self contained streamlined strobe?

On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 1:40:21 AM UTC-6, son_of_flubber wrote:
On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 2:52:30 PM UTC+13, Steve L wrote:
Is there a small streamlined self contained ( 9 volt or AA battery powered) strobe out there on the market that is about the size of a wingtip running light?
Thanks, Steve

I've toyed with the idea of mounting a straight_ahead and straight_ behind strobes borrowed from the bicycle market (on Experimental Airworthiness glider). Their performance is incredible for the cost. I've seen bikes flashing strobes coming at me in sunlight conditions from considerable distances so I think these would have value especially when flying under the shadow of a cloud street.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/articl...cycling-32289/

Aveo makes some more expensive LED lights specifically for aircraft. They're not self contained. I thought the Red Barron Mini might look good on my turtledeck where wiring is pretty easy.
http://www.aveoengineering.com/redbaron-mini/

They market a wingtip light specifically for gliders http://www.aveoengineering.com/gliderburst/

I fly Experimental so the bike light idea appeals to me along with the fact there is no wiring and the price is nice too. Any recommendations on which is the best and which one has the strobe effect?
Best, Steve

Is this the Steve L, famous Wichita glider pilot/collector?

On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 3:17:25 PM UTC-6, Scott Williams wrote:
Is this the Steve L, famous Wichita glider pilot/collector?

Steve L, google acr c-strobe, $25 or so

On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 3:29:35 PM UTC-6, Scott Williams wrote:
On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 3:17:25 PM UTC-6, Scott Williams wrote:
Is this the Steve L, famous Wichita glider pilot/collector?

Steve L, google acr c-strobe, $25 or so

Hi Scott-
This is semi-famous (HA!) glider pilot Steve Loudon from south central Nebraska who flies a Test Atas 10M...

On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 12:36:49 PM UTC-8, Steve L wrote:


I fly Experimental so the bike light idea appeals to me along with the fact there is no wiring and the price is nice too. Any recommendations on which is the best and which one has the strobe effect?
Best, Steve

Steve,

I ride road bicycle at night through the summer to avoid UV, so have Fenix bike headlight and strobe taillight as well. The problem I see for glider use is the relatively narrow beam angle. On a roadway, it looks bright to other traffic and the narrow main beam is good. Move off to the side, not so much.

I have AeroLed landing and taxi LED lights on my Husky. Two on each wing for wig-wag operation. Some guys put two landing lights each side for even better landing off-field visibility. I run all four in flight. The taxi lights have a broader less intense light than do the landing lights, they are both the same wattage 36 watts each IIRC. Standing off to the side of the Husky checking how the light look, the taxi lights are MUCH more visible than the landing lights - walk more to the front of the plane and the landing lights are brighter of course.

Schleicher sells leading edge LEDs for the vertical stab as an option. It's done nicely. Only thing I don't like about it is you can't just unscrew it to replace should it become damaged.

I have Aeroled strobes on the Husky as well. Much more efficient than Whelan power supply and Xenon tubes, but those LED strobes would suck a 9 volt dry in no time. If you had to go with batteries, I'd be looking at a couple of rechargeable Lion 18650's or so - they usually don't go poof - - hopefully.

On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 4:40:59 PM UTC-6, bumper wrote:
On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 12:36:49 PM UTC-8, Steve L wrote:


I fly Experimental so the bike light idea appeals to me along with the fact there is no wiring and the price is nice too. Any recommendations on which is the best and which one has the strobe effect?
Best, Steve

Steve,

I ride road bicycle at night through the summer to avoid UV, so have Fenix bike headlight and strobe taillight as well. The problem I see for glider use is the relatively narrow beam angle. On a roadway, it looks bright to other traffic and the narrow main beam is good. Move off to the side, not so much.

I have AeroLed landing and taxi LED lights on my Husky. Two on each wing for wig-wag operation. Some guys put two landing lights each side for even better landing off-field visibility. I run all four in flight. The taxi lights have a broader less intense light than do the landing lights, they are both the same wattage 36 watts each IIRC. Standing off to the side of the Husky checking how the light look, the taxi lights are MUCH more visible than the landing lights - walk more to the front of the plane and the landing lights are brighter of course.

Schleicher sells leading edge LEDs for the vertical stab as an option. It's done nicely. Only thing I don't like about it is you can't just unscrew it to replace should it become damaged.

I have Aeroled strobes on the Husky as well. Much more efficient than Whelan power supply and Xenon tubes, but those LED strobes would suck a 9 volt dry in no time. If you had to go with batteries, I'd be looking at a couple of rechargeable Lion 18650's or so - they usually don't go poof - - hopefully.

OK, all good tips... Thanks so much!

On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 9:36:49 AM UTC+13, Steve L wrote:

I fly Experimental so the bike light idea appeals to me along with the fact there is no wiring and the price is nice too. Any recommendations on which is the best and which one has the strobe effect?

Almost all bike lights will flash like a strobe. Price/performance is improving rapidly.

A lot of bright LED flashlights also have a strobe effect and some have a focusing lens to vary the beam angle. The flashlights has a small frontal area for minimal drag and some are waterproof.

http://www.besttacticalflashlights.net/best-flashlight/

The tricky bit is aiming it, being 'bright enough' and getting something that looks 'not improvised'.

On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 3:55:05 AM UTC-6, son_of_flubber wrote:
On Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 9:36:49 AM UTC+13, Steve L wrote:

I fly Experimental so the bike light idea appeals to me along with the fact there is no wiring and the price is nice too. Any recommendations on which is the best and which one has the strobe effect?

Almost all bike lights will flash like a strobe. Price/performance is improving rapidly.

A lot of bright LED flashlights also have a strobe effect and some have a focusing lens to vary the beam angle. The flashlights has a small frontal area for minimal drag and some are waterproof.

http://www.besttacticalflashlights.net/best-flashlight/
Great, I'll check out the bike shops... Thank You
The tricky bit is aiming it, being 'bright enough' and getting something that looks 'not improvised'.

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

On Monday, December 12, 2016 at 7:52:30 PM UTC-6, Steve L wrote:
Is there a small streamlined self contained ( 9 volt or AA battery powered) strobe out there on the market that is about the size of a wingtip running light?
Thanks, Steve

A few years ago Tim Mara was Kind enough to include an A.C.R. hand held personal C-Strobe in an order I made. This one uses two AA batteries which would be 3 volts.
If one had the desire and some small skill in fabrication, a "small AA battery powered strobe about the size of a wing tip light" albeit not streamlined could exist. no claim made by me about brightness, duration, or electro magnetic noise.

Scott