New AeroLED Landing Lights

[Andy]

My only concern with the AeroLEDs (I have them on my RV14 and love them) is the power usage.

It would be interesting to see a power budget both for a functioning alternator and for alternator failure. I suspect they (high power lights) would have to be turned off almost immediately if the alternator quit.

Also interested in a thermal analysis. Will the lamp housings cope with that dissipation when ambient temperature is 100+ deg F?

[Tsquared]

529B6BDB-996B-4AD1-A4BF-B5D94E497760.jpgFollowing Bruces led, I had new AeroLED SunSpot landing lights and AeroLED MicroSun taxi lights on my FX3. My local A&P did the work as electrical stuff is way outside my comfort zone. Initial impression is holy crap these things are bright. I flew Friday night around sunset but choose to end earlier than planned due to lots of student traffic in the pattern and the tower about to close for the evening. I ended after Nautical twilight (about 40 min after sunset). The most noticeable difference is with the taxi lights. With three student pilots in the pattern with me, the runway lights were set on high and it was hard to see the taxi light pattern on the runway. However once I got onto a taxiway, the pattern was very clear and it was a massive improvement. The landing lights were also a marked improvement but not nearly as big an impact as the taxi lights. With the landing lights set to pulse, the tower was able to see me about 9 miles out with the setting sun behind me so from a be seen point of view they worked well.

We did deviate from how Bruce mounted the taxi lights. We fabricated an aluminum base plate, mounted the taxi lights to that and then attached the assembly to the V cabana using 2 Adele clamps per light. the lights can be easily adjusted using washers if needed. Another point we deviated from was my A&P used a combination circuit breaker/single pull switch for the taxi lights and mounted the switch on the upper left panel.

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[Bruce Graham]

Glad you were able to get the install completed! They are a really nice product, and I have been super happy with the increased visibility during the day, and the obvious candela increase for night flying.

I also ran new wires to each wingtip, so I could install the AeroLED nav/pos and tail lights. For some reason, the factory wiring to the tail light was already 18G, and not the 22G that is listed on the schematics, which saved me from having to replace that section. They are also in the same league when it comes to the increase in brightness and visibility.

The taxi lights are now finished, as I still needed to add black shrink tubing and lock nuts to the u-bolts to finish off the look. Super happy with the angle I was able to achieve with my beveled pieces.
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[Andy]

It looks like the cabane V location for the taxi lights puts a lot of light on the back of the prop. Has that been a problem?

[Bruce Graham]

It looks like the cabane V location for the taxi lights puts a lot of light on the back of the prop. Has that been a problem?

It is not a problem. You can definitely lean a bit and see some light reflecting, but it doesn't seem to be an issue at all.

The primary issue is getting the proper spacing on the outside of the light body, so that they are not lighting up the side of the taxiway. I made a few adjustments on my spacers to get the lighting toward the centerline, and have been extremely happy.

[Tsquared]

It looks like the cabane V location for the taxi lights puts a lot of light on the back of the prop. Has that been a problem?

Wasn’t a problem for me