LoPresti Aviation announced that it has received an STC for installation of its BoomBeam high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting systems on the latest Bombardier Learjet models, including main gear and belly lights on the 40/45 and 70/75. The company also recently received STC approval for HID lighting on the Bombardier Challenger 600 through 605 and CRJ series. 

The LoPresti HID lights are custom-designed for each application to deliver more light with lower power requirements. “Nothing compares with HID for range,” said David LoPresti, vice president of sales at LoPresti Aviation. He said that a typical incandescent aviation landing light bulb is effective to about 200 feet, while an LED bulb provides more light just a bit farther. A BoomBeam HID light shines brightly to 3,500 feet, he explained, and uses far less power than an incandescent bulb. While incandescents put out significant heat, enough to “fry skin,” according to LoPresti, HID lights are just warm enough to melt off frost and can be touched without burning. 

LED lights do have the advantage of longer life, while HID lights last much longer than incandescent bulbs. “We’re seeing about 3,500 hours on HIDs,” he said. LoPresti Aviation offers a five-year warranty, and when bulbs need replacing, it’s a simple matter of three screws to replace the HID assembly’s bulb at a cost of $270. 

Another difference between LoPresti HID lights and traditional bulbs is that the LoPresti designs use multiple bulb arrays with custom-designed reflectors to replace single bulbs. This helps fine-tune the light output, but also provides redundancy as the HID light continues working effectively with a failed bulb. A Falcon HID light, for example, contains three HID bulbs. “So you get triple redundancy and it’s 10 times brighter,” said LoPresti.

Typical LoPresti HID lights for a midsize business jet are about $20,000, while one for a piston airplane costs about $2,000.