Strobe light on glider

A while ago several people remarked that Schleicher gliders offer a strobe was an option.

Below is an URL to a youtube video of such strobe. Typically the strobe is coupled with an unit from LxNav that allow the strobe to be on, only flash with Flarm warning, or off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMdGXX11Bs4

On Monday, January 23, 2017 at 8:58:52 PM UTC-7, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
A while ago several people remarked that Schleicher gliders offer a strobe was an option.

Below is an URL to a youtube video of such strobe. Typically the strobe is coupled with an unit from LxNav that allow the strobe to be on, only flash with Flarm warning, or off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMdGXX11Bs4

Thanks Jonathan for posting this. I have tried to find a simple LED strobe that I could attach to the glider that would use self-contained battery power. perhaps one on the bottom of fuselage and another behind the canopy. I have done a bit of searching on the web trying to find something - but haven't seen anything yet. If anyone is aware of such an device - would appreciate the info.

Thanks Jonathan for posting this. I have tried to find a simple LED
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that I could attach to the glider that would use self-contained battery
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have done a bit of searching on the web trying to find something - but
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Link here for a strobe that fits to the canopy

http://www.how2soar.de/index.php/led...d-rechenknecht

On Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 12:22:34 AM UTC-5, Dan Malone wrote:
On Monday, January 23, 2017 at 8:58:52 PM UTC-7, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
A while ago several people remarked that Schleicher gliders offer a strobe was an option.

Below is an URL to a youtube video of such strobe. Typically the strobe is coupled with an unit from LxNav that allow the strobe to be on, only flash with Flarm warning, or off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMdGXX11Bs4

Thanks Jonathan for posting this. I have tried to find a simple LED strobe that I could attach to the glider that would use self-contained battery power. perhaps one on the bottom of fuselage and another behind the canopy. I have done a bit of searching on the web trying to find something - but haven't seen anything yet. If anyone is aware of such an device - would appreciate the info.

In 2017 I designed and installed an LED white strobe driven by
a 10 amp power mosfet,sourced from a 12v 1 ah battery plus super
caps, 2x 5v to give an 18v low impedance power source.
A back to back pair of Chinese 10W white LED s on top of the hor. stab.
The 200msec pulse of 4A 1pps, flash is visible in gloomy
conditions at 400 m. The power stack is recharged by a 12v to 18v
up converter supplied from the glider main bat.
No idea if anyone was alerted.

John F
I have no

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but in the previous discussion of glider strobes it was pointed out that battery powered strobes don't have the power to be conspicuous against a bright sky.

Even high-powered airliner strobes don't grab your attention during the day.. There's a 737 that usually flies over my house at roughly 2,000 AGL. The plane itself is easy to see, but at closest approach his wing tip strobes are barely visible during the bright conditions typical of a soaring day.

-John, Q3

Hi Debbie: I do not know if any studies have been done as to the visibility, but a strobe that is 12 long does put out more of a visual signature than a single point of light, as on most powered aircrat. Imagine, not a bright sky but running under a (dark developed )cloud street at 110 knot IAS at 17,000 ft with another glider flying in opposite direction, same speed. The Flarm goes off and so does the strobe, will that 12 inches of strobe give off enough to catch the eye of the other pilot? That strobe sure is bright, and I have had people tell me that it really stands out. It seems as if the 12 inches of strobe is much more visible than a single point of light.


On Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 5:53:24 AM UTC-8, John Carlyle wrote:
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but in the previous discussion of glider strobes it was pointed out that battery powered strobes don't have the power to be conspicuous against a bright sky.

Even high-powered airliner strobes don't grab your attention during the day. There's a 737 that usually flies over my house at roughly 2,000 AGL. The plane itself is easy to see, but at closest approach his wing tip strobes are barely visible during the bright conditions typical of a soaring day.

-John, Q3

Jonathan, I do understand your concern. I've seen the fin strobe on an ASG-29 several times, once at Mifflin running ridges on an showery, overcast day with him coming towards me. The strobe was visible, but not that helpful IMHO until he was quite close, and by then I'd already seen the plane itself because of Flarm. YMMV, of course, so my best advice is for you is to do the experiment. Set one up along a straight road on a gloomy day and figure out the distance when it becomes obvious.

-John, Q3

On Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 11:15:27 AM UTC-5, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Hi Debbie: I do not know if any studies have been done as to the visibility, but a strobe that is 12 long does put out more of a visual signature than a single point of light, as on most powered aircrat. Imagine, not a bright sky but running under a (dark developed )cloud street at 110 knot IAS at 17,000 ft with another glider flying in opposite direction, same speed. The Flarm goes off and so does the strobe, will that 12 inches of strobe give off enough to catch the eye of the other pilot? That strobe sure is bright, and I have had people tell me that it really stands out. It seems as if the 12 inches of strobe is much more visible than a single point of light.

I remember watching a documentary on WWII camouflage techniques and am reminded of one counter-intuitive technique that actually used bright lights in daylight to make equipment on the horizon visually disappear. I often ponder the true effectiveness of running with lights on in small powered planes during the day and whether there have been any studies to support the validity of this practice.

Now, you've got me wondering about the effectiveness of bright strobe strips during daylight flights.

Hmmm...

Paul A.
Treasure Coast Soaring Club
Vero Beach, FL

My Google Fu is strong today. I found a Wiki page about the use of counter-illumination for camouflage that was quite interesting to read.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehudi_lights

From what I'm reading, the brightness of the strobes could work against you as counter-illumination if they are not significantly brighter than the surrounding sky. On a bright, blue sky day, would a bright strobe strip help or hurt your visibility. As I said in my previous post...counter-intuitive....

Paul A.
Treasure Coast Soaring Club
Vero Beach, FL
@TCSoaring on Facebook

On Tuesday, 24 January 2017 19:12:54 UTC+1, Paul Agnew wrote:
I remember watching a documentary on WWII camouflage techniques and am reminded of one counter-intuitive technique that actually used bright lights in daylight to make equipment on the horizon visually disappear. I often ponder the true effectiveness of running with lights on in small powered planes during the day and whether there have been any studies to support the validity of this practice.

Now, you've got me wondering about the effectiveness of bright strobe strips during daylight flights.

Hmmm...

Paul A.
Treasure Coast Soaring Club
Vero Beach, FL

My guess is that strobe helps to see a glider under the cloud base. Also helps during sunset.