Lumex, Palatine, Illinois

Due to the significant performance benefits they provide, LED and LCD technologies are replacing traditional incandescent bulb fixtures in more and more places throughout the cockpit and main cabin of aircraft. Compared to incandescent bulbs, LED and LCD technology provide:

  • Longer lifespan (at least 10x longer): Typically 100,000 hours for LEDs compared to 10,000 hours for incandescent bulbs.
  • Lower power consumption (at least 50% reduction): 2V, 20mA for LEDs compared to 12V, 65mA for incandescent bulbs
  • Enhanced durability and vibration resistance: Together these features allow LED and LCD technologies to reduce costs and maintenance requirements while maintaining quality visual performance.

Cockpit

In the cockpit, options range from simple indication (typically communicating basic information like “on/off”) to the advanced display of complex graphical and alphanumeric information. Whereas previously analog systems severely limited the amount of information that could be displayed, the microcontrollers used in LCD displays today allow an almost endless amount of information to be presented.

For simple indication purposes either QuasarBrite™ Panel Mount Indicator LEDs or TransBrite™ LED Light Pipes can be used. Panel indicators are mounted directly onto a user-interface panel for indication purposes. For applications where the PCB board is located deeper in the technology cavity, it is possible to use light pipes that carry the light from the source up to the user interface.

Moving beyond simple indication, QuasarBrite™ 7-Segment Displays provide indication plus the additional capability of displaying basic alphanumeric text and lighting up key icons (such as “altitude” or “speed”). Multiple 7-segment displays can be grouped together into a single “plug and play” that reduces the overall footprint while simplifying engineering processes.

For more complex pilot interface tools, InfoVue™ LCDs provide a full range of graphic and alpha-numeric display capabilities. The screens can display complex, rapidly changing graphic information. Often, the LCDs are backlit using QuantumBrite ™ edge-lit LED backlights for enhanced visual impact.

Main Cabin

In the main cabin of aircraft, TitanBrite high-power LEDs (typically in 1-Watt to 5-Watt sizes) are used for emergency lighting aisles while surface-mounted QuasarBrite™ LEDs can be used for exit, bathroom and seatbelt indication often, in conjunction with QuantumBrite™ edge-lit LED backlights.

For more information, visit Lumex at http://info.hotims.com/40431-303 .