Landing Lights

[rodsmith]

I am looking for reasonably priced LED landing lights. Has anyone used aftermarket auto lights? I know they are available in several configurations.

[JimParker256]

I believe the "standard" GE PAR36 landing lights typically project a roughly 8-15 degree light beam, while the "taxi" lights are more like 30-60 degree beams. The GE incandescent lights consume about 50 watts, and are rated at 400 lumens initially, but over time, they dim slightly (maybe 10-20%). They also tend to fail just when you need them most... (Murphy was an optimist!)

There are a bunch of folks claiming their LEDs are "certified" for aviation use, or PMA'ed. At least one even offers an STC. I find that odd, since the original PAR36 bulbs themselves are not PMA'ed, nor held to any kind of standards. But the bottom line is that only matters for certified aircraft. As the builder of an Experimental Amateur Built airplane, YOU get to decide what to use. You can certainly select one of the Alphabeam, AeroLEDs, Wheelen, or "other" name-brand aviation supplier LED lights, but those are pretty expensive. ACS shows a range of $149 (Navstrobe) to nearly $800 (Wheelen and AeroLEDs) for PAR36 type lights, though the higher-end lights are about as powerful as the HID lights (and cost about the same)!

In looking at more reasonable-cost LED alternatives, I came across a company that offers reasonably priced, but seemingly high-quality LED lights for tractors (which is what the PAR36 lights were originally designed for, by the way). I'm giving serious consideration to these guys: https://www.larsenlights.com/par-36-...tt-flood-light. They offer PAR-36 compatible (4.5") LEDs in four different versions: Flood (60 degree), Spot (20 degree), Trapezoid (40 degree), and "Hi-Lo" (2-positions - a "low" position with a 3-LED trapezoidal beam, and a "high" position that adds a 3-LED "spot" beam). All four versions put out around 1450 lumens, and sell for <$30.

I've read of several people who installed the "spot" version as their "landing light", and the "trapezoid" version as their taxi light. Most say that the true "floods" are so wide that they are annoying, but that's one of those "personal opinion" things... All of the Larsen PAR36 LEDs are rated at 18W, but use about 13W (versus up to 250W for the most powerful incandescent PAR-36 lights from GE). Personally, I'm intrigued by the "Hi-Lo" version. It's a bit weaker than the regular trapezoid lights on "low" position, but puts out plenty of light in the "high" position. And I suspect that it would be a bit less sensitive to proper aiming...

They also offer a larger "Combo" light that is an absolute beast: https://www.larsenlights.com/led-70. Like the "Hi-Lo" above, it uses two "settings": a "low" that uses 4 LEDs in a trapezoidal pattern, and a "high" position that combines the "low" LEDs with 3 additional "spot" LEDs to extend the distance in the center of the illumination area. But it is a 6.1" diameter light, and does NOT fit in a standard PAR-36 fitting. But the biggest "plus" is that it puts out a TON of light: over 5500 lumens (versus 1450 for the 4.5" lights above). The cost is <$90, and it throws about the same amount of light as those $400-500 "name brand" aviation-logo lights...

If I decide to go with just one light in the cowling, it will probably be one of the larger "combo" lights. Seems like that would provide a nice throw for the landing light, but also give a wide enough beam to be useful for taxiing. The ability to turn off the "spot" landing light when taxiing would likely be appreciated by my fellow pilots...

One other interesting idea I saw on another forum: a "hinged" landing light bracket that instead of being locked into a single position with a "set-screw" or bolt(s), used a very lightweight servo (like those used in radio-controlled airplanes) to allow the light to be adjusted up/down in flight by the pilot. The logic was that you want a different "aim point" for the landing light for wheel landings than you do for 3-point landings, and neither of those might be ideal for your approach...

Food for thought. Lots of decisions in a homebuilt...

[rodsmith]

Great info Jim, thanks. I've been looking at smaller 4 or 6" led lightbars. Price is reasonable and some are up to 3500 lumens, but they are very heavy. My thought was to see if I could remove the lights and electronics from the case and save a lot of weight.

[JimParker256]

I've wondered if some of the smaller light bars might fit in the leading edge of the wing, in between a pair of ribs. They would require a wider (span-wise) opening, but it would be smaller from top-to-bottom. Lots of very bright light-bars out there... I live in the country, and some of the truck drivers out here think they are off-road all the time, running around with their "off-road only" light bars lit up brighter than the sun. A few times, I've just had to pull over and wait for one of them to pass – literally could not even see the stripe on the right side of the road 20 feet in front of my car...