AeroLEDs has introduced a new LED landing and taxi light that offers the highest candela in the industry, according to company officials.
The new SunSpot 36-4000 Series 75W LEDs boasts more than 200,000 candela, company officials noted.
The light also features a 15°x15° bright white beam angle that improves visibility both on the ground and in the air from up to 30 miles away, officials say.
A drop-in replacement for standard legacy 4509 and 4591 bulbs, SunSpot 36-4509 and SunSpot 36-4591 are a safety upgrade that is FAA-PMA/STC approved for use in virtually any aircraft that requires a PAR36 lighting configuration, AeroLEDs officials added.
The lights also include AeroLEDs’ signature integrated pulse, which take advantage of an LED’s ability to illuminate instantaneously for increased recognition, even in broad daylight, company officials noted.
Designed and manufactured in Boise, Idaho, AeroLEDs lights are rated for more than 30,000 hours of continuous use and come with a five-year warranty.
This claim of offering the highest Candela (Cd) or Candlepower on the market is patently false. XeVision offers a unit that provides more than 320,000 Candela and almost 11,000 Lumens with effective illumination out past 1/3 mile. Also it doesn’t dim to 1/2 output as all the others do after 5-10 minutes of use. The XeVision units offers reliable active cooling for sustained FULL output. Tested continuously for years, never turned off. The units are repairable, upgradeable and modular. The optics zone is sealed with Nitrogen. Also certified lab tested to RTCA DO160 to the strictest standards for EMI and RFI. No powder coated heat sink fins (an insulator) only anodizedv/ alodined CNC machines components. USA made, designed in USA and Switzerland !!!
For that price I,ll stay with my old 4509
The Aero-lite, 2,100 lumen lamp is $84 on amazon. I’ve been using this lamp for 2+ years now, and it’s 4 x brighter than the 4509, and lasts for 1,000;s of hours vs about 10 hrs for the 4509,
Plus the Aero-lite lamp uses 2 amps vs 10 amps for the 4509, so I run it 100% of the time I’m flying.
The Aeroled lamp is $349.
I looked at this light vs another from Aero-Lite. [ amazon ]
The Aeroled is 6,500 lumens and has a beam width of 15 degrees, 134 ft wide at 500 ft
The Aero-Lite is 3,200 lumens and a beam width of 10 degrees, 88 ft wide at 500 ft.
Then calculating the brightness per sq. ft.
Aeroled , 2.2 sq. ft per lumen
Aero-Lite, 1.9 sq.ft. per lumen, or about 17 % brighter
So, not only does the illuminating power matter, but also a wider beam that can put less light per sq.ft. of the ramp and runway.
I’m using some of the Aero-lites and after 2+ years they operate ok, but they do get hot, but not as hot as the old 4509 GE lamp.
So, I’d recommend making sure that there is some air flow around any of these landing lights. Temperatures of more than 220 degrees F can greatly shorten the life of the electronics in the LED lamps. The LEDs may be good for 20,000 hours, but the electronics can fail in 100s of hours at high temperatures.
Let me guess. $99.99? Or maybe $199.99? Nope. Let’s go to $696! Good grief. And I’ll bet these are made in CHINA-CHINA-CHINA!