, but seeing far is nicer! 

[jetdriven]

I havent flown one yet, but Ive installed a few, and looking at them has finally reached the painful "HID bright" stage. Gallagher aviation has a photo and it lights up the whole first 600 feet it looks like.

[Hank]

8 minutes ago, jetdriven said:

I havent flown one yet, but Ive installed a few, and looking at them has finally reached the painful "HID bright" stage. Gallagher aviation has a photo and it lights up the whole first 600 feet it looks like.

My original Parmetheus makes the numbers visible on final at 1/2 mile. For me to spend ~1/2 AMU for an upgrade, I would need data showing increased distance. To me, 600' on the ground doesn’t match the high beams on my Altima . . . .

[jetdriven]

the Whelen Data shows the G3 is about 3x brighter than an original parmetheus. 

 Parmetheus Pro PAR46 240K

Parmetheus G3  155K candlepower

parmetheus plus 109,000 cp but they advertise its 80% more than the original parmetheus. 

so the original parmetheus is 60-70K?

 

FYI the 50W HID is something like 750K, but a 2 degree beam.  but still, bright

 

 

[PT20J]

There are differences between the Whelen PAR 36 and PAR 46 bulbs. I have the wing mounted PAR 36 and was disappointed in the Parmetheus Plus. I didn’t do enough research. According to Whelen’s published 3rd party test data, the PAR 36 Parmetheus Plus is less bright than the stock incandescent bulbs. I upgraded to the G3 and they are now brighter than the incandescents. I am very happy with the G3s.

For the PAR 46, according to Whelen’s data, the Parmetheus Plus is about equivalent to the incandescent and the G3 is brighter.  

Skip

[OSUAV8TER]

@Greg Ellis thanks for the tag. As you know, I am a Whelen dealer so I stock and have in my inventory the G3 LED landing and taxi lights (PAR-36 and PAR-46 sizes). For the money, they can't be beat. AeroLED's flagship lamp, the Sunspot is more expensive and it does not perform as well (photo taken from a drone below). Both Whelen and AeroLED put a lot of power through their lamps so cooling is an important design consideration. Typically cooling occurs on the back side of the lamp with the heat sink. When you look at the size of the heat sink, there isn't much on the AeroLED so in a static environment, it powers down rather quickly as it heats up. The G3 does too but not to the extent of the AeroLED. As previously noted, that can shorten the life of the diodes. Getting airflow over them (while flying) helps cool them but it can be tough to accurately measure the effects that has on them, at least from what I have seen to this date (really no data). Another consideration besides measuring raw candela output is the lens and how does it perform for the pilot? I had Whelen go out and take photos from a drone hovering above the aircraft to get a good visual of how it looks like in a real environment and they speak for themselves. For $399 versus ~$700 for the PAR-46 size (assuming singular landing light on the nose of your C) it is better and can't be beat. Here is a link to my website. PM me, email me at gallagheraviationllc@gmail.com, or call me at 1-833-425-5288.

https://www.gallagheraviationllc.com/WAT-G3-PAR-46-LED-Landing-Light_p_134.html <- G3 PAR-46 link.

 

 

[Greg Ellis]

@OSUAV8TER, thanks very much for that reply with valuable information.  I appreciate it.  I think I am going with the Whelen G3.  I am just not exactly sure if I am a Par36 or Par46 and will measure that this weekend when I am at the airport.

[OSUAV8TER]

@Greg EllisI looked at a 1965 M20C on Controller and it has a single lamp in the nose that is a PAR-46 size. You can email me a photo or you can do the measurement too when you are with the airplane. I have done every generation PAR-46 Whelen LED landing light on my Bonanza (Parmetheus Plus, Parmetheus Pro, now the G3) and the G3 is hands down the best light I have flown behind. There is a wow factor to it.