DIY landing light (spot)

Hi to everybody!
I would like to make an attempt to build a spot light for use it like a landing light in my ultralight airplane. Honestly I have to admit that for me it is prohibited to fly after the sunset, but already happened to someone that for multiple reasons couldn’t get to the ground before the light went down and the flight became an emergency, pushing them to land in a proper airport (airfields doesn’t have runway lights). Also because in the end I’m a light fanatic like you and regarding lights: the stronger the better! :smiling_imp: . I already built the most powerful strobe lights of the world with three 32mm 200W Luminus COB LED overdriven to 600W each and I’m really satisfied with them!

What solution would you suggest? Where to find aftermarket big and deep reflectors? I already have a XHP35 HI starboard and a Ledil spotlight lens such as the Crystal just to make some experiment:
https://www.ledil.com/product-card/?product=FCN13552_CRYSTAL-RS&led=Cree&model=XHP35+HI

But is not enough, I will need at least 1M cd at minimum.

I was thinking also to the Seanna but I still don’t know if it will fit in the airplane:

https://www.ledil.com/product-card/?product=FCP13895_SEANNA-A&led=Cree&model=XHP35+HI

I also found some interesting fresnel lens on the internet:

But also wonder why the 99% of torch brands doesn’t use lens but reflectors. In that case I would take in consideration some big and deep reflector but I couldn’t find any. If you know, please advise.

So, what do you think?

Thanks

Just to clarify - are we talking about a R/C plane that flies via remote control (you on the ground) or is this an actual plane with humans inside?

Thank you!

edit: I read it twice now, and I am assuming this is an actual aircraft with people inside?

Hi! Yes, it’s a two seater.

Well, did you think about the BLF GT?

A member in Europe is currently selling one, so that might be a good option.

It looks amazing! Ok, do you know if is possible to find only the reflector?

Yes.

Do you only need one reflector or more?

If you can order 2 or more, Lumintop might be more inclined to sell them to your directly.

Contact them by the means you want to use:
http://www.lumintop.com/contact-us.html

Do you intend to hard wire it to your plane? If yes, at what voltage does it operate at and how much current (amps) do you think your system can spare?

I would think that 2 XHP70.2's, each one in a GT35/MF04 type reflector, would doing nicely. Seems you would not need much mass for heat sinking given that the lights would be actively cooled by moving air.

Looking forward to hearing the contributions and what you come up with.

Just a suggestion, but if you know where you’ll for-sure be landing, you could make some darkness-activated lights on the ground, boxing in the landing area. Wanna get fancy, make some PAPI lights to be able to adjust your glidepath so you don’t whonk into trees on your way down.

I agree, the greater concern is finding the air strip and a bright light from 1,000 feet up isn’t going to help much. I’m assuming this on-board search light is more or less to gauge the ground distance and possible obstructions as you touch down? And that the strobes you mentioned are ground-based at your air strip for visibility? Would be cool if you could provide some photos!

Also, you may want to affix green and red strobes on your aircraft. Flying in darkness could present some challenges with not only other aircraft but also birds.

Thanks everyone for the contribution!

Ok ok guys, I will be honest with you :innocent: most of all is with the purpose of wow effect :blush: , we (you and me) are a big family of light fanatics and I’m sure you understand me! Beside that, I’m not allowed to flight during the night and I have all the information to avoid this from happening. Only once in my life happened that I took off 15 minutes later and found 15kt of head wind. Being sure to find the dark at destination I made a precautional landing half an hour from my final destination and spent the night there. Fortunately the sunset is the most predictable thing of this world!

Thank you for the information, I will soon send a mail and ask. Good idea! But what about a fresnel lens? Which system is better between reflector and lens?

Yes. It’s a Rotax 912ULS, 13,8V and maximum I could spend for the landing light would be I think 8A. It’s not mandatory but there are other electrical utilities that needs their juice. That’s why I prefer something like a couple of XHP35 HI, it’s more important the candles than the lumens in this case.
Unfortunately the light will be enclosed in the wing and is not going to receive any air flux. I’m thinking to build something like this: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMT1ftO8EwZccuGva-eCpsaf3KKK6bBs1DwPozKRwsFo3XqbgwitvuVCRG-Epr0FQ?key=UWc5WjNTdHI3NFFsbDNWeVd1X0x6Tzc2WEVzbXhn

Yes I already thought to make a DIY PAPI but first the field is not mine, second I think that there are some legal issues with that.

Well, with modern avionics equipped with synthetic vision finding the airstrip is not a problem, see this video if you want:

As you can see it’s possible to arrive stabilized in the proximity of the runway but in the end you need to see.
Regarding the strobe, those will also be mounted on the airplane and have the purpose of let you be seen. If you want I could open a new thread for showing my work :+1: The red and the green are called “navigation lights” and have to be steady. I already have a couple of Cree XP-L, green and red and a Ledil Flare Maxi for this.
Leo

You could install an 18650 or 26650 auxiliary battery

Grin I think it’s not a good idea and the benefit doesn’t worth the added complexity. Why are you suggesting me this solution? What current are you suggesting me to push trough the LEDs? Consider that I plan to use a couple of XHP35 HI

It would be simpler with a huge reflector like the BLF GT reflector, and an XHP35HI set at a max current of 2,5A.

Yes, I’m writing to Lumintop right now to ask about the possibility to buy a couple of reflectors. And what about fresnel lens? What is the difference, pros and cons?

Regarding hard driving a XHP35 HI, let’s say 2,5A as you suggested, do you think that a heat sink like this one is enough? https://pt.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Wakefield-Vette/DUALLED-5850?qs=%2Fha2pyFaduipgO5BpM5flxF6ox8pnzhK611DDAmhc7NTiIQ9SqlCFA%3D%3D

I sent an email but they don’t even answer :cry: