REFLECTOR: For the Collective, HID light -- FG New Shock Installation
Andy Millin
amillin at sbcglobal.net
Wed Jul 16 22:14:48 CDT 2008
No problem Brian. Thank You for everything you have done for us!
Andy
-----Original Message-----
From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On
Behalf Of Brian Michalk
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 10:46 PM
To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: For the Collective,HID light -- FG New Shock
Installation
Andy,
That is an excellent summary on HID. I have been grappling with HID for
years, wanting to get into the technology, but afraid of the expense.
With your help, I have found several sources of parts.
Thanks.
Andy Millin wrote:
> I have a couple things I thought I would share.
>
>
>
> Item 1: New nose gear shock
>
> Item 2: HID landing light (for under $100)
>
>
>
> **********************************************************************
> *************
>
> New Gear Shock
>
> **********************************************************************
> *************
>
>
>
> I have completed installation. I have posted pictures on my website.
> It looks like this is a winner.
>
>
>
> A tip for installation: When the nose gear wheel and fork are in the
> standard “trailing” position, the moment or force on the gear shock is
> relatively small. In this position, the contact point of the tire is
> just slightly ahead of the canard bulkhead.
>
>
>
> If the wheel and fork are turned 180 degrees (pointing straight
> ahead),
> the moment and pressure on the shock is tremendous.
>
>
>
> So
install the shim and shock, install the cross bolt and gear leg,
> install the nose gear fork and tire, turn the tire until it points
> straight ahead, gently lower the weight of the aircraft onto the
> backward tire.
>
>
>
> Carlos came over and helped me install. I was in the plane. I had 80
> lb. of weight on the co-pilot side. Carlos was outside the aircraft
> leaning on the Canard Bulkhead. In this configuration, the nose gear
> was spongy. The shock was compressed a good ¼” beyond what we needed to
> install the Captivator Plate. We put the Captivator in place and bolted
> it up. At this point I was sure this was going way too easy.
>
>
>
> After installation we turned the tire 180 into the trailing position.
> The gear leg was immediately firm. With Carlos on the CBH, the weight
> on the CP side and me in the plane, the leg was snug against the
Captivator.
>
>
>
> If you are going to install, I highly recommend this method.
>
>
>
> **********************************************************************
> *************
>
> HID
>
> **********************************************************************
> *************
>
>
>
> I have been looking at converting my incandescent landing light to
> something more powerful.
>
>
>
> HID has two advantages:
>
> It produces a great deal more light (around 10x the photons)
>
> It draws a great deal less electricity. (approx 3 amps)
>
>
>
> The downsides are:
>
>
>
> It takes about 5 seconds from the time the switch is thrown until it
> reaches full brightness (a non-issue in my estimation for my purpose)
>
> You have the extra weight of the ballast. Extra weight is never a
> good
> thing on an aircraft. The ballast might weigh 4-5 ounces, and I’m
> willing to accept it.
>
> HID requires high voltage (15K-20K volts) to ignite. During ignition
> (5-10) seconds, the high voltage can create radio noise
>
>
>
> Other considerations:
>
>
>
> I really want an installation that does not require
> modification of the current landing light. I want it to “drop in”
>
> Current Aviation HID systems that would “drop in” run
> in
> the $300-$500 range. For me, the benefits just aren’t worth $500. I
> want a photon cannon, but not that badly.
>
>
>
> The Internet has enabled me to waste a great deal of time educating
> myself on this subject. >.<
>
>
>
> I’m going to share what I have learned so I can comfort myself that it
> was time well spent. :)
>
>
>
> Automotive HID systems are very durable and should perform well in our
> aircraft. Life expectancy on the bulbs is around 3000 hours (lifetime
> of the aircraft). They handle shock and vibration well.
>
>
>
> Our factory incandescent is a 100W PAR-36. Parabolic Aluminized
> Reflector, 36 eights of an inch in diameter. :)
>
>
>
> It is a focused beam with a dispersion somewhere in the neighborhood
> of
> 10 degrees horizontal and 10 degrees vertical. I don’t have the exact
> numbers, but I’m sure I’m close. Essentially it is a spot light, not
> a flood light.
>
>
>
> HID Bulbs/Systems come in a lot of flavors. A quick search of the net
> will turn up cheap halogen to HID conversion kits. You can get two
> bulbs, two ballasts, and two wiring harnesses for around $110. You will
> see them listed as: H1/H3/H4/H7/H11/H13/9005/9006/9007 These are bulb
> types. For the most part, a ballast will drive any one of the types.
>
>
>
> One of the bulbs might look like this:
>
>
>
> Click to enlarge
> <http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/sports-imports_2002_9262620>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> There are two flavors of conversion kits. Cheap flavor mentioned
> above
> and expensive flavor (no middle). The expensive conversion kits do run
> in the $300-$500 range. I was ready to pull the trigger on a cheap kit,
> but couldn’t bring myself to do it. I didn’t know why there were two
> prices ranges. There had to be a difference, and the difference could
> make all the difference. :p
>
>
>
> The cheap systems above (H1/H3/H4/H7/H11/H13/9005/9006/9007) Can be
> produced cheaply because they build the igniter into the ballast. Lower
> parts count and all that. Downside: it makes them EMI noisy.
>
>
>
> The expensive systems used bulbs D1S/D1R/D2S/D2R/D3S/D3R/D4S/D4R.
> These
> “D” system have moved the igniter to a small module that joins directly
> with the bulb. It looks like this:
>
>
>
> http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11056277/Auto_HID_Xenon_OEM_Bulb.jpg
>
>
>
> /D1S on left, D1R on right. Notice the clip on the “R” (it looks
> like
> it could be easily removed)/
>
>
>
> The name of the bulb has some significance: Letter “D”, Number (1-4),
> followed by S or R.
>
>
>
> “D” means Dual Pole. Look closely at the bulb. It
> has
> two compartments. It also has the rod coming from the base of the bulb
> and attaching at the top.
>
> 1-4 refers to the gas used (Mercury, Xenon, etc.).
> Actually, if you want to talk tech, it is called a “Capsule”
>
> S is Straight, or Standard, R is Reflective or
> Reflector. “R” type Capsules will have a metal band around the base
> that blocks light. It is intended to keep high beams from overlapping
> the low beam and causing glare. I’m not sure, but the metal band on the
> “R” might be a clip that can just be pulled off???
>
>
>
> D series don’t have the high voltage line from the ballast to the
> bulb.
> From what I have read, it is noise free
and
expensive
>
>
>
> If you look up XeVision at http://www.xevision.com/ Look for the
> landing light conversion kit. They use a D1S bulb and they want $499
> for the 35W version. For one light.
>
>
>
> You might also see “digital ballast” advertised. By using a computer
> to
> control the ballast, it is possible to bring the light online a little
> faster and shut it down in such a way as to extend the bulb life a bit.
> For my purposes it wasn’t anything to go out of my way for. The light
> will come online in plenty of time no matter what, and the bulb is
> probably going to last longer than I need it anyway.
>
>
>
> Once the research on HID was done, I knew what the difference was and
> I
> knew what I wanted. It was also pretty easy to find. If you look on
> the eBay, you will find complete systems with two of everything (removed
> from automotive) for under $200. A pretty good deal. You can probably
> find someone to split the set with you.
>
>
>
> These systems can be found on the Internet and in salvage yards. If
> the
> bulb type is not known, look to see if the igniter is attached to the
> bulb. If it is, you should be good-to-go.
>
>
>
> I purchased my system on ebay. Check out this store:
> http://myworld.ebay.com/allstarautosalvage
>
>
>
> They sell salvaged headlight units. Many have a broken tab or a
> cracked
> enclosure. I didn’t need the headlight, I wanted the guts. He lists
> the headlight by make, model and year. It is important that it is
> listed as “HID/Xenon components included”; they aren’t always. I found
> a Corvette headlight, 2001-2005 with the goodies; lower mounting tab was
> broken. A little more research and I confirmed the high beam for that
> model/year was a D1S HID.
>
>
>
> I bought the thing and had it for $39; including shipping. Everything
> worked like a champ. They were quality OSRAM components. I stole it.
>
>
>
> He currently has a Toyota Avalon headlight for sale:
> *http://tinyurl.com/59f2zy * It contains all the HID goodies (I’m pretty
> sure this is a D1R). D1R and D1S bulbs are interchangeable.
>
>
>
> Here is a complete OSRAM system, same as mine, shown working, on the
> bay http://tinyurl.com/5fsykd
>
>
>
> The part that is not so easy to find is the PAR-36 reflector with the
> focal dimension we need. I could not find a spot on XeVision’s site
> where you could just purchase the PAR-36. I was not deterred. I
> downloaded the Interwebs and searched it. :)
>
>
>
> http://www.duckworksav.com/upgrades.html
>
>
>
> Duckworks sells light upgrade kits for RVs. Their landing light is
> the
> same PAR-36 we use.
>
>
>
> Don Wentz is the owner. Nice guy. He will sell you just the PAR-36,
> modified for the D1S HID. It was $53 delivered.
>
>
>
> Don also has a very reasonable kit, with the D1S HID, ballast, cable
> and
> reflector for $290 (if you want to go that way)
>
>
>
> It has a special machined fitting on the back to hold the igniter.
> It
> is a very nice piece. This is what my installation looks like.
>
>
>
> Click to Enlarge
> <http://www.kal-soft.com/velocity/images/pic1294l.jpg>
>
>
>
> Retract guys will need to do some extra work. I believe the nose gear
> comes very close to the landing light and it could interfere with the
> igniter. Another good reason to get fixed gear . *O_o*
>
>
>
> With a little looking and some patients, I have an HID photon cannon
> for
> around $100. The sucker is VERY bright. I fired it up and it was like
> Rudolph. People were shielding their eyes and telling me to “turn that
> thing down.” In the plane, there is so much light that the nose glows;
> at least until I get some paint on it.
>
>
>
> I hope you found this entertaining, and possibly useful.
>
>
>
> Andy
>
>
>
>
>
> =====================================
>
>
>
> Andy Millin
>
> amillin at sbcglobal.net <mailto:amillin at sbcglobal.net>
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
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