Aviation Jacks, Lifts, Tools & LED Lighting

Steelebrook Product 

Questions & Answers

 

Welcome to the Fresh Aero Question & Answer Page where we address many of the questions you have about our products in a question and answer format.  If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact us at feedback@steelebrook.com and we'll respond as soon as possible.

FlightLights Goose Light Systems   Q. Are the Goose Lights available in custom gooseneck lengths? A. Yes, we can build them any length you specify.  Call for a quote. Q. Can I purchase a another LED head if I want to change the color? A. Yes, our Goose Light LED heads are now customer interchangeable with very little compromise to brightness and lifespan. Colors available are red, blue, green and white. You can purchase a head with the color you want for $11.50 with free shipping, spin off your existing LED head and spin on the replacement. Look for the heads in the Flight Light section of the shopping cart. Q. Do you offer Goose Lights for 24/28 volt aircraft? A. Yes we do. All our Goose Lights are available in a 24/28 dc version. Q. How much power does a Goose Light use? A. Goose Light Power consumption depends on the color of the LEDs and the voltage applied to these lights. With a source voltage of 13.8 volts dc ( a common aircraft voltage with the engine running) we measured the current flow and recorded the following readings. Keep in mind, there are 4 LEDs in each head. Red LED head - 82 miliamperes (.082 amps) Blue LED - 70 miliamperes (.070 amps) Green LED - 74 miliamperes (.074 amps) White LED - 69 miliamperes (.069 amps) We also offer the Goose Lights in a 24/28 volt dc version. With a source voltage of 27.6 volts dc, current flow is listed below. Red LED head - 77 miliamperes (.077 amps) Blue LED - 72 miliamperes (.072 amps) Green LED - 72 miliamperes (.072 amps) White LED - 73 miliamperes (.073 amps) Q. Do the Goose Lights bend in a tight radius? A. Yes They do. Goose Lights with a 5 inch or longer neck have a 2.5 inch bend radius - quite tight! Q. Do Goose Lights work with light dimmers (rheostats)? A. Yes, Goose lights work well with dimmer circuits that adjust the intensity of light. FlightLights Easy Light Overhead Plug-In Lighting Unit for Grumman AA5 Series Aircraft   Q. Can I purchase a another LED head if I want to change the color? A. Yes, the Easy Light LED heads are now customer interchangeable with very little compromise to brightness and lifespan. You can order a head with the color you want for $11.50 with free shipping, spin off your existing LED head and spin on the replacement. Look for the heads in the Flight Light section of the shopping cart. Q. How much power does the Easy Light use? A. Easy Light Power consumption depends on the color of the LEDs and the voltage applied to these lights. We used a source voltage of 13.8 volts dc ( a common aircraft voltage with the engine running) to measure the current flow and record the following readings. Keep in mind, there are 4 LEDs in each head. Red LED head - 82 miliamperes (.082 amps) Blue LED - 70 miliamperes (.070 amps) Green LED - 74 miliamperes (.074 amps) White LED - 69 miliamperes (.069 amps) We also offer the Easy Light in a 24/28 volt dc version. With a source voltage of 27.6 volts dc, current flow is listed below. Red LED head - 77 miliamperes (.077 amps) Blue LED - 72 miliamperes (.072 amps) Green LED - 72 miliamperes (.072 amps) White LED - 73 miliamperes (.073 amps) So, for about the same power consumption used in the original configuration incandescent two bulb system (all lights on), the Easy Light is considerably brighter. Q. The rear light base on my Easy Light is different than the one depicted on the Easy Light Manual. A. We now use a slightly larger rear light base on the Easy Light models with the rear switch option to accommodate the switches.  Q. How Much do the Easy Light LED heads articulate? A. All LED heads articulate from vertical 75 degrees in all directions.  This level of travel was chosen to give a wide lighting range and concurrently eliminate knocking the heads out of alignment when passengers get in and out of the rear seat.  Extra gooseneck segments are available to increase articulation on custom orders. Q. What is the most popular Easy Light LED color combination?  A. Red for the front head and white for the two rear seat heads is the most popular combination but we offer the white and a green LED option too.  You can have any color on any head.  Red is the brightest and lights the panel ready well but will sometimes wash out some of the colors on maps and charts.  Green is not quite as bright but still quite bright and map reading is a little better.  White is bright white and good for reading in the back seats.  It's really a matter of personal preference.  Also, we now offer a blue LED option.  Q. My Easy Light does not fit flush against my aircraft's headliner. A. Some of the later "American General" or "Tiger Aircraft" have a slightly "non-standard cabin light opening or light fixture location. This will cause clearance problems if the Easy Light base is not specifically designed for these aircraft. Just send your Easy Light back to Steelebrook with a tracing or drawing showing the dimensions of the forward and aft light openings in relation to the two mounting holes.  Also, please state if the two incandescent light sockets are at the front or rear of the above openings.  Finally, please include your AA5 model (A or B) and the year it was manufactured. We will modify the base of your Easy Light and ship it back to you at no charge.  Also, check that the Easy light wiring is not pinched between the headliner and the Easy Light base. Q. My Easy light is a little bright. Is there a way to reduce the brightness? A. Most customers don't have a problem with the brightness but we now offer a dimming option for the Easy Lights. The control is located directly behind the front gooseneck and provides a smooth linear brightness adjustment of the front LED head - from very dim to full bright. The control is very easy to adjust from the front seats and the additional cost is only $18.50. Q. One of the flexible links on my rear Easy Light Heads separated from the other links and I can't get it back on - what gives? A. Our early Easy Lights did not have quite enough links accommodate the amount of bending some customers needed. Since each link has a specific amount of "angular displacement", the link will release from the other links when it "over travels". This is actually a good thing because it prevents the assembly from breaking somewhere else. The down side is the links are very difficult to snap back together without the proper tool. We now add an extra link on the rear heads to provide plenty of travel and to prevent the links from releasing. If you have one of the early Easy Lights, Just send it back to us at Steelebrook and we will add the extra links to the rear heads at no charge other than your shipping to us. Grumman AA5 Map Light Replacement LED & Housing    Q. Vibration causes my Map Light to unscrew from the gooseneck.  A. Just remove your Map Light and push another rubber o-ring (extras included with your Map Light) around the threaded screw-in base at the rear of the light.  This should solve the problem. Q. How much power does the Map Light use?   A. Map Light Power consumption depends on the color of the LEDs and the voltage applied to these lights. We use a source voltage of 13.8 volts dc ( a common aircraft voltage with the engine running) to measure the current flow and record the following readings: Red LED - 44 miliamperes (.044 amps) Blue LED - 38.5 miliamperes (.0385 amps) Green LED - 43 miliamperes (.043 amps) White LED - 43 miliamperes (.043 amps) So this is less than half the power consumption of the standard incandescent bulb used in the original configuration.  LED Flashlights in Red, Green or White          Q. Do you offer any other color in addition to red, green and white? A. Yes!  We now offer ice blue too.  Steelebrook Easy Lift System   Q. The Easy Lift shipping costs seem high.  Why? A. We ship the Easy lift in two containers, a 20x20x20 inch box that holds the Easy Lift's base, jack and brace structure, and a 4x7x48 inch container that holds the crossbeam components.  Shipping weight is about 58 pounds for both containers.  A wood inner frame is built into the "base" box to properly support the system during transit.  This ads to the material and labor costs. We ship UPS Ground and UPS considers these containers "oversize" which adds to the shipping costs. Also, UPS has increased their prices about 5% for ground shipments this year. We have considered fabricating the Easy Lift as a disassembled system for less expensive shipping but wanted make this unit as rigid as possible and eliminate any assembly on your part. We wish we could get our Easy Lifts to our customers at a better price but this is about the best we can do at this time.   To avoid shipping costs, you might want to consider picking an Easy Lift up in person. If you're coming to the Middle Tennessee area, please consider flying into the Lewisburg, TN (LUG) Airport for an Easy Lift demonstration.  If you purchase one, we'll knock off 20 dollars and you'll save shipping costs too -- 35 to 73 dollars. Please call ahead to make sure we have one ready for you. Q. Can he Easy Lift be offered in a kit form to save costs? A. Due to customer requests, we are currently "revisting" this option after shelving this idea for several months. Please standby for more info.

Science 
Behind the Scenes

The year was 1905 - 100 years ago.  A young patent office clerk in Switzerland named Albert Einstein  published no less than five scientific  papers that included molecular theory breakthroughs, the Special Theory of Relativity and the most famous math equation in history - E=mc2, where matter and energy are interchangeable at the atomic level - the essence of nuclear energy.

These papers literally blew the lid off the contemporary science of the day and forever changed the way we think about the universe.  

One of the papers described how light traveled in bundles we call "quanta".  This is the foundation of quantum physics and eventually earned Einstein the Nobel prize.

How does this relate to the products on this page?  Well, quanta is the essence of  light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

When electrons in a semiconductor diode travel from one side to another, they shift to a less excited state and release energy in the form of photons.

When these photons are focused into a beam, a bright, clean and efficient light is produced. 

Because light emitting diodes are solid state devices, they have a longevity that far surpasses conventional lighting.

Incidentally, Einstein was only 26 years old in 1905.  Thanks for your contribution to LEDs Albert.

Bob