has teamed up with the Beech Aero Club as a vendor, offering some amazing lighting (and other) technology at reduced rates for BAC members!
If you have been wanting wingtip strobes, but are hesitant to undertake the project of de-skinning your wings to run a new wire,
You need to take a look at the new TSO’d AveoFlashLP series wingtip recognition/strobe lights. These combination nav/recognition/STROBE light assemblies can be easily run in place of our existing nav lights, with less power draw, and will take only minutes to install!
We saw (and purchased) a set of these demonstrated at the Arlington Airshow and Fly-in, and they are AMAZING!
BAC member Mark Hoskins will be installing a set on his beautiful Super III, and we anxiously await his report!
In fact, all BACers who saw them demonstrated (in full daylight I might add…) agreed that they were incredibly bright!
Even the red/green recognition portion was brighter than what we now have!
Now, the drawback is … that unless you still go to the effort of running a new wire to each wingtip, the strobe will operate the entire time the Nav (recognition) lights are on. However….the very low amperage draw will allow the operation of the whole recognition / strobe system to operate on our existing wiring and breaker switch. While some would proclaim that this would be dis-courteous to other pilots on the ground at night (and likely would be) … there is no regulation that says it is wrong to do so.
So, it would be up to your own conscience as to whether or not you want to operate this way. I, for one, have my strobes on anytime my engine is running, day or night. I do, however, operate out of a fairly small field, and seldom at night.
I will be updating this as I get more information, but for now, Howard has offered all current BAC members the following pricing until the end of this year:
AveoFlashLP wingtip light/strobe per pair – $714 (This is far less that I paid for the supplies only to install a Whelen system in my plane!)
AveoFlashLP wingtip light/strobe (pair) and the red/white tail beacon/strobe – $1089 (this unit is not TSOd right now, but will be very soon)
Other requests should be directed to Howard (owner of Kestrel Air). His website is *****Kestrel Air Website*****
Lots of information there, including many other new products.
Mention you are interested in a BAC discount. We will be working closely with him, and you will likely see his advertising in the next issue of BACTalk!
Heres a link to an interesting video featuring Aveo Engineering technologies: including a video of the lights in action, although the video does them no justice!
UPDATE: SEPT 22 @ 2100z
I just got off the phone with Howie from Kestrel….. and he has a good excuse for being so quiet. Besides the FAA yankin their chains and dragging their feet on certification, he just got married! 45 years old, and just made the plunge. First time he’s been married, and the process took a lot of his time.
On to the lights…. He said he got “spanked” by Aveo for offering to BAC a club discount (an international organization) when Aveo has regional sales franchises and have divided up the market that way. I think that will hurt them. However, he says that Aveo is being so tight lipped with pictures/specs/pricing on this new stuff (for competitive edge) that he can’t even get any clear info on a lot of stuff.
He also says that the factory just ran a full production run, and he feels that may be an indication that things might be close. But he did say, that once the FAA signs off, ALL OF THEIR products will be available for all certified aircraft. That’s good news.
He was talking about some other LEDs that are out, and all seem to be coming back due to condensation and lens fogging. Whether or not those are something from Robin Thomas (someone’s speculation) or not, I don’t know. But Howie has been in the Aviation field for a very long time, and his slant on things is… that Aveo has technology that no one else has, and are very excited. IF THAT IS TRUE, I can see why they are so tight lipped right now, wanting patents on a certified light before the competition can see and steal.
Anyway, I’m not giving up on him (them). I may have to take the news item off of the BAC site until everything settles down. He feels bad…. and is willing to go ahead and sell to the member(s) that have contacted him and been turned away. He told them that they should contact their “regional” sales rep, but I understand the California rep isn’t even returning calls. So he is willing to help those out. If they already haven’t gone sour, that is.
————————-Now, here’s some info straight from Kestrel Air’s website—————————
The World’s ONLY Lifetime Warranty Aircraft Lights!
The newly released AveoFlashLP™ and PosiStrobeXP™ meet both TSO C30c and C96a design specifications.
The premier certified international optics testing lab, Photonics Cluster in the United Kingdom, has tested and certified that the performance and output of the AveoFlashLP™ light EXCEED the requirements of TSO C30c, C96a, SAE AS 8037 and AS8017a, and DO-160B.
AveoFlash LP™
Introducing the amazing 2009 E-Series AveoFlashLP™ Aircraft Lights.
All new and re-engineered for the most recent LED industry advances for 2009 is the latest technological wonder from AveoEngineering, unbreakable lights with a lifetime warranty at an affordable price for your kit, sport, ultralight or experimental aircraft. No more broken expensive lenses to replace, no more bulbs to replace! With our exclusive free-replacement lifetime warranty they are the last lights you will ever need to buy.
Integrating the most technologically-advanced and brightest LEDs available in the world to the amazing and all-new exclusive AveoOptimizer™ circuitry, the futuristic E-Series are marked as “LP”, for “low profile”. At a fully 25 mm (1 inch) lower overall height than the 2008 AveoFlash™ lights, the brand new E-Series lights feature:
• combined 3-in-1 Nav/Position/Strobe
• a 9-32 volt input range, no more separate lights by voltage
• light synchronization feature as standard
• an even lighter overall weight, just 83 grams (2.93 ounces) each
• minimum drag profile, the lowest in the industry
• and of course our industry-exclusive Lifetime Warranty*
Combined with our UNBREAKABLE AveoDiamidium™ encasing, and a blinding output of strobe, position and nav lights, AveoFlashLP™ is sure to make you BE SEEN, NOT SORRY™.
PosiStrobe™ & PosiStrobe XP™
The new 2009 E-Series PosiStrobe™ and PosiStrobeXP™ aircraft lights are patented designs, with unmatched technology and performance features that are finally available at affordable prices. This incredible series of lights incorporate the exclusive SmartStrobe™ synchronizer circuitry, which is integral to the lights, and no external or heavy flash unit/strobe power unit is required.
Another unique and exclusive feature is the Aveo PowerOptimizer technology designed into the circuit board, it means less power consumption from even brighter lights. The Posistrobe is universal voltage input of 9-32 volts.
A round shape designed to fit the tail cone and rudder areas of many aircraft and also for use on trikes, powered parachutes and UL aircraft as a white flashing strobe/position light. For Part103 flying a PosiStrobe™ is all you need, for even brighter performance, the XP is nearly triple the power.
At only 50 grams (1.76 ounces), there is no better solution to tail position/strobe needs in the world.
Technical Information
• Power supply:
Multi – Voltage (9V – 32V)
• Current consumption: for 12V
•Wing light:
steady- 0.24A
flash – 1.65A (@ 200ms)
•PosiStrobe™:
steady – 0.11A
flash – 0.65A (@ 200ms)
• PosiStrobe XP™:
steady – 0.12A
flash – 1.3A (@ 200ms),
• Reverse polarity protected
• Over voltage protected
• Water & vibration resistant
• Wing Nav/Position/Strobe 3-in-1 Lights diagram
• Weight of wing light: 83 g / 2.93 oz
• Weight of PosiStrobe™ / PosiStrobe XP ™: 50 g / 1.76 oz