Would you install lights?

wrote:
On Aug 16, 7:44 pm, Lou wrote:
I'm getting close to covering my wings. I don't currently fly at night
and could even say that I have no intention on flying at night.
However I had no intention on getting married either. Would anyone
install lights anyway or just limit yourself to flying in the
daylight.
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I would not install lights... But I WOULD install ultra-bright LED's.

-R.S.Hoover



In my day we didn't have LEDs, we had candles...and we LIKED it.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

schreef:
On Aug 16, 7:44 pm, Lou wrote:
I'm getting close to covering my wings. I don't currently fly at night
and could even say that I have no intention on flying at night.
However I had no intention on getting married either. Would anyone
install lights anyway or just limit yourself to flying in the
daylight.
------------------------------------------------------------------

I would not install lights... But I WOULD install ultra-bright LED's.

Can't see your point, Mr. Hoover. LED's are Light Emitting Diodes so
they do qualify as lights, I should think? Mind you there was no mention
of installing lamps or bulbs or whatsoever.
Or am I again linguistically handicapped? Poor me...

But once you go for LED's, bright is the way to go, and ultra-bright is
better and the day they have hyper-bright we'll want those.
Come to think of it, LED's are just like pilots and tower controllers
and instructors and whoever else: the brighter the better!

KA

Given the odds of being caught aloft after local sundown, there is a
clear-cut need for navigation lights. But the cost and current-drain
of traditional nav lights makes them a luxury for anyone building on
the cheap. Which is why I developed the circuit boards and etching
procedures that allows the use of inexpensive high-output LED's.

I don't recall when the procedure was posted but it works quite well.

The follow-on procedure, which has not been posted, shows how to
assemble the strobe light offered by Great Plains Aircraft.

The point here is that when fabricating a new airframe, the effort &
material needed to include nav-light wiring is such a pittance
compared to the whole that it's difficult to NOT justify its
inclusion.

-R.S.Hoover

"jan olieslagers" wrote

But once you go for LED's, bright is the way to go, and ultra-bright is
better and the day they have hyper-bright we'll want those.
Come to think of it, LED's are just like pilots and tower controllers
and instructors and whoever else: the brighter the better!

There was a link floating around for a new combination position light and
anti collision flasher using only LEDs.

It was just approved as a STC for use on planes in the C-141 size, and had
400 candela. That's some bright sum-a-beach LEDs, ya think?

Here's a link:
http://www.emteq.com/led400cd/index.html

Of course, these are probably a "bit" more expensive than would probably be
used on a homebuilt, but it does show what is possible for LEDs, today.
--
Jim in NC

I guess I'm putting in the lights.
Lou

On Aug 18, 4:24 pm, "Morgans" wrote:

Of course, these are probably a "bit" more expensive than would probably be
used on a homebuilt, but it does show what is possible for LEDs, today.
--
Jim in NC
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The red and green masks are in the Chugger archives but I can't find
the white nor the strobe.

At that time, green LED's were the most expensive, requiring about $20
worth of green LED's per unit. Given Moore's Law and the fact I
posted the masks in 2006, the price has probably dropped
dramatically. The least-cost option, then as well as now, is to
flash a signal lamp through a green lens.

-R.S.Hoover

On Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:44:28 -0700 (PDT), Lou
wrote:

I'm getting close to covering my wings. I don't currently fly at night
and could even say that I have no intention on flying at night.
However I had no intention on getting married either. Would anyone
install lights anyway or just limit yourself to flying in the
daylight.
Lou

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Although I never intended to get married or have kids or assume the
risk of single engine night flight ever again..... it makes a heap of
sense to install lights while it's a piece of cake to do so. If you
are at all like me, [perish the thought], there will be times that
getting home late in the evening may require them just to be legal....
not to mention the value they add should you ever care to sell your
pride and joy.

- Barnyard BOb -
54 years of licensed flight

The more people I meet,
the more I like my dog
and George Carlin humor.

Ok, while we are on the subject. Would you also install landing
lights?
If so, what is recommended? Remember this is experimental so I'm
thinking
of rectangular headlight types for expense and ease of installation.
Lou

Lou schreef:

Ok, while we are on the subject. Would you also install landing
lights?
If so, what is recommended? Remember this is experimental so I'm
thinking
of rectangular headlight types for expense and ease of installation.

Still from a slow student pilot, not yet building:

Landing lights are a slightly different matter,
given their much higher power draw.
IMHO their prime value is in being seen rather than in seeing;
(I've known tower controllers to request them)
but for being seen strobes are a better option.
They use less power and they're visible all around.

So my newbie's idea would be to begin with flashing strobes,
and if you still want more prime time you might add
the landing lights - if you have sufficient electrical power.

One factor I can't estimate (not knowing under what flag you fly)
is legal requirements for certain types of flight
which you might wish to make sooner or later.
Or if you don't wish to, perhaps the next owner.

Again, this is only two (euro)cent's worth!
KA

In article
,
Lou wrote:

Ok, while we are on the subject. Would you also install landing
lights?
If so, what is recommended? Remember this is experimental so I'm
thinking
of rectangular headlight types for expense and ease of installation.
Lou

Why not get one of the new LED landing lights?
Money upfront, but you probably will never buy another to replace it.