Runway Light Design Theory

We looked high and low for affordable runway lights for customers world wide. None were to be found. The biggest obstacle to an affordable fixture was the lens. Just the lens alone was quite expensive at ~$100. We set out on a mission to develop an affordable runway light solution that was easy to buy, easy to install, and most importantly, affordable! We wanted every component to be readily available anywhere in the world so that our customers could easily service them decades from now.

Components

Mason Jar

As I searched through lenses and glass objects to substitute for an expensive colored lens, my wife suggested a simple Mason jar. You see, we do not need or want colored lenses. Large airports need colored lens’ because they use white halogen bulbs that are dimmable and constant current metered for various intensities of lights.  Our LED bulbs easily handle the colored part of the equation. We just needed a glass lens that would withstand the elements for decades, be readily available anywhere in the world, and be affordable! The classic Mason jar was the perfect fit. The Mason jar is to be sourced by you the customer directly. At only ~$3 each when you buy a dozen of them from Amazon or wherever, I can not store and ship these for what you can get them for shipped directly to your door. So it makes no sense for us to keep them as inventory and charge you for all that. The classic 32oz wide mouth Mason jar is the perfect form factor, at the most affordable price. 

LED Bulb

Selecting an LED bulb was not easy. We had been testing them here at our air park for years. We documented various bulbs of different characteristics in different housings trying to determine which bulb was actually suitable for the task. Moisture resistant, heat resistant, UV resistant, rapidly flashable , and long lasting were just a few of the attributes we measured. We tried dimmable LED’s but they could not be easily controlled across the voltage and current ranges,  and did not hold up well to flashing. Consequently, our runway light is for a single step light systems only. They are either on or off. Perfect for small airports. 

All decoder light controllers are designed to handle single and multi step sight systems including ours. We found that a 4 watt white, 7 watt colored LED, provided a nice balance of light intensity.  

Adapter

Manufacturing the orange adapter took many iterations. We needed one that would fit and adjust to various customer pedestal types. Our model allows the adapter to fit over a standard 2” PVC pipe that can be used as a riser out of the ground. At our air park, we have had PVC risers in the sun for decades. They look and operate just fine. We found the 2” pvc had enough wall thickness, frangibility, and strength to support the assembly out of the ground, and was affordable and readily available anywhere. The adapter is made from ASA (Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate), an outdoor industrial use material that was specifically engineered for an application like this. It has these general properties

• UV Resistance: ASA is highly resistant to UV radiation, which prevents the material from yellowing and degrading over time when exposed to sunlight. This makes it an excellent choice for outdoor applications.
  
• Weather Resistance: Besides UV stability, ASA has great resistance to water and weather elements, including wind and temperature variations, which ensures the longevity of printed parts in challenging environments.
• High Temperature Resistance: ASA can withstand higher temperatures than many other thermoplastics before deforming. This property is beneficial for parts that might be exposed to high ambient temperatures.
• Durability and Toughness: ASA is known for its toughness and impact resistance, which makes it suitable for functional parts requiring high durability.
  
• Chemical Resistance: It resists many chemicals, oils, and greases, which is crucial for automotive parts and other industrial applications.
  
• Moderate Flexibility: While ASA is tough, it also maintains moderate flexibility, which helps in applications where a slight give in the material is beneficial.

If you have or need a different riser just let us know. An adapter can be manufactured to convert the 2” pvc to any pipe or fitting size you might like. You may notice in the front page picture, that there is an adapter to the customers 4” pvc riser they already had in place. 

The international standard for height above the ground for a runway edge light is 14” above ground to the top of the light. The light assembly is 7” tall, and your pipe will slide into the light assembly 1”. So you will need an 8” pipe above ground to have your light meet the 14” standard. 

O-Ring

Built into the adapter, is a feature to allow for an O-ring to keep flowing rain water from pouring into the chamber. The O-ring is Nitrile Rubber 82mm OD 75mm ID 3.5mm Width also available internationally. The o-ring slips around the mason jar threading lip, and allows easy threading of the jar onto the adapter base sealed by the o-ring. Very effective. Also is an o-ring that slips over the bulb threads to seal the bulb and socket from moisture.

LED Socket

The LED socket is a standard E26/E27 light socket that is waterproof and has a 5.5” pigtail wire.

•  Made of high quality copper and bakelite
• Fully sealed with glue filling for Waterproof seal, Heat-resistant temperature up to 200 degree. Long service life.
  
• Rated Voltage: 110-250V. 660 Watt max. Rated Current :6A. Wire length: 5.5 Inch.

Custom Riser Adapters

The standard runway light assembly is designed to fit over a 2” PVC riser. Some customers have different sizes and I do offer the ability to manufacture custom riser adapters for you at a very affordable price. 

Runway Layout

If you really want to geek out on international standards on runway lighting, you can read this FAA order that lays out the rules. Here is the short version of rules that will apply to most small airports.

• White lights line the runway edges. They should be no more than 200’ apart and 150’ is a good spacing particularly for light twins and singles. Maximum height above the runway is 14″ (355mm) for plane wing clearance.
  
• Blue lights are used for indicating turn outs or taxiways. Place blue lights on your runway edge to indicate where pilots can exit safely. 2 blue lights per side of exit.
  
• Red/White dual lights are for danger or caution approach and departure ends. When you are landing, you want to see the last 2 lights at the departure end on each side to be red. And when you approach you want to see only one green light identifying the threshold and then whites continuing on. So you need 1 of these dual lights, per side, per end and centerline. So that is 6 Dual Red/Green lights on the ends, and 4 dual Red/White lights for the row 2nd row from the ends. So for any airport, you will need for the last 2 end rows:
  • 6 Dual Red/Green Assemblies
  • 4 Dual Red/White Assemblies
• Then the rest of your lights will be single white and single blue depending on your runway length and the number of taxi turnoffs.