self contained streamlined strobe?

As for bike lights, I have three Cygolite Expilion lights that I use on my bikes. They kept making brighter lights and I kept buying brighter lights. My collection includes a 250 lumen, 400 lumen and 800 lumen Expilion lights.

Appears their webpage is down right now, but another webpage shows a 750 lumen light that looks identical to all three of my lights:

http://adrenalineworld.com/cygolite-...ble-headlight/

And they are all USB rechargeable.

The copy says the battery lasts for 22 hours in "daylighting" mode. I'm assuming that is the strobe setting that should be used only in the daytime by cyclists. Using strobe at night could probably incite epileptic fits with some people.

Not sure how and where one could be mounted on a glider.

But they make GREAT headlights for riding the bike at night and for giving car drivers no reason for not seeing you day or night.

Ray

I did an experiment today. A bicycle with a strobe headlight was approaching me. After I went by him, I turned around so as to retrace my path, and I intently watched him approach me again.

At a range of 3/4 mile I could see the bike and rider clearly, but not the strobe. The strobe only became visible around 1/3 of a mile. Conditions were clear, under full sun - exactly the kind of day you'd probably be soaring.

This result duplicates my experiences with in air sightings of an ASG-29 with a purpose designed fin strobe, where I could see the glider well before I could see the strobe.

I don't understand what value there might be in mounting a bike strobe on a glider...

-John, Q3

On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 12:42:38 PM UTC-5, John Carlyle wrote:
I did an experiment today. A bicycle with a strobe headlight was approaching me. After I went by him, I turned around so as to retrace my path, and I intently watched him approach me again.

At a range of 3/4 mile I could see the bike and rider clearly, but not the strobe. The strobe only became visible around 1/3 of a mile. Conditions were clear, under full sun - exactly the kind of day you'd probably be soaring.

This result duplicates my experiences with in air sightings of an ASG-29 with a purpose designed fin strobe, where I could see the glider well before I could see the strobe.

I don't understand what value there might be in mounting a bike strobe on a glider...

-John, Q3

On a number of occasions the strobe on QV's '29 caught my eye before the glider.
This was always on somewhat poor visibility days as one would expect.
UH

On Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 6:42:38 AM UTC+13, John Carlyle wrote:

I don't understand what value there might be in mounting a bike strobe on a glider...

I'm not at the point of claiming a benefit for bike lights on gliders. But I've observed how I react to strobes on planes. I don't see the plane unless I point a narrow cone of acute vision right at it. The strobe gets my attention in a wider cone of vision, and when my eye sees the flash, my eye shifts my visual cone and I see the plane.

Scenarios where a flashing LED light might help in some instances:

1.Flying cloud street
2.Flying ridge
3.Planes landing/launching from opposite runways at uncontrolled airport.
4.For an overtaking power plane (rear facing light).

There are two basic kinds of bike lights:
1. To see.
2. To be seen.

The light from a "to see" bike light, including the strobe setting, is much brighter than the light from a "to be seen" bike light.

The "to be seen" type of lights are priced usually under US$20. These are the kinds of lights sold at K-Mart, Target, Walmart, etc.

For the USB rechargeable lights with several hundred lumen output, prices are much higher and are found at the local bike shops, and of course, on-line.

All lights are not created equal.

Ray

The Cree XML T6 LED is used in many currently available "bright lights".

http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cr...g/XLampXML.pdf

About 1000 lm ea at max power. There are many bike lights available that use 2 or more of these, and they are great for seeing where you are going (about like a single car headlight), most have a flash mode for daytime. I have one that's typical of the breed.

None of these are going to be useful for blue sky collision avoidance in aviation. Bright as they are, they simply aren't bright enough.

Medium and high intensity obstruction lighting strobes give some indication of what it takes to be clearly visible on bright days at aviation-useful distance.

For instance:

http://www.flightlight.com/airportli...2.3/5.2.3.html

best,

Evan Ludeman / T8

On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 4:09:10 PM UTC-5, Tango Eight wrote:
The Cree XML T6 LED is used in many currently available "bright lights".

http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cr...g/XLampXML.pdf

About 1000 lm ea at max power. There are many bike lights available that use 2 or more of these, and they are great for seeing where you are going (about like a single car headlight), most have a flash mode for daytime. I have one that's typical of the breed.

None of these are going to be useful for blue sky collision avoidance in aviation. Bright as they are, they simply aren't bright enough.

Medium and high intensity obstruction lighting strobes give some indication of what it takes to be clearly visible on bright days at aviation-useful distance.

For instance:

http://www.flightlight.com/airportli...2.3/5.2.3.html

best,

Evan Ludeman / T8

Before ordering my newest glider (delivered in 2016) I asked quite a few European pilots about usefulness of Schleicher's strobe lights. I got universal thumb down.
As a result my glider has ADS-B in and out instead as well as PowerFlarm. I might add 3M reflective tape to some surfaces to reflect sun. This is a much better solution than low intensity strobe light.
Some glider pilots in Europe use this type of reflective tape ("mirror tape"). I saw it available at one of the European gliding stores online. I need to find it again and order it before spring. DG website has an article about this solution; a summary of a study by a University in Europe, if I remember correctly. It was a good read.

On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 5:31:25 PM UTC-5, Andrzej Kobus wrote:
On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 4:09:10 PM UTC-5, Tango Eight wrote:
The Cree XML T6 LED is used in many currently available "bright lights"..

http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cr...g/XLampXML.pdf

About 1000 lm ea at max power. There are many bike lights available that use 2 or more of these, and they are great for seeing where you are going (about like a single car headlight), most have a flash mode for daytime. I have one that's typical of the breed.

None of these are going to be useful for blue sky collision avoidance in aviation. Bright as they are, they simply aren't bright enough.

Medium and high intensity obstruction lighting strobes give some indication of what it takes to be clearly visible on bright days at aviation-useful distance.

For instance:

http://www.flightlight.com/airportli...2.3/5.2.3.html

best,

Evan Ludeman / T8

Before ordering my newest glider (delivered in 2016) I asked quite a few European pilots about usefulness of Schleicher's strobe lights. I got universal thumb down.
As a result my glider has ADS-B in and out instead as well as PowerFlarm. I might add 3M reflective tape to some surfaces to reflect sun. This is a much better solution than low intensity strobe light.
Some glider pilots in Europe use this type of reflective tape ("mirror tape"). I saw it available at one of the European gliding stores online. I need to find it again and order it before spring. DG website has an article about this solution; a summary of a study by a University in Europe, if I remember correctly. It was a good read.

Mirror tape is an interesting idea -- you can get that at Uline for example..

Or just stick this on your tail bolt http://tinyurl.com/js3ye33

:-)

Evan

On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 7:11:20 PM UTC-5, Tango Eight wrote:
On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 5:31:25 PM UTC-5, Andrzej Kobus wrote:
On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 4:09:10 PM UTC-5, Tango Eight wrote:
The Cree XML T6 LED is used in many currently available "bright lights".

http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cr...g/XLampXML.pdf

About 1000 lm ea at max power. There are many bike lights available that use 2 or more of these, and they are great for seeing where you are going (about like a single car headlight), most have a flash mode for daytime.. I have one that's typical of the breed.

None of these are going to be useful for blue sky collision avoidance in aviation. Bright as they are, they simply aren't bright enough.

Medium and high intensity obstruction lighting strobes give some indication of what it takes to be clearly visible on bright days at aviation-useful distance.

For instance:

http://www.flightlight.com/airportli...2.3/5.2.3.html

best,

Evan Ludeman / T8

Before ordering my newest glider (delivered in 2016) I asked quite a few European pilots about usefulness of Schleicher's strobe lights. I got universal thumb down.
As a result my glider has ADS-B in and out instead as well as PowerFlarm. I might add 3M reflective tape to some surfaces to reflect sun. This is a much better solution than low intensity strobe light.
Some glider pilots in Europe use this type of reflective tape ("mirror tape"). I saw it available at one of the European gliding stores online. I need to find it again and order it before spring. DG website has an article about this solution; a summary of a study by a University in Europe, if I remember correctly. It was a good read.

Mirror tape is an interesting idea -- you can get that at Uline for example.

Or just stick this on your tail bolt http://tinyurl.com/js3ye33

:-)

Evan

Yes, for Christmas it would work well in a hangar instead of a tree.

On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 4:31:25 PM UTC-6, Andrzej Kobus wrote:
On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 4:09:10 PM UTC-5, Tango Eight wrote:
The Cree XML T6 LED is used in many currently available "bright lights"..

http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cr...g/XLampXML.pdf

About 1000 lm ea at max power. There are many bike lights available that use 2 or more of these, and they are great for seeing where you are going (about like a single car headlight), most have a flash mode for daytime. I have one that's typical of the breed.

None of these are going to be useful for blue sky collision avoidance in aviation. Bright as they are, they simply aren't bright enough.

Medium and high intensity obstruction lighting strobes give some indication of what it takes to be clearly visible on bright days at aviation-useful distance.

For instance:

http://www.flightlight.com/airportli...2.3/5.2.3.html

best,

Evan Ludeman / T8

Before ordering my newest glider (delivered in 2016) I asked quite a few European pilots about usefulness of Schleicher's strobe lights. I got universal thumb down.
As a result my glider has ADS-B in and out instead as well as PowerFlarm. I might add 3M reflective tape to some surfaces to reflect sun. This is a much better solution than low intensity strobe light.
Some glider pilots in Europe use this type of reflective tape ("mirror tape"). I saw it available at one of the European gliding stores online. I need to find it again and order it before spring. DG website has an article about this solution; a summary of a study by a University in Europe, if I remember correctly. It was a good read.

I'm also a RC glider pilot and have used mirror tape on my models. Don't remember which RC source I got it from ,but it works great! You can see it when the plane disappears in one of those great thermals you've been searching for...