Position light and battery upgrades and fixes

[FastEddieB]

 

i would try to fly with strobes and landing light off this time and see if i still have my flaps jam.

 

 

Verify that the strobes are not required "anti-collision" lighting.

 

I think you'll find the landing light is the culprit, however.

 

FWIW, in my Sky Arrow with the same engine and a 4509 landing light (100 watt), my POH says, "CAUTION - Maximum operating time of landing light: 5 minutes". I don't think there's a heat problem, but I know if it's left on while doing touch and goes the battery will gradually drain down.

[Bobby CAU]

thanks Fast Eddie,

only strobes and nav light and pos light will be off (im using AVEO 3 in 1) and anti collision light will keep on.

 

landing light will be also off after take off too.

[chanik]

So one detail I overlooked when putting in the Aveoflash lights is that the breaker is rated a little bit too low. These are the 3-in-1 ultras (not the LSA ones) and they draw more like 15W each, including the ganged together strobes, or 1.25Amps so 2.5Amps total. The Pos lights breaker is 2Amps. So on my first, long night flight, I had to keep resetting the breaker when it blew. I just swapped it for a 3Amp breaker. The final small change, since I don't like filaments, is the cabin light. This is 3x brighter and less power of course.http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-41mm-CANBUS-ERROR-FREE-4-SMD-LED-Dome-Festoon-Interior-Light-Bulbs-Lamp-/380573716227?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item589bf60f03 Was really hard to pull that metal plate forward to get to the bulb. I had someone squeeze the retainer springs together to get it to slide forward.

[Jim Meade]

I can't find the Aveo UltraLP light mentioned. Can someone post a current URL? Thank you.

 

OK, I found it on Air

[opticsguy]

Is there a FD approved replacement for the German position lights and strobe? I fly at night and the tower can't see my lights anymore at night and once cleared a Citation to take off and it was behind me on the taxiway. Lucky for me, he told the tower to let me go first.

[chanik]

FD approved? Nope. The Auroras are about 4x as bright and have strobes as well, but FD doesn't mention them. Now FD also does not specifically call out the German things that are on there (Roger found them on his own) but they suck so don't replace with them if you can help it. There is some wiggle room here since FD only generically refers to the position lights (if they were specific then you would definitely need an LOA) and even a pilot is allowed to change bulbs on his own, but these 'bulbs' are more like assemblies and so it is a grey zone. Bottom line is I seriously doubt you would have any 'regulatory' issues if scrutinized by the FAA swapping out for these and they are easy to do.

[Roger Lee]

FD has the lights listed in the parts manual with part numbers so legally you would need to use those. That said the ones on the SW are terrible and your right you can't see them unless your less than 50 yds. I have seen the other lights Kurt talks about and a few others. They are absolutely 10 times better. You cabin do as you wish, but when when mine start to die all swap them out for better lights that can actually be seen day or night. I'm with Kurt that I wouldn't think anyone would give you grief especially since the others are worthless as a safety item.

[Jim Meade]

The Auroras are about 4x as bright and have strobes as well,

Kurt,

The URL you gave above is broken. Can you provide a new one or give me the exact nomenclature so I can search? TIA

[chanik]

Seems Wicks only carries the LSA versions now.http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/aveoflashultra.php

[Arian]

I hope you confirmed that the wire can handle the load of the new lights with respect to size, run, and "free air"

 

You wouldn't like to let the smoke out of the wires I'm sure.

[chanik]

Need much more powerful lights for that. The wires are stranded 16 or 18AWG wire. Even 18AWG is14Amps continuous rating. It just needs to take 1.25Amps. Really it would take more like 30-40Amps to fuse the wire.

[opticsguy]

I saw the AVEO Aurora Ultras at Oshkosh. They are blinding. This is now a safety issue for me so I'm going to buy a pair. I've asked FD repeatedly about getting an LOA for these, and no action so far.

 

I'll use spade plugs so I can put the stock ones back on if necessary.

The wires coming through the wing look to be 22 ga. There could be a slight voltage drop when the 3A pulse goes through. Does anyone think the LC filter is still needed?

[Roger Lee]

Call Bill Applegate (520-296-1502). Don't call too early. He put them on his and no issues. They work far better than ours. There are two screws for mounting instead of one, but easy to do. He used a Rivnut gun to install the Rivnuts for the screws.

[Doug G.]

What lights are on the CTLSi? It does not have the beacon on top of the tail, but has bright position lights with strobes integrated on each side. I don't know how difficult it would be to get them to fit, they have a different shape.

[opticsguy]

I got mine from Aircraft Spruce today. Only one screw, another hole the wires go through, and another post to keep it from twisting. The trick now is to get the wires hooked up.

 

Free shipping

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/aveoflashultra.php#review_tab

[Doug G.]

Are you experimental? This is one of those frustrating issues where there is a better replacement ( even one being used by FD) that provides a larger degree of safety, but there is no LOA.

[Roger Lee]

These may be polarity (+/-) sensitive so check them before soldering the ends. I don't remember. Many self contained lights like these are polarity sensitive.

[opticsguy]

90 minutes to do the install. Only half the LEDs were working on the green side.

before (position)

 

after (same exposure, later in the morning)

 

Based on exposure tests with my camera, the Aurora Ultras seem to be 10x brighter in position lights, and 20x or more brigher in strobe.

I ran them for 10 minutes with a freshly charged battery and no breaker issues. Wires stayed cool.

The only difrerence is the threaded hole is about 1/4" different from the old CT light, so the graphics don't match up exactly.

 

 

 

If I can get up early enough tomorrow, some night flying....

[sandpiper]

Graphics not matching. Yup, that's the first thing I noticed - not.

 

Looks like the way to go. Another vote for E-LSA!

[sandpiper]

The literature says these are position plus strobe. Is more wiring & new switch required or are both strobe & position on at the same time?

 

Pricey but a lot more functional.

[opticsguy]

I soldered the strobe and position to the red wire in the wing, so you get both like you did with the old position light breaker. To limit the current draw, I left about an inch of the old 22 ga wire from the old lights. It may cut down the peak strobe brightness, but it's still plenty bright.

 

I'm going to write this install up and send it to FD.

 

More light porn:

strobe before

 

Strobe after. This will blind you.

[sandpiper]

Got it. Thank you.

[Roger Lee]

No new wiring or changes need to be made to the system. I would solder them and use some heat shrink due to vibration and wire movement within the wing. It just mounts slightly different, but light output is far greater.

[opticsguy]

Yup. Heat shrink tubing over the solder joints. Use the foam gasket from AVEO to mark the holes to drill. The hard part is how to get the wires from the old hole to the new one. I made a tool to do that from some solid wire.

[Jim Meade]

Just keep in mind that solder joints are a likely place for wire to break if they sustain vibration. Some avionics guys I know avoid them if possible.