PIREP on Uma Light bezels?

[gmonnig]

After doing some night flying, I'm thinking I'd like to work on some cockpit lighting. I had Nulites on my last plane and they worked great. I prefer their warm incandescent light instead of their harsh LED lights. But I was looking into the Uma lights as they seem to have a more even light distribution over the Nulites. Anybody have experience with these?

[Bob E]

https://www.frightprops.com/lighting/led-lighting-darklight/nano-spot-mini-spotlights.html

These little red 12v LED spots are the perfect addition to the existing overhead lights.  Keep the existing overhead lights - the rheostat needs the resistance of the incandescents to dim properly - and simply tap into the wire going into one of them.  The LEDs dim along with the incandescents. They are adjustable so you can point them anywhere such as the flap and trim indicator, or places on the panel that the main overheads don't cover well.

I've had two of these little spots for about five years now and they put controlled light EVERYWHERE I need it.  I started out with four (photo) but that was overkill.  Two are plenty. I added them to the existing bezels with wire ties (on top of a bit of insulation since the bezels get hot from the incandescents).

This is a minor alteration at most.  See https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2018/september/24/aircraft-maintenance-cockpit-lighting-repair-and-improvement and AC 43-210A, figures 3-1 and 3-2.

They make night flying much safer. 

 

 

[Fly Boomer]

On 1/23/2023 at 12:10 PM, gmonnig said:

But I was looking into the Uma lights as they seem to have a more even light distribution over the Nulites.

Interesting web site.  On the page for the EL lights, they show night pictures, but the comment below says "*Please note that instruments shown are internally lit".  Not confidence inspiring for me.

[Fly Boomer]

17 minutes ago, Bob E said:

These little red 12v LED spots are the perfect addition to the existing overhead lights. 

What are the "binocular" protrusions?

[carusoam]

18 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

What are the "binocular" protrusions?

Bulb goes in one hole…

Light comes out the other… 90° from each other…

Best regards,

-a-

[Bob E]

22 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

What are the "binocular" protrusions?

Do you mean the area at the tip that looks like an end cap?  I had forgotten about this- at full brightness the LEDs were a bit too bright for my taste, so I cut some tiny strips of gray-shaded plastic and attached them to the end with another wire tie.

I'm attaching another photo of what the panel looks like when lit with the LEDs augmenting the OEM incandescents.  This is at a fairly bright setting but the point is you can get any level of light you want to preserve your night vision, directed at any areas of the cabin.

[Fly Boomer]

10 hours ago, Bob E said:

I'm attaching another photo of what the panel looks like when lit with the LEDs augmenting the OEM incandescents.  This is at a fairly bright setting but the point is you can get any level of light you want to preserve your night vision, directed at any areas of the cabin.

My night flying days are probably over, but that looks really good!