REFLECTOR: For the Collective, HID light -- FG New Shock Installation
doug.holub at tx.rr.com
doug.holub at tx.rr.com
Sun Jul 20 13:06:32 CDT 2008
I installed the AeroSun LED landing light and didn't do a very good job. It is rectangular and my hole is round and I put it in there a little crooked. (Here's some pictures: http://websites.expercraft.com/dholub/index.php?q=log_entry&log_id=25854 ) The installation was difficult, and now I wish that I had waited until a round, drop in replacement LED landing light was available, like Whelen has now. The round ones look great now, but are still unacceptably expensive to me.
I love how bright the AeroSun is and how little current it uses and the fact that it is all simple low voltage and that it has a built in flashing mode. I have a 3-position toggle switch that turns it on, makes it flash, or turns it off.
Doug
---- Andy Millin <amillin at sbcglobal.net> 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:
>
>
>
> <http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/sports-imports_2002_9262620>
> Click to enlarge
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 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.
>
>
>
> <http://www.kal-soft.com/velocity/images/pic1294l.jpg> Click to Enlarge
>
>
>
> 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
>
>
>
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