REFLECTOR: 4000 Lumen Landing/Taxi Lights

[William Walker]

Sorry for the time gap, but the owner of Clearwater Lights had to pull a production set of Darlas, powder coat them in white, provide polished stainless steel bezels and ship them to me. We still have some things to work out, like his black, oversized wiring protection tubing, but I am quite happy with the initial results. I am going to re-wire them with 22 gauge triples (third wire for dimming), then use white heat shrink tubing. Two of these will fit into the same diameter tubing protection. His primary customers are motorcyclists and the extra-heavy duty wiring protection he provides is overkill in our applications. They only draw 1 amp each. I will mount the Taxi Dimmer on my panel.

These babies are BRIGHT!!!  As you can see by the pictures of my main gear mounts, they light up the entire side of the fuselage for vastly superior visibility from other aircraft. These pics are very early point-and-shoot versions, but future pics and videos will be GoPro quality.

I am working with the owner to explore the company's expansion into the Experimental Aircraft market. As a builder and constant fine tuner, I am developing a few ideas for Velocity owners and other Experimental Aircraft owners. Sadly, my exploration may seem limited to RG owners, as we can always use the extra drag, whereas FG people may not wish to pay the drag penalty for full time operations. But ideas are always welcome, and Clearwater assures me these can be adapted for tightly-faired cowlings with little penalty.

Without boring you with too many details, how about a poll as to which mount might appeal to any interested parties. My own plane is unique in that I have the ultimate perfect placement already awaiting. I opted to add a third standoff, half way up the gear-door length for increased stiffness. As you can see, it is a pretty good fit.

The good news is that with little modification, others will be able to use a 90 degree angle bracket, with the top near the gear door bend point for good rigidity to place these lights close to my positioning.

So here goes. PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK!!  I have NOT flown either mount yet. Mine will the the rear, but I will be willing to test my front mount if interest arises. The nose-gear pics are temporary mounted only.



The Front Mount Option:

Single or Dual Mount versions. 1 lb each light. Mount is 1/8" 2024 aluminum. Everything clears but the wires will have to run up the back side of the nose gear leg. I will probably give Velocity or anyone interested the specs for my mount. It is light, simple and would require 3 holes being drilled in the Nose Gear Flange. The final version will be tidier than these pics. No reflected light from the elevator. Looks like a bizjet application. Lights do NOT rotate with the nose gear. 


The Rear Mount Option:

Mount will be 1/8" 2024 aluminum. It will be a 90 degree hang-down bracket with 2 longitudinal holes near the bend in the gear doors. One will have to drill 3/16" holes thru the doors, then reinforce the thru holes with larger Flox/Mirco hard points ( which will be covered by the hang-down bracket ). I have not spoken to Scott Swing yet, but I would feel comfortable with doing this procedure. Ideas are welcome. Some reflected light from the elevator, especially during landing and takeoff, but huge benefits from fuselage side lighting during night conditions. My own plane has external stainless brake lines, to which I will attach the lights wiring harnesses. Again, ideas are welcome.

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