Working on building a solar runway lighting system for my private strip but the hard part has been turning it on and off.

Could be as simple as a 12V Lead battery, solar charge controller, Panel, Green Lights at Threshold (on Fence), bright spot lights pointed at Touchdown zone. Duplicate the system for the runway end with just Red lights. Little solar lights for mid field 700ft.

Ive began working with Meshtastic Lora devices and have found the airborne range is really good with simple Transmitters sitting on the glare shield.

I may be able to build the Lora switch for $150? Requires its own solar, enclosure, battery, receiver, etc.

Anyone else doing something like this?

The system could be semi portable. Quickly deployable. Having the long range on/off capability would allow for a High discharge / Bright lighting system.

One time someone gave me a runway lighting kit that used D cell batteries. All the batteries had corroded in the cases, plastic sun damaged, Ended up in the dumpster.

Our family farm strip uses solar powered lights available at several hardware stores. Unless you plan to fly after midnight or very early morning they are great. They automatically turn on when dark and the charge lasts well past our typical nighttime flying hours.

I was waiting for someone to mention the mesh on this site again

Seems like a good application

If you’re in the sticks enough could also maybe setup a raspberry pi to listen for some clicks on 123.45 or something

I have tried them, Didnt seem bright enough for me or I didnt use the right ones, etc. The wife would have to pull them up for mowing, which didnt always seem to happen, then the Deer would stomp them into the ground.. Still picking up plastic and batteries when I walk the perimeter. This system could be allot brighter.

Operating this way is SOP for us, day in day out. And while there are a ton of ways to skin this cat we opted for the solar path light way as well. Which ones you use matter.
We cut 3' pieces of white 2" square PVC downspout into 36" lengths. Bury them 18" into the ground and put a PVC cap on each one. Drill a hole in the top snug enough to capture the light 'post' and slide the light right on in. Then stick road sign quality 2" X 12" white reflector tape on the front and aft facing side, you can use red on the last two or three. The lights can be picked up from a few miles out, but if you have any reasonable landing / taxi lights, the reflector tape will boom out and blow the lights out of the water. Get at least 20 lumen lights, verify that the batteries are not made of unobtaniumn, and be certain to get ones with glass domes, preferably a decent reflector, and no gingerbread or lattice work.

Take care, Rob

I use these, and they go till morning for a year, till midnight for another, and need new batteries any longer than that;



https://www.walmart.com/ip/BETTER-HOMES-GARDENS-20L-PATH-LIGHT/3145317763?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=1474&adid=222222222773145317763_160805772391_20959796377&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9030142&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=3145317763&wl13=1474&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=222222222373145317763_160805772391_20959796377&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9030142&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=3145317763&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIro6Vn6vRhAMV2zbUAR16ZgOrEAQYBiABEgJlrPD_BwE


https://www.doitbest.com/product/126627/amerimax-2-in-square-x-10-ft-white-vinyl-downspout-126627/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhZqk5qvRhAMVlC-tBh0hDgIEEAQYAiABEgKFVvD_BwE




https://amzn.to/3TDkr8a

Strip I learned how to fly at just had 4x75w bulbs, two at each end, and they didn't even line up. All y'all getting super fancy!

Revisiting an old thread for an update. Might be worthy for someone contemplating lighting.
We've done many seasons with the solar walkway lighting on plastic poles. They work, and with the right ones they work OK and we just plan on throwing them away every year. They could probably last most people quite a bit longer, but ours get blasted by gravel kicked up from heavy airplanes trying to leave, and hosed down regularly by the kid in the water truck who didn't pay for them.

This year we decided to try something new.
Discalimer; I don't work for Sporty's, have never shopped there in the past, and may or may not shop there in the future. I also read several dismal reviews, but common sense and logic puts many of those in to perspective, so I rolled the dice on these. They are spendy compared to walkway lights, but appear to be more robust in pretty much every facet. The batteries are larger, and the PV panels appear better. So maybe no more expensive in the long run.
They were out of red, and although they charged my card, they failed to let me know they were on backorder. Strike one, I am a stickler for good customer service. An english speaking rep answered the phone and made things right when I enquired, so I moved on.

If you are a low time night flyer, they will be better than nothing, but you can probably only count on picking them up from a couple miles. On final they are quite sufficient, and they provide enough ambient light to make taxiing a tail dragger a non event. Just don't plan on seeing them as far out as the lights at KLAX

Here's what they look like at 0430 ish, after being on all night. Not too shabby.



And here's a link to where I got them.

https://www.aviationgifts.com/solar-powered-runway-lights-white-set-of-6.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22042390023&gbraid=0AAAAADvhkW3Pk_sbPh2Czrj1Y9GwOpm-b&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl9uOieOslgMVOCdECB34vwlfEAQYASABEgJcfPD_BwE

Take care, Rob

In edit, the little stakes they come with make it clear that these are intended for decoration puposes. We ditched those and retained our 2" square plastic poles at ~32". The reflective tape is about 5 years old now and could use a freshening up, but over all this seems like a pretty worthy set up for someone with frequent night ops off grid.

I use solar powered deck lights from Amazon mounted every 100’ on top of electric fence post. Pics are 1 mile out at 200’ agl and “over the fence”. Probably not gonna find the runway from 5 miles out but they work for me because I know where the runway is and how to land in relation to the lights.





They come in different colors,

VOLISUN Solar Deck Driveway Dock Lights,Solar Pathway Lights,Blue 20 Pack | Solar Powered LED, IP68 Waterproof Led Outdoor Warning Step Marine Lights for Sidewalk Garden Yard https://a.co/d/071vV0Xi

Kind of like Rob, I used reflective tape on interval posts along the fence that keeps the cattle out. Beyond that I installed solar powered garden "spotlights" https://www.ebay.com/itm/403656241073 at each end of the runway. Then I configured a user waypoint in ForeFlight to be my final approach fix; get on course, at proper altitude, and look for the solar lights that identify the end of the runway. Works great. I went this route as I didn't want to broadcast a lot of light attracting who knows what. The strip is impossible to find in the blackness it is located in without the solar lights.

Helps if your strip has cultural lighting nearby so you’re not doing a “black hole” approach. We’d use reflective cones for a lead-in with helicopters, worked good. One private operator just bolted a night-sun to the side of his 109 and drove around Texas like it was a headlight.

I flew to a strip recently at night that had reflective cones but in addition had a well lit area at the end. Worked out fine with my mickey-duck landing light. Having a couple of waypoints to line you up helps too.

I like to hear more of everyone’s experience of reflectors vs solar garden lights.

We Landed by Moonlight - Secret RAF Landings in France 1940-1944
Verity, Hugh


Im reading this. Just amazing, left England, often in bad weather, navigated to a field that had three oil lamps in it in a J pattern and landed, swapped passengers and took off again. Pretty impressive to me.

Posting for a friend. Dark overcast night, domed 2000 ft grass strip, radio-actuated solar panel/LED-lit end markers, reflectors in between. Flare and lose sight of the runway end markers ahead. Touch down and apply brakes. Aircraft suddenly veers right, lose sight of reflectors as the nose is no longer pointing at them. Feet off brakes stops the veering, illuminated cone ahead of aircraft about 40 ft. Bang. Fence. Ruptured left brake line, flat tailwheel. Cause? Effect? Dunno.

daedaluscan wrote:We Landed by Moonlight - Secret RAF Landings in France 1940-1944
Verity, Hugh

......

Interesting that the Brits used those big old Lysanders for secret STOL ops behind enemy lines.
Seems like a L4 or similar would've been quieter, and maybe more STOL capable.

I have been using something similar to these for the past 8 years.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C6D ... H4OFT&th=1
I mount mine on 28" traffic comes from Marketplace and use a couple large spikes to pin them to the ground, silicone the light to the cone.so if someone hits one, should be no issues. I put them every 200'. I have 1000' lit up. I can easily see them 8 miles out. They last further into the night than I do. I plan a couple years out on each light and usually have a few spares in the cabinet.