Story ID: 363
LoPresti Aviation Launches Commercial HID Landing Lights
By: Samantha Cartaino
Caption: The lights, which are compatible with models such as Boeing’s commercial aircraft, replace the stock incandescent lights with triple HID lights.
Word Count: 368
LoPresti Aviation (Stand 1867) is launching a commercial division to market the company's BoomBeam high-intensity discharge (HID) landing lights at the Dubai Airshow. The lights, which are compatible with models such as Boeing’s commercial aircraft, replace the stock incandescent lights with a pair of triple-array HID lights. The multipe-array lights mean that the aircraft can be dispatched with as many as four elements inoperative. Installation can be completed in 10 to 12 hours.

The HID lights from LoPresti Aviation offer 1.4 million candela compared with the 300,000 candela from LED competitors. The range on LED lights is 350 feet, while the range for HID lights is 5,000 feet. Mean time between failure is 18,000 hours. According to LoPresti Aviation CEO Tyler Wheeler, pilots operating aircraft with LED lights have between two to four seconds to react to something out on the runway while pilots with HID lights have 20 seconds to react. While LoPresti Aviation also owns an LED light company, Wheeler says HID lights are better for landing and taxiing.

“Right now our most popular products are large-cabin Gulfstream [lighting] for the G550 and G450, Challengers and the Global Express,” Wheeler told AIN. “These aircraft have the highest closing rate so they’re flying faster, and they need the range. It’s also a more expensive aircraft, [and operators are] willing to spend a little extra to have the best lighting versus LED lighting. We also foresee our new BBJ lights heading the same way.”

According to Wheeler, there is almost no difference between HID lights designed for business aircraft and those for commercial aircraft. Both sets of lights have the same two working parts: the ballast and the lamp itself. The only difference is the light’s form, so each light is customized for the specific aircraft it will be serving. Each light has two part numbers that are compatible with more than 500 aircraft models.

Currently, the company is working closely with its business aviation dealers such as Duncan Aviation, Elliott Aviation, Stevens Aviation and Textron Aviation’s Citation Service Centers along with all of its other dealers. Looking forward, LoPresti Aviation plans to expand its STCs to cover more commercial aircraft and helicopters.