Nav / Position Lights

[AJ88V]

One of my nav lights was burnt out last flight.  Anybody know what size the bulb is?

What's the latest story on replacing these with LEDs? 

I found these on Aircraft Spruce for $90:  https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/wingtipLED11-14884.php?clickkey=3008538  Not TSO'd or PMA'd, but some people appear to be installing them as a minor mod.  $90 seems like a lot compared to a $2 incandescent bulb, but actually pretty cheap if they improve safety.

Already have Whelen xenon strobes in the wingtips, but interested in other options too. Do they do wigwag nav lights?

[Fly Boomer]

5 minutes ago, AJ88V said:

Already have Whelen xenon strobes in the wingtips, but interested in other options too. Do they do wigwag nav lights?

One potential issue with cheaper LEDs is that their controller or power supply can blast out significant RF interference, and negatively impact your COM and maybe NAV radios.  Many or most on this forum go with Whelen, and it's made easier by one of our members who is a distributor for Whelen and other aviation-related equipment.  Let's see if @OSUAV8TER can advise you.

[N201MKTurbo]

Just buy one of these it will probably last 60 years like the old one.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pnpages/11-01954.php

 

[AJ88V]

17 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Just buy one of these it will probably last 60 years like the old one.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pnpages/11-01954.php

 

So that's the right bulb?  I wish I had pulled it out after flight, but we had a dinner party to make that evening.

[EricJ]

Personally I think they qualify as small standard parts (the base should be BA15S or BAY15S or similar, anything with a compatible base will plug into the socket).   Most these days are fairly quiet from a radio perspective, the main risk seems to be whether they're bright enough or not.

[AJ88V]

Decided to hold off ordering anything until I open up the bulb and see why it's not working. It might just be a bit of corrosion on the bulb base for all I know.

In the meantime, I found these LED alternatives:

These have a reflector just like the original incandescent bulb:  https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/britta_13-22036.php

These do not have the reflector, but are a little better rated than the ones above:  https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/lednavlightsreplacement.php?clickkey=101226

Any opinions?  Anybody installed one?  337 and signoff?  Cost of the A&P participation probably kills it economically, but the higher brightness and lower power draw is a big attraction.

[Marc_B]

Given that Nav lights have FAA regulations, seems like the best option would be either stay with current type of bulb vs spend the money on an approved LED solution like the WAT Orion series.  Otherwise the good person to ask would be your IA doing your annuals; they may feel strongly one way or the other about LED bulbs in a standard fixture.

https://flywat.com/collections/mooney-products

[EricJ]

31 minutes ago, AJ88V said:

Decided to hold off ordering anything until I open up the bulb and see why it's not working. It might just be a bit of corrosion on the bulb base for all I know.

In the meantime, I found these LED alternatives:

These have a reflector just like the original incandescent bulb:  https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/britta_13-22036.php

• BAY15s base (single contact, dual off-set retainers)
• Exact replacement for Grimes/Whelen/GE incandescent reflector bulb

Looks like a good replacement part to me.

31 minutes ago, AJ88V said:

These do not have the reflector, but are a little better rated than the ones above:  https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/lednavlightsreplacement.php?clickkey=101226

Note: This bulb is a standard 75/12 replacement for any Grimes, Whelen, AeroFlash Wing Tip Light Assembly.

This also looks like a good replacement part to me.

 

IMHO, these are small standard parts that fit in the standard BAY15S base.

31 minutes ago, AJ88V said:

Any opinions?  Anybody installed one?  337 and signoff?  Cost of the A&P participation probably kills it economically, but the higher brightness and lower power draw is a big attraction.

From FAA Part 43 Appendix A, under "Preventive Maintenance":

(17) Replacing bulbs, reflectors, and lenses of position and landing lights.

In other words, you can do that yourself.   Just make a maintenance entry in the airframe logbook that is consistent with FAR 43.9, using your certificate number and type (e.g., 1234567 Commercial Pilot), and you're done.

[MB65E]

The Whelen chroma lamps are the best drop-ins. They even have a TSO. I wouldn’t mess with anything else from Spruce. 
 

I have gone to the dark side with some Amazon lamps for some installed that don’t have a TSO requirement. Whelen still makes a better product. 
 

Aero-Lites are a solid fix for other drop-in replacements specifically the 508 and 305 lamps white trailing nav lamps.

-Matt

[AJ88V]

Adding one more to the mix:  Aero-Lites nav position lights

this is the brand that was recommended to me for another application. Specifically states no EMI.

Note the heat sinks, which none of the others have. Not sure if that’s good or bad. Early LED lights needed heat sinks, but it seems they aren’t really needed on more modern lights. Suspect the LEDs got more efficient as the GaN material quality improved (a subject I used to know a great deal about), so maybe this is a really old design.