Story ID: 477
Aircraft Lighting Int’l Shows STC’ed Cabin Lights
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: The full-color-palette LED system boasts several advantages
Word Count: 264
Aircraft Lighting International (ALI) of Hauppauge, New York, is showcasing its recently FAA-approved three-wire RGBW LED cabin lighting system at NBAA-BACE 2025.
The system, which won FAA STC approval in August for the Gulfstream G550, can bathe aircraft cabins in any color light using a digital color wheel, or via preset lighting sequences for meal service, sleep periods, sunrise, sunset, or any other event. Compatible with Apple’s Siri via Bluetooth, the app-controlled system integrates with many cabin management systems.
ALI’s system lowers the energy consumption of legacy systems by up to a third, but its system has advantages even over other LED lighting technologies. “Other RGBW systems need a wire for each diode, so one for red, one blue, one for green, one for white, so four for each diode, then a ground and the control,” explained Shervin Rezaie, the company’s director of sales. “Here we have half the number of wires, so less wire means less weight, less points of failure, less issues with maintenance.”
According to Rezaie, an FAA parts manufacturer approval will be issued for the system once the government reopens. In the meantime, via field approval, the system is now flying on Beechcraft King Airs, Dassault Falcons, Cessna Citations, and Boeing Business Jets.
The installation takes two or three days, so the company recommends scheduling the upgrade concurrent with another scheduled maintenance event. It is easily maintained by operators, however. “If something happens to one light, you just remove it and plug a new one in,” said Rezaie.