Recomended landing light bulb

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drotto

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drotto
Recently the old standard landing light went, leading to all sorts of fun taxing around a poorly lit airport. I see a lot of LED replacements, and even the high intensity upgrades. I am betting pretty much anything is better than the old style bulbs, but which do people prefer. Longevity? Candlepower? Thanks.
 
I put an Alphabeam on my Cherokee. I've put a LOT of things on my Cherokee but I still maintain that the $275 I spent on the landing light was the best money invested so far.
 
Get a HID if you can afford it, knots2you has em

Alpha LED second choice.
 
Mine take a long time to go bad since all are wing mounted, but I was surprised how much brighter a new bulb of the same part number was. Its like the reflector in the back gets burned in service and they slowly get dimmer.


Someday, I'll get an LED or HID. just not soon.
 
Whelen Parmetheus works great in my plane along with the MaxPulse flasher. My lights are primarily for daytime recognition and I'm pleased with my choice.

Longevity shouldn't be a concern with any good quality LED.
 
I see some reviews on the Alphabeams that they do not get along with PA32's.
 
drotto said:
How difficult is it for an owner to switch to the HID? I kinda like the no fuss drop in replacement that the LEDs provide.

Is this the Alpha LED that has been referenced?

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/teledynelandinglight.php
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About the same amount of work, depending on which one you get, but yeah, drop in.

http://www.knots2u.net/categories/lighting/landing-taxi-lights.html

It's a car but still

maxresdefault.jpg


For recog, day or just taxi use I'd save some money and complexity and go LED, but for a landing light or for use at night at poorly lit airports HID all day long, or rather all night long ;)
 
I have 4 of the Parmetheus plus on my plane. Lights up the runway pretty well and you don't have to worry about them burning out. Not cheap but a nice safety upgrade for night operations.
 
drotto said:
I see some reviews on the Alphabeams that they do not get along with PA32's.
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What do you mean? I have a PA32R with an Alphabeam in the nose. When I installed the Alphabeam, I did have to file the hole ever so slightly to get it to fit, but that was about it.
I just ordered two Parmetheus bulbs for wingtip landing lights, but haven't installed them so I cannot comment on them.
 
BGF_Yankee said:
What do you mean? I have a PA32R with an Alphabeam in the nose. When I installed the Alphabeam, I did have to file the hole ever so slightly to get it to fit, but that was about it.
I just ordered two Parmetheus bulbs for wingtip landing lights, but haven't installed them so I cannot comment on them.
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You are just confirming what I read, that the cowling hole needs a little sanding to get it in.
 
drotto said:
I kinda like the no fuss drop in replacement that the LEDs provide.
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I bought a Whelan LED for my 182 and I'm quite pleased with it. It wasn't quite as "plug-and-play" as I thought it was going to be though. You have to reverse the wires from where they were set with the standard bulb and in my particular case, the wires weren't quite long enough so we had to do some minor splicing. Still not what I'd call labor-intensive though, so I'd still recommend them.
 
drotto said:
You are just confirming what I read, that the cowling hole needs a little sanding to get it in.
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Yup...it's true. It took me all of about 5 minutes to do. From what I understand, every Cherokee with the landing light in the nose needs a little modification to make the Alphabeam fit. Overall, I've been happy with it though. Quite honestly, the only reason I went with it over the other is because it was on special at the time. I like that it is a hybrid between the landing and taxi light. The lights I just ordered for the wings though are pure landing lights.
 
Larsenlights.com. Par36 or 46. LED's. Very good prices.
 
James331 said:
About the same amount of work, depending on which one you get, but yeah, drop in.

http://www.knots2u.net/categories/lighting/landing-taxi-lights.html

It's a car but still

maxresdefault.jpg


For recog, day or just taxi use I'd save some money and complexity and go LED, but for a landing light or for use at night at poorly lit airports HID all day long, or rather all night long ;)
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Interesting. The HID is certainly brighter, but I can see just as far in the picture with the halogen and I see better contrast in the road. Doesn't seem like the HID actually buys anything important.
 
I couldn't find a good comparison shot, HID do toss considerably more light compared to oldschool or LEDs, way less power draw from old halogens and very long life span.
 
I like the Teledyne option because they were drop in, no polarity to worry about. Here's the runway last Friday night with two in the wing. Would be nice to have one on the right side too.
tdsc.jpg
 
arnoha said:
Interesting. The HID is certainly brighter, but I can see just as far in the picture with the halogen and I see better contrast in the road. Doesn't seem like the HID actually buys anything important.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I found. I switched to HIDs on my ATV based on the hype from my friends. The forest lit up like daylight, but I couldn't see the bumps on the trail or tell how close the next corner was. It looked as flat as a painting. Just what you want when judging your flare. I'd sure like the power savings of HIDs or LEDs, but I'd need a solid money back guarantee, first.

The color temperature of the bulb makes a huge difference. 4000K is tolerable. 6000K is just wasted light with no depth perception, but the wow factor impresses people that have never used them.
 
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