Hello Backcountry Pilots,

I'm finishing up an FAA 337 Field Approval for a Wig-Wag lighting switch for my Maule M-4. So I'm considering including a set of non-PMA'd Par 36 LED Landing Lights in this approval. Has anyone ever used, or know a guy that used these $34.99 LED lights in this link?

http://www.bulborama.com/LED-PAR36-SPOT ... 0cm0P90617

Anyway these lights are a hell of a lot cheaper than the LED Lights from Aircraft Spruce, and fit in the original 4509 brackets. WHELEN PARMETHEUS LED REPLACEMENT 14V LANDING LIGHT - PAR 36 - are $228.95 each from Spruce (ouch)!


I think that a wig-wag system with LED lights is a very cost effective safety feature. "See and be seen". Not a fan of ADS-B! Watch your wallets. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,

James
Clear Creek, Idaho

If you purchase those I'd be interested to hear how they work out for you.

Might not be the ones to choose if it rains where you fly........

"Recommended for indoor or enclosed fixture usage protected from moisture. This is not a wet location lamp."

Wag Aero has the Whelens on sale for $200, I just ordered them. There web page didn't show the sale price but a phone call to them got the sale price.
Crazy expensive for sure, I've been putting this off for a while now. 3SGS midair was my deciding factor.

These list as direct replacement for the 4509 bulb, with multiple wattages and beam angles available.

http://store.marinebeam.com/41sebereledb.html

Gump

Hey Terry,

Did you get your elk? I got skunked this year. I'm blaming it on the forest fire near my place. Anyway do you have a wig-wag switch between your landing and taxi lights? My Maule has landing lights on both wings so the wig-wags really make it visible, and I don't have a laptop mounted to my yoke either. Fly safe.

James
Clear Creek

GumpAir wrote:These list as direct replacement for the 4509 bulb, with multiple wattages and beam angles available.

http://store.marinebeam.com/41sebereledb.html

Gump

Good find Gump,

Thanks!


James

I am posting so I can find this again, I do not see how to subscribe to the string..

Super-Maule wrote:Hey Terry,

Did you get your elk? I got skunked this year. I'm blaming it on the forest fire near my place. Anyway do you have a wig-wag switch between your landing and taxi lights? My Maule has landing lights on both wings so the wig-wags really make it visible, and I don't have a laptop mounted to my yoke either. Fly safe.

James
Clear Creek

No wig-wag switch just strobes and now LED landing lights in one wing. With such a low draw I will leave at least one landing light on at all times.
Any good neighbors with a LOP tag you could get?
One moose and a black tail, elk season is just around the corner.

I bought these from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AME ... UTF8&psc=1
and have been happy with them. They wee the brightest I could find.
Around $200.00 but 1800 Lumen. I want to be seen from a loooong ways away. Don't want anyone to have to be up close to see me.
Gary

Better anti-collision lighting has been on my mind as well. My 180 has a Whelen flashing strobe on the vertical stabilizer. Has anyone replaced one of these with the LED version? I'd love to know if it's significantly brighter.

I think the LED strobe is significantly brighter. I put one on my 172 earlier this year. Pricey at $500 plus, but well worth it for the visibility it gives others.

Hello Backcountry Pilots,

After I get my wig-wag field approval I'd be glad to share it with you good folks. I have a friend with a wig-wag system on his Husky. The left and right wing landing lights really are noticeable with his wig-wag system. Anyway the non-PMA'd wig-wag switch was $88 and a Cessna split rocker switch at $45 put me into a pretty reasonable system for my Maule. I also had to buy my IA a 1/5 of Crown Royal and lunch at the local Mongolian BBQ too.

I don't throw my money away, but feel a wig-wag "SEE AND BE SEEN" system is well worth it. Flying in the backcountry I often find myself scanning the ground too much looking for wildlife. Some pilots fixate on electronic gadgets in the cockpit too. We all have room for improvement. I'm sure most of us have said, even in the remotest areas "where in the hell did he come from".

Like I mentioned earlier, not a fan of ADS-B. I could go on a long rant about that. Anyway I'm excited about my new lights with all the forest fire smoke we have had this fall. Be safe.

James
Clear Creek, Idaho

Why not just install one of these, they're relatively cheap and already STCed? It literally took me 10 minutes to install it, and it works great.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/ ... kkey=19061

Hafast wrote:Why not just install one of these, they're relatively cheap and already STCed? It literally took me 10 minutes to install it, and it works great.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/ ... kkey=19061

Hello,

Hope it works for you. Don't know if that is a PMA'd part too? I went with this system:


Wig-Wag (D) Light-Flashing Module Improves Aircraft Visibility


The popular Wig-Wag Alternate Light Flashing Module has now has been redesigned in surface mount mosfets, and made into a tiny epoxy-potted module complete with switch!

During World War II, Hudson bombers were outfitted with bright lamps in their Perspex™ noses and refitted clear leading edges. The lamps were adjusted to match the background brightness. This was deadly to submarines that could not see the attack bombers approach until it was far too late! Steady (non-pulsed) lights during the daytime can actually make an airplane nearly invisible!

But wig-wags alternately flash the taxi and landing lights to improve your aircraft’s visibility. Pilots are innately aware of motion, so this really gets their attention! Wig-wag lighting markedly improves flying safety, especially in airport traffic patterns and during limited visibility operations.



Not a wimpy 100W flasher; this tiny power module is 250 Watts per lamp!

Safety doesn’t get any simpler…or smaller. This Wig-Wag is built into the switch. And it will run on 14.5-28 VDC aircraft voltages.
Basic Specifications:

Body Dimensions: 1.25”X1.00” X 0.60”(32 X 25X 15 mm)
Weight: About 1.1 ounce (30 g)
Connectors: 0.250” male Fastons®
Input Voltage=10-30 VDC (Please Take Note!)
60VDC Load Dump Transient Capable
Maximum Switched Lamp Power=2X250 Watts



Actual Size:



USD$88.00;



Shipping Free to Can-US-Mex –Foreign USPS at cost. Paypal payment preferred

FOR EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT USE ONLY.


Installation and mounting—


The Wig-Wag module is designed to fasten to any convenient panel just like any other switch on your control panel. Wire as shown.

Notes:

At 250 Watts for each lamp,the module should only get to 48ºC (only 11ºC over human body temperature!), so for most purposes the module runs very cool. It is required that 250W lamps (on 14.5 VDC systems) have an inrush current limiter (such as Thermometrics CL-101) installed near the lamp to prevent the initial turn-on surge from damaging the lamp or the Wig-Wag device. No inrush current limiter is needed for lamps up to 150W or with 28 VDC aircraft. The device generates almost no EMI or RFI and the device is not static sensitive. The pulse timing is independent of lamp wattage or aircraft voltage. That’s about 42 flashes per-minute-per-lamp alternating. (FAA legal rate).

Thanks for buying our product.
Eric M. Jones
Perihelion Design
Revised 06APR04

Went with the Grote tractor plus light. Not as focused of a beam as the Whelen landing light, which I also have. Don't know how it compares to the Whelen taxi light, but my intent was for a wider beam, so I would recommend. Didn't bother with the wig wag as the lights are side by side in the cowl, but should look at a flasher switch.

onebadjudge70 wrote:I think the LED strobe is significantly brighter. I put one on my 172 earlier this year. Pricey at $500 plus, but well worth it for the visibility it gives others.

Thanks for the info!

Hello Backcountry Pilots,

The LED lights & Wig-Wag switch is installed and actually legal. $238 total in parts. Took Mr. Gump's recommendation on the water resistant more powerful LED lights. Very happy with the installation. "SEE AND BE SEEN"!

James

Oregon180 wrote:Better anti-collision lighting has been on my mind as well. My 180 has a Whelen flashing strobe on the vertical stabilizer. Has anyone replaced one of these with the LED version? I'd love to know if it's significantly brighter.

IMHO strobes are great for night-time or murky conditions, but in normal daylight they do little to nothing to help others see and avoid you. I have watched airplanes taking off or landing and have to actually watch for the strobes, as opposed to them attracting my attention. I think landing lights, esp one on each wing flashing alternately (aka wigwag), is about the only thing that really works in normal daylight. Second best would be just a landing light being on. Of course, you have to have the pointy end of your airplane aimed at the other guy for him to see them, but that's the most dangerous scenario anyway (converging).
My airplanes have had strobes, in fact I'm getting ready to replace an inop one on my new airplane, but mainly just to be legal for night VFR (even though I rarely fly after dark). I've thought about upgrading one or both landing lights to the LED versions, maybe even getting a wigwag switch even though the lights are right next to each other on the LH wing. One of these days....