Whelen Parmetheus LED aircraft landing light.

[Cujet]

I was at the Sun N Fun aircraft "fly in" and purchased a Whelen Par 36 LED landing light.

While I am not a huge fan of LED's yet, I purchased this because the standard GE landing lights have a lifespan of 10 hours continuous use. The LED lamp is certainly good for many more hours than that.

So, I can fly with the light on all day long for visibility, plus not worry about it failing when I need it most.

Anyway, the reason I posted this here is that some of you might be interested in the specs. It makes 1700 Lumens "out the front" and has a 10 degree beam spread. It is somewhat thinner than a typical Par36 bulb and a bit lighter too. It runs on 12V and draws a measured 1.3A for a total draw of 17W.

In other words, 17W gets you the equivalent of a HIR-2 "high beam" bulb. Or about half the theoretical output of a 35W HID setup. (can't really tell the difference visibly, they are all very bright)

Interestingly, this bulb would make a great motorcycle, dirt bike or ATV headlight. It's light, tough, impact resistant, and requires very little power. It would even make a great hand held spotlight/searchlight.

 

[ShelbyGT500]

LEDs with a 10 hour lifespan? wut? A match burns longer than that...

I'm confused, what do you mean the lamp has many more hours? What part of it lasts 10 hours????

 

[rslifkin]

He's comparing it to a standard non-LED landing light where the bulbs last 10 hours.

 

[Cujet]

The standard GE 100 Watt incandescent landing light has a 10 hour life.

The LED landing light has a projected lifespan of 5000 hours. However, I suspect that it will get dim long before that. Still, it's a bargain, as the wingtip needs to be removed to change the bulb, which requires a few hours labor.

I took the LED light outside hooked to a small 12V battery and it is impressive. The output is nice and white, without being blue. And the beam is very smooth, without any "hotspots" I guess that's due to the multiple LED's.

 

[Vikas]

Do you have comparison shots? I am deep in to LED but still have trouble believing that 17W of LED is going to give you output equivalent to good quality 100W halogen.

What is the tint of those LED? Neutral White or Warm White or Blueish typical LEDs? I am assuming those are Cree T6 ot are they R5?

 

[sciphi]

Hmm, that might make a killer pair of driving lights.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

At prices approaching $600 (each) I think I'll pass.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
At prices approaching $600 (each) I think I'll pass.


The Par 36 Whelen Parmetheus I purchased was $200. That's not bad when you consider it's an "aviation approved" part and the Whelen Q4509 it replaces costs $75 and has a very short lifespan, coupled with problems of blackening or darkening reflectors after just a few hours.

Also, my HID setup for my dirt bike was well North of $500 when you include the required larger stator (so the light does not go out at low RPM) This LED's light output (out the front) is every bit as good and does not require fancy and heavy equipment.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Do you have comparison shots? I am deep in to LED but still have trouble believing that 17W of LED is going to give you output equivalent to good quality 100W halogen.

What is the tint of those LED? Neutral White or Warm White or Blueish typical LEDs? I am assuming those are Cree T6 ot are they R5?


Since my aircraft has both conventional and LED landing lights, I'll try and get a few beam shots against the hangar wall.

I tried it yesterday and I was impressed. The LED is as bright and has a wider beam and better light quality.

 

[123Saab]

Once the price comes down on these, My bet is they will be big in the Lighting-Staging industry.

The powerdraw would be VERY appreciated for lighting Pro's.

 

[wings&wheels]

Love these.

We have two of the landing lights in the wing tips and the wide beam taxi light in the Dakota's nose. I find that they do produce less total light, but it is more of a useable pattern that the Q4509's which throw a brilliant but relatively small patch of light. Lower heat output is kinder to the wingtip lenses. Big difference in ammeter readings from incandescent also.

The 10 hr life limit of the standard 4509's is about right.. much less if your mounts are less than perfect and allow the bulb to vibrate. Q4509's seem a bit better.

After landing a Pa38 w/o a light a few times I swore I'd try to have at least 2 lights on whatever airplane I'd be doing any significant night work in.

 

[Cujet]

Just an update, I leave it on all the time. It's very distinct and easy to see "off axis". I've been flying quite a bit lately, and oncoming aircraft seem to "have me in sight" nearly always now.

My pilot friend in TN at "Mark Anton" airport was able to spot me 8 miles out mid day. His remark was that the LED landing light was exceptionally distinct and visible at a great distance.

I understand this is subjective, however, I'm now a believer.

I've done a few night landings now. It works very well in conjunction with the standard 100W GE landing light. The combo of the two (LED and GE) is absolutely superb. As the LED provides much more "spill" and illuminates the surroundings much more effectively making taxi much easier. While still having a strong "hot spot".

Clearly, it's bigger beam is not as bright a "hot spot" as a conventional GE landing light. I'd say it's about 1/2 as intense "on the wall". But in this case, the other aspects (on always, wide illumination, different color, low amp draw) are sufficient reasons to consider the LED landing lights.