US global aerospace, defence and semiconductor technology company Astronics has been granted parts manufacturer approval for the next generation of LED landing and taxi lights provided by its subsidiary Astronics Luminescent Systems. The designation gives approval for these lights for use on commercial, business and general aviation aircraft.

“Our newest generation of LED landing and taxi lights deliver a host of unprecedented advantages over filament-based lights in terms of performance and value,” explains president James Kramer. “Airframe manufacturers, airlines and private owners can now incorporate these lights onto new and retrofit aircraft to take advantage of the lifecycle cost savings these lights deliver through high efficiency, low power and long life operation.”

The lights replace the traditional filament-based lighting systems used for landing and taxi lighting on aircraft, delivering a mean time between unscheduled removal in excess of 30,000 hours compared with some traditional incandescent configurations that are rated at only 100 hours, saving maintenance time and effort and plane down time.

They come in three standard sizes; PAR 36, PAR 46, and PAR 64 and are RTCA DO-160 certified. They are shock and vibration resistant with no filaments to break, and have a robust glass lens construction with special anti-fog coating. They use 80 per cent less power than legacy systems with comparable luminance and are approved for use on hunderds of aircraft models.