Landing Lights
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 4:23 pm
by messydeer
Hey, guys!
Been flying my Sonex with a sport license the last 3 years. Now I’m going to get my private and am looking for info about landing lights. First, do we have to use two lights? If not, will one be bright enough?
Seems I could get a pretty bright LED light from Mauser or someplace, then just fab the bracket. And if I went with two lights, I suppos I’d want to get a wig wag circuit.
Suggestions?
Dan
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 4:52 pm
by MichaelFarley56
Good question Dan. If you look at FAR 91.205, you will see there’s no requirement at all for any type of landing light for night operations. It’s up to you if you want to fly at night with no light, have one, two, etc.; it’s your own comfort level. Personally, my opinion is that if you’re going to be doing much night flying, the more lights the merrier so at least one bright one is a good idea. If you want to have two bright lights, that’s even better. Some of these LED lights that are super bright yet take little power and don’t generate heat are an excellent option for our airplanes.
Good luck!
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 5:11 pm
by messydeer
Right. I’ll be looking for a single very bright LED light. Any idea how bright ‘bright’ is? I see that Duckworks lists their 2nd tier LED light at 320,000 candlepower. I’ve also seen PAR36 listed, which I believe is the pattern lights shoot. Duckworks also mentions ‘no RF interference’, which makes me wonder if there’d normally be a problem without some fix.
Dan
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 7:38 pm
by messydeer
Having good luck with a short search for LED lights. Think this one was from somebody with an RV: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J4HLNC4/ref … Q5CN&psc=1
I read that 4000 lumens is plenty bright for a motorcycle. The one here is 2500.
there’s another http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CPTKWRK/ref … HVJWQWNNHA
more powerful, but is 4.3" tall. I’m a little concerned this would make me mount it too far back, but not sure how far is too far??
Dan
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 8:24 pm
by Bryan Cotton
Dan,
I am a fan of my Fresh Aero lights. Pricier than the amazon ones. Still, they may work fine but require more effort. They also sell a Sonex lens kit. You will need a lens. I have scratch built one for a C140 before and it can be done, but it made me appreciate the lens kit. They sell it separately. The Fresh Aero lights are much shorter and fit nicely in the wingtip.
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 12:55 am
by jjbardell
As a private pilot and first time builder who will do the unthinkable (night flying in a Sonex (lol)), I would strongly encourage you to put in two lights in separate breaker switches. Separately wired so if one fails you have a second. Even if they are mounted in the same wing.
I used two lights, one aimed down for taxi and one up for landing. Both will be used for landing and takeoff.
You may want to look at the power of the duckworks led as a comparison. I love mine, they are plenty bright.
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 10:03 pm
by messydeer
Thanks for the feedback, guys!
I have a taildragger. Hadn’t thought about different angles for taxi vs landing. At first glance I’d think they could be the same. I suppose also I could get one spot (30 degrees) and the other flood (60).
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 1:22 pm
by messydeer
I just ordered several 36W rectangular LED lights from amzn. Here’s a link to my wishlist: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishl … l_huc_view
Cool thing about the prime feature is free, no hassle returns.
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2016 12:24 pm
by messydeer
Any ideas on how to fab a bracket and install the landing lights? It’s pretty close quarters.
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2016 3:38 pm
by messydeer
For the bracket, I was thinking of doing it similar to one like Duckworks, making a wide vertical panel to span between the ribs. After looking at that for more than I’d like to admit, I came up with what could be a simpler design for my particular light. I’m using this one:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J4HAXE8/ref … 3274&psc=1
If I use the existing bracket, I could rivet it to the bottom skin after first putting a channel 032 doubler across the bottom. This would allow me great access to install and adjust.
I’d add some pics but can’t find a stupid file size reducer on the App Store
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2016 3:57 pm
by Bryan Cotton
My Fresh Aero lights have two separate brackets - one on each side. Works well.
I mail my pictures to myself. Apple lets you reduce size when you mail. Then save the smaller picture back to your photos. That is one way to trim file size.
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2016 4:31 pm
by NWade
Gotta say that I liked the duckworks installation on my Sonex. Pretty straightforward and well thought-out. Lots of little details to consider that I hadn’t thought through until the kit came. My first reaction was “wow, why so many parts?” - but then as I assembled it I realized that everything had a purpose. It works as-advertised (at least in tests while in the wing-cradle; my Sonex is not finished yet)!
You might be able to save a few $$ rolling your own landing-light; but you’ll burn a lot of extra time figuring out your custom installation. It comes down to priorities: Are you more interested in the process of building and tinkering, or is getting the thing in the air more-important to you?
–Noel
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2016 7:45 pm
by messydeer
I ended up buying Duckworks a few minutes ago. Couldn’t figure out how I could get my lens pressed into the backside of the LE without another access hole. More to follow…
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 12:55 pm
by nwyooper
Seems to me like I remember using safety wire with hooks on the end that I pivoted and then pulled out after lens was in place. Installed Duckworks in my Onex.
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 1:04 pm
by messydeer
Hmm…could I get some more color on that?
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 4:20 pm
by fastj22
Duckworx is a nice kit, but its a real pain to fit the lens in at the end. Like building a ship in a bottle.
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 5:03 pm
by messydeer
That’s exactly my problem. Figured Duckworks had somehow solved it.
Re: Landing Lights
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 5:20 pm
by fastj22
messydeer wrote:That’s exactly my problem. Figured Duckworks had somehow solved it.
I made up several new words while installing mine.