REFLECTOR: Xenon HID landing light

[Christopher Martin]

In December there were a number of posts on the HID Light. 

http://www.aerovisions.com/hid/

I made the installation and just flew it this Wednesday night. Wow! This is an impressive light. 

I had been having a problem with the original light which was a PAR 36. The light level was too low and it was susceptible to breaking. I switched to the PAR 36 quartz 100watt and it was much improved. I even added the Jim Weir circuitry which lowered the inrush current and made the expensive quartz bulb last longer. But, the light level was still too low. Taxiing at night with my tinted front windshield required me to hang my head out the open door. I looked like Jim Carey in "Pet Detective" as I taxied out to the hold short line.  So, in the true spirit of experimentation, I installed the HID light. 

My first taxi out at night was completely different. It was if I didn't have a tinted wind shield at all. The beam was narrow but there was adequate side light for taxiing. Once I was airborne, I felt guilty for lighting up the country side around Los Angeles. I asked the tower at El Monte to give me their impression and they thought it was similar to the light from police helicopters and had not seen one this bright on any other plane. I was, of course, flying directly at their tower on 1/4 mile final.

All said and done, I'm happy. One caveat is that the inrush current on startup is big for the first split second. If you battery is low and your alternator is at idle it has caused my Garmin 430 to recycle into startup mode.  I doubt that would happen in flight unless I were to cycle the gear and the light at the same time. Once it is on the amperage drops to half of the original 100 watt lamp and it is easily 10 times brighter. The cost is $550 but I think it is worth it. I have been through 5 PAR 36 lamps in 560 hours which is worth about $300. This HID lamp should last indefinitely.


Christopher Martin
christophercmartin at earthlink.net
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