A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

A new European Standard for LED cabin lights is among recent tech breakthroughs Lufthansa Technik (LHT,&nbsp;Booth H71) is touting at EBACE 2019. The tech spec, DIN EN 4731, is aimed at fostering illumination commonality among next-generation interior systems.

 


The issue: LED lights, unlike the fluorescent fixtures they often supplant, have highly individual light spectrums, generally determined by the manufacturers’ specifications. Cabin lighting systems with mood lights, for example, have an almost infinitely variable light spectrum. These variations affect the appearance of interior colors, among other impacts.

 


Additionally, charging times for the LED systems can also vary widely, and this can be a safety issue when used for photoluminescent floor path marking. To ensure they meet performance needs, LED floor path lights have required extensive testing before installation to confirm their charging capability.

 


As a major player in cabin lighting for two decades, LHT saw a need for the LED lighting standard, supported its development, and served on the expert committee that drafted it.

 


Published last year, DIN EN 4731 (Aerospace series – Spectral quality of LED luminaires used with photoluminescent marking systems) can be used to calculate the charging efficiency (Ce) value of LED light sources for photoluminescent products, and the charging time for LED cabin lighting systems, eliminating the need for pre-installation testing, said LHT senior engineer Wolfgang Sutter, who led LHT’s standards team. The benchmark creates a tool that can help all individuals involved in designing cabin lighting systems achieve standardized levels of luminosity. It is&nbsp;“easy to use” and is "already being applied in practice and proving to be very useful,” Sutter said.

 


The standard applies specifically to LED lighting systems used in aircraft equipped with photoluminescent floor-path marking&nbsp;and is officially recognized only in Europe, but DIN EN 4731’s adoption is expected to affect interior LED lighting used in other aircraft&nbsp;and beyond the Continent, as well.

 


In addition to improved illumination, LED lights can be significantly cheaper to maintain than conventional lighting, owing to the fixtures’ longer life. But more LEDs may be required to provide a lighting level equivalent to conventional lighting&nbsp;and the lighting levels and color of first-generation LED systems were prone to dim and change over time. LHT previously teamed with German optical products specialist Schott to develop an LED system for commercial aircraft, HelioJet, that uses LED chips to generate light transmitted via fiber optic cable, delivering homogenous light that earlier strip-light LED systems couldn’t produce.

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

LHT Touts New Standard for LED Cabin Lights 

Tech Spec aims to bring uniformity to next-gen lighting systems.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Matt Thurber

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Flight-tracking service is available for display on passengers' devices

FlightPath3D and Gogo Extend Bizav Partnership

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

The German company is taking a new approach to aerospace display technology.

Zeiss Microoptics Brings New Display Tech to Aircraft Cabin, Cockpit

Charles Alcock

New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

ProSight technology is being demonstrated at the Farnborough Airshow

Zeiss Debuts New Approach to Cockpit and Cabin Displays 

Expands company’s offerings for high-speed, global connectivity

Pro Star Delivers G280 Gogo Galileo Satcom Installation

New service plans distinguish between a single area and global coverage

Starlink Doubles Aviation Prices, Adds Region Boundaries

Amy Wilder

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

More In Cabin Interior and Electronics

FlightPath3D and Gogo Extend Bizav Partnership

Flight-tracking service is available for display on passengers' devices

Zeiss Microoptics Brings New Display Tech to Aircraft Cabin, Cockpit

The German company is taking a new approach to aerospace display technology.

Zeiss Debuts New Approach to Cockpit and Cabin Displays

ProSight technology is being demonstrated at the Farnborough Airshow

Pro Star Delivers G280 Gogo Galileo Satcom Installation

Expands company’s offerings for high-speed, global connectivity

Starlink Doubles Aviation Prices, Adds Region Boundaries

New service plans distinguish between a single area and global coverage

Jet Access Maintenance Earns Starlink Dealer Status

Services span three locations in Indianapolis, Nashville, and West Palm Beach

Gogo Galileo Now Available for Gulfstream G650/G650ER

HDX antenna installed under the tail-mounted radome

Gogo Galileo Satcom Now Factory Option on Pilatus PC-24

System is FAA- and EASA-certified

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN