Aircraft Lighting International (ALI) of Long Island, New York, brings two FAA-approved cabin lighting products to NBAA-BACE this year: a color-changing LED system and an LED tube that replaces fluorescents without rewiring the airplane.
Both hold parts manufacturer approval, the FAA’s authorization for a company other than the original maker to produce replacement parts. ALI showed the first—a three-wire system using red, green, blue, and white (RGBW) LEDs—at last year’s NBAA-BACE while approval was pending.
It has since passed RTCA DO-160 testing, the standard for environmental testing of airborne equipment, and is now installed on aircraft ranging from Pilatus PC-12s and Beechcraft King Airs to Bombardier Globals and Boeing Business Jets. It works with most cabin management systems and the ALI smartphone app.
The second product replaces bi-pin T5 fluorescent tubes in legacy 28-volt DC systems. Installation is simple: unplug the old tube and put the LED lamp in its place. Notably, the two types can mix in one cabin. ALI is developing self-ballasted versions, which need no separate power-regulating component, as well as RGBW versions.
ALI sales director Shervin Rezaie said about 90% of customers who ask for RGB now buy it versus almost none five to 10 years ago. “Fluorescent tubes are on their way out, especially in Europe,” he said. “Now operators can go to LED without changing anything on the airplane but the lamps.”
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