I just posted some pic's of my new home made high intensity LED landing light. I used a 20watt heatsink mounted LED and fastened it to an automotive high beam reflector and lens from a projector type headlight that I bought at a junk yard for $20. I made the outside lexan cover to bend around the leading edge so it would get better coverage.
Now for my next project.............
kb
Landing light
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fgayford
Re: Landing light
Hi Kess
Very impressive job, they look good.
How in the world did you run the wires through the wing and hw are you going to run the wires to the tail?
Thanks
Fred
PS pictures are worth a thousand words.
Very impressive job, they look good.
How in the world did you run the wires through the wing and hw are you going to run the wires to the tail?
Thanks
Fred
PS pictures are worth a thousand words.
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blaswichk
Re: Landing light
Fred,
I had to remove the wing tips to install the internal bracket, and to mount the nav lights. I used a 10' piece of Pex 3/8 diameter plastic tubing from Lowes plumbing department for a wire raceway, and I used a 10' piece of conduit to use as a tool to slide the wire and pex through the rib holes closest to the spar. I secured the wing-tip end with a cable clamp and L-bracket, and midway I acessed through the inspection cover to get a safety wire wrap to secure the Pex to a rib. Nothing touchs or rubs the aileron linkage, and I put a grommet through the bottom of the wing right at the torque tube hole and put a Molex connector on so I could unplug it to remove wing. I will use the same Pex laying in the bottom of the fuselage tube and secure the same way to keep it from flopping around. I still will have to get creative to get the wire through the verticle stab up to the top for the tail-light.
kb
I had to remove the wing tips to install the internal bracket, and to mount the nav lights. I used a 10' piece of Pex 3/8 diameter plastic tubing from Lowes plumbing department for a wire raceway, and I used a 10' piece of conduit to use as a tool to slide the wire and pex through the rib holes closest to the spar. I secured the wing-tip end with a cable clamp and L-bracket, and midway I acessed through the inspection cover to get a safety wire wrap to secure the Pex to a rib. Nothing touchs or rubs the aileron linkage, and I put a grommet through the bottom of the wing right at the torque tube hole and put a Molex connector on so I could unplug it to remove wing. I will use the same Pex laying in the bottom of the fuselage tube and secure the same way to keep it from flopping around. I still will have to get creative to get the wire through the verticle stab up to the top for the tail-light.
kb
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cossitt.alan
Re: Landing light
The current demands on my LED lighting (stobes/nav and landing lights) is so
low that I was able to use flat computer wire (I think it was 16 wide by 24
gauge flat) and I glued it to the back of the wing between the flaps and
alerions and the main wing body. I used three of the wires per power input
into my lights and high quality contact cement. This gave an equivilent of
something like 18 gauge wire per each power input. Can't remember the exact
value but there are tables out there that you can use. This is working well
with the wires not getting warm due to the wire resistence (and current, of
course).
This has the advantage of not needing to get the tube into the wing and
figuring out how fasten it securely without the hole edges cutting the tube.
Also this is very light.
Between the wire coming out of the body and into the wings I placed some
waterproof connectors.
This was suggested my Mark B.
I was lazy and purchased my lights from AeroLeds (highly recommend their
lights, though expensive they are really good).
-Alan
low that I was able to use flat computer wire (I think it was 16 wide by 24
gauge flat) and I glued it to the back of the wing between the flaps and
alerions and the main wing body. I used three of the wires per power input
into my lights and high quality contact cement. This gave an equivilent of
something like 18 gauge wire per each power input. Can't remember the exact
value but there are tables out there that you can use. This is working well
with the wires not getting warm due to the wire resistence (and current, of
course).
This has the advantage of not needing to get the tube into the wing and
figuring out how fasten it securely without the hole edges cutting the tube.
Also this is very light.
Between the wire coming out of the body and into the wings I placed some
waterproof connectors.
This was suggested my Mark B.
I was lazy and purchased my lights from AeroLeds (highly recommend their
lights, though expensive they are really good).
-Alan
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blaswichk
Re: Landing light
Aha! I think that I just read about using thin computer ribbon cable. This would work real well on the back side of the verticle stab to get to the top to the strobe and tail-light.
Cool!
kb
Cool!
kb
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cossitt.alan
Re: Landing light
That is what it is called. Thanks. Worked very and very easy to do.
-Alan Cossitt
>From my iPhone. Please excuse typos and terseness.
-Alan Cossitt
>From my iPhone. Please excuse typos and terseness.
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earthstaraircraft
Re: Landing light
Hi Kess
We just installed LED head lights in my electric car, I have a small 12
volt car battery to run my lights and it would run the incondesents for 45
min, the LED's will run for 7.5 hrs! I paid $10 each for the head lights from
China. Ask Mike, he has the information on ordering them.
I believe that they put out an equivalent of 100 wats.
Happy Flying
Mark
mec823@gmail.com
We just installed LED head lights in my electric car, I have a small 12
volt car battery to run my lights and it would run the incondesents for 45
min, the LED's will run for 7.5 hrs! I paid $10 each for the head lights from
China. Ask Mike, he has the information on ordering them.
I believe that they put out an equivalent of 100 wats.
Happy Flying
Mark
mec823@gmail.com
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blaswichk
Re: Landing light
Hi Mark,
Yes, the LED project was fun. I found this 20watt job that came with it's own 3" by 5" heatsink. It's rated for 14 volts, so at 12.6 volts on my bench, it only drew about 1.2 amps, but was brighter than all get-out. It didn't have a lens, so I created one using a car projector type lens and a reflector, as the light was scattered. I just tested it a couple of weeks ago, before the monsoons, and it was nice and bright, even though a 100watt aviation light is a bit brighter. At 1.2 amps, I'm not bogging down the electrical though.
Oh, my LED was also from China, but Hong Kong. I found them through e-bay, and also bought some 1 watt red and green jumbo LED's that will make bright homade nav lights. (Now if had just ordered the 1 watt white ones too.)
Kess
Yes, the LED project was fun. I found this 20watt job that came with it's own 3" by 5" heatsink. It's rated for 14 volts, so at 12.6 volts on my bench, it only drew about 1.2 amps, but was brighter than all get-out. It didn't have a lens, so I created one using a car projector type lens and a reflector, as the light was scattered. I just tested it a couple of weeks ago, before the monsoons, and it was nice and bright, even though a 100watt aviation light is a bit brighter. At 1.2 amps, I'm not bogging down the electrical though.
Oh, my LED was also from China, but Hong Kong. I found them through e-bay, and also bought some 1 watt red and green jumbo LED's that will make bright homade nav lights. (Now if had just ordered the 1 watt white ones too.)
Kess