Seeing plane at distance?

[Neddy]

I was wondering whether anyone has fitted a single flshing bright white light facing forward to the nose of their plane. This would help you see the plane and be able to interpret whether the plane is coming towards you or going away from you. Sometimes depending on background planes are hard to see clouds forest etc. I always had flashing lights on my push bike as a safety precaution I think it's a must have on a bike. Nowadays with led lights that can run for hrs and use very little power it would be a good move to put one on the nose or possibly add a different colour one at the rear off the rc  plane. 

[Shaun Walsh]

I have an led strobe on several gliders and it does help with orientation and identification especially when there are several models in the air at high altitude. 

[Outrunner]

Waggle the wings, if they go the same way as the stick it's going away from you, if they go the opposite way it's coming towards you.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

The wing “trick” is the most reliable.

 

I have a white LED fitted in the nose of my Arrows Hawk (and a strobing one on the top decking) which have their uses when flying in a tight gaggle of 5 or more as we frequently enjoy, but their primary benefit is cosmetic. 
 

The downside is while doing an approach in poor light when you can lose the wings in the glare - fit a switch so that you can turn it off!

[Graham Bowers]

One of my pals has red and green wingtip lights, leds. They definitely make orientatian easier. I know “ other tricks” are available, however the leds make for a more enjoyable flight in adverse lighting conditions.

[Brian Cooper]

Martin makes a valid point about the intensity of the lights. 

If they are too bright they will dazzle you, especially if it is white light. 

[Ron Gray]

Fly closer?

[GaryW]

Only my personal view ,,, Yes admittedly some planes do look really good with nav lights you can actually see but to only fit lights and over items simply for the purpose of being able to see the model at a distance then you must be flying your models to fair away from you to begin with when you shud be keeping clear line of sight at all times including  the models direction of flight & orientation not just for the fact the you can see where it is.. so if its that far away that you cant tell which way its going or facing then your are most deffo flying too far away

 

Edited March 15 by GaryW

[SIMON CRAGG]

Neddy, "Fishing bright light".....please can you point me in the right direction, as never heard of them!.

[Glenn Philbrick]

8 hours ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said:

The wing “trick” is the most reliable.

 

I have a white LED fitted in the nose of my Arrows Hawk (and a strobing one on the top decking) which have their uses when flying in a tight gaggle of 5 or more as we frequently enjoy, but their primary benefit is cosmetic. 
 

The downside is while doing an approach in poor light when you can lose the wings in the glare - fit a switch so that you can turn it off!

We also fly several hawks together, can you let us have info on the strobes you have used ?

[leccyflyer]

On a couple of Durafly models fitted with navigation lights on the wingtips I find that in normal daylight conditions you only really get a momentary glimpse of the lights when they are pointing right at you, when you get a flash of red or green. There's a chap on RCG who has programmed an Arduino microprocessor to flash morse code signals from the bright light mounted to the upper fuselage of his Spitfire, which is pretty cool. It strikes me that a bright white light in the nose of the wee Arrows Hawks is a great idea, if flying several together and one of my clubmates has one fitted to his Hawk.

[Futura57]

I've installed these very bright stick-on leds on four models now. Really helps with orientation in flight. Rechargeable with their own diddy lipo and they last well over an hour. Especially against a grey sky, but still visible on a sunny day, though less so.

 

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EGKnUD7

 

Available from various sellers on AliExpress. As usual with AliExpress, be sure to select the lighting set to get the correct price.

 

I also have a huge stash of these individual 3W leds in various colours. Extremely bright. Just work out the correct high wattage resistor for the power voltage you intend to use and how many leds in your circuit. Great for a nose light. Various lens covers are available too.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EQl3WwH

 

Again, with AliExpress, there are many sellers with different cost and shipping fees. Some sell smaller quantities.

 

 

 

Edited March 15 by Futura57

[Ron Gray]

These are excellent:

 

COB

STROBON

[Futura57]

10 minutes ago, Ron Gray said:

These are excellent:

 

COB

STROBON

 

You pay your money and make your choice I guess. I tried a couple, but prefer the tear drop encased ZMRs for convenience and cost. I then use separate component leds for maximum flexibility in location, and run wires where a small integrated board may not fit, such as a pointy nose. 😀

 

Horses for courses.

Edited March 15 by Futura57

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Similarly, these are what we use - with the LED on extended leads.  Very handy as one type can be used for a variety of functions. 
 

https://store.flytron.com/collections/led-light-systems/products/strobon-v2-navigation-light

 

The lenses which they sell complement the effect on the nose light but my top mounted one works well without. 
 

https://www.flytron.com/products/strobon-v2-polycarbonate-lens

[Cuban8]

Regular eye tests........very important even if you don't need distance glasses. As one gets older visual acuity does decrease especially with the onset of cataract that creeps up so slowly that one doesn't notice. Years of staring at flying models in bright sunshine without proper UV protection or just being an 'outdoor person' for large amounts of your  time does give your eyes a good dose of UV over time and can  promote cataracts so my optometrist tells me. Certain medication (steroids) have a similar affect, apparently.

Ten years ago I was told that I have very slight signs of catracts in both eyes although I never noticed any problem with my sight - I have bi-annual eye checks, take care to protect my eyes in bright conditions and there has been no further deterioration

Edited March 15 by Cuban8

[John Lee]

+1 for Flytron. Their high intensity strobes look great at dusk but do little or nothing to help during the day. 

 

Their is no substitute for good vision & flying within your visual range.

[Don Fry]

1 hour ago, Cuban8 said:

Regular eye tests........very important even if you don't need distance glasses. As one gets older visual acuity does decrease especially with the onset of cataract that creeps up so slowly that one doesn't notice. Years of staring at flying models in bright sunshine without proper UV protection or just being an 'outdoor person' for large amounts of your  time does give your eyes a good dose of UV over time and can  promote cataracts so my optometrist tells me. Certain medication (steroids) have a similar affect, apparently.

Ten years ago I was told that I have very slight signs of catracts in both eyes although I never noticed any problem with my sight - I have bi-annual eye checks, take care to protect my eyes in bright conditions and there has been no further deterioration

Also give the eye checker a stress test, age related paternalism is common. I’ve had the comment frequently, “but you have very good vision, Mr Fry (sometimes even with “for your age”). A simple statement “my eyes are better than that”, perhaps repeated, gets better vision. Sad but true. Remember, stuff like flying, shooting, trains your systems, and you know what you can see, with the correct lens in front of the eye. 

[Jake Bullit]

Never have a problem with this one😀

[Neddy]

This is a video of rc plane fitted out with these lights to me it's a good idea. Talking to flying club members the majority of members are in favour of these especially soaring with gliders where you are flying with mixed backgrounds and flying at a greater distance. I will be putting some on my plane. 

 

 

[Futura57]

40 minutes ago, Neddy said:

This is a video of rc plane fitted out with these lights to me it's a good idea. Talking to flying club members the majority of members are in favour of these especially soaring with gliders where you are flying with mixed backgrounds and flying at a greater distance. I will be putting some on my plane. 

 

 

Yep. Thems the ones I use, innit 🤪

Search ZMR lights on AliExpress.

[Rich Griff]

Some of you will no doubt remember watching a particular TV program about a battle tank ( centurion ? ) seen in broad daylight on a hill ridge some distance away.

Seen in silouette, it stuck out like a black soar  thumb on the skyline. Unmistakable.

 

The bright white light search light mounted on the tanks turret was turned on and  aimed at the camera taking the pictures some distance away.

 

On turning on the search light, the tank was said to "disappear" with no bright white light searchlight seen either !

[Engine Doctor]

21 hours ago, Cuban8 said:

Regular eye tests........very important even if you don't need distance glasses. As one gets older visual acuity does decrease especially with the onset of cataract that creeps up so slowly that one doesn't notice. 

Ten years ago I was told that I have very slight signs of catracts in both eyes although I never noticed any problem with my sight - I have bi-annual eye checks, take care to protect my eyes in bright conditions and there has been no further deterioration

A bit off topic re fitting lights to a model but re our seeing modrls at distance I think its pertinent.

Years ago I was also told i had early signs of cataracts but not " ripe enough to have done ". I wore glasss then and still do. Regular eye checks all said my  eyes were ok apart from the earlysigns of cataract . Glare in sunlight was becoming a problem. After sitting in my car in traffic one day with the sun shining on the car in fronts number plate i could hardly make out the number plate ! A visit to a different optician confirmed that my cataracts were far more advanced than previous opticians had advised. This optician said " the statement that cataracts have to be ripe enough to operate is rubbish. Its just a way of putting off the op"  He refered me and i had the cataracts removed a few weeks later. Whats difference ! You cant believe it until you experience it but accuity ,colours and clarity return to levels you had forgotten existed.

If anyone suffers from glare , beit at night or in sunshine do go and get your eyes sorted. Cataracts left too long can cause irreversible damage so get them done. Its painless and sight is in virtually all cases restored instantly. 

As in any procedure there is inevitably some side effects . Mine were when driving at night and passing certain types of street light it looked like a firework exploding in the sky in my peripheral vision. This soon goes away , or you get used to it and dont  notice it . You may also get a few floaters but these quickly settle down.

Eyesight is precious look after it.

 

[Cuban8]

I suppose as with so many things medical, treatment is often tailored to the individual. In my case, I have noticed no deterioration in my vision so although what early signs of cataract I do have can be picked up by examination, I don't think I'd want to have treatment at this stage anyway - there would be no gain as my sight is otherwise good and I can easily pass the rather crude numberplate test to satisfy the DVLA by a wide margin. I'm short sighted and wear specs so my vision is corrected to be as good as anyone's. I do suspect that many people are going about their daily lives with less than optimum eyesight and should have their vision corrected - why they don't do so I couldn't say.

In terms of modelling, unless the fitting of lights is because of scale authenticity, night flying (obviously) or just a straightforward novelty, then fitting bright lights to assist in keeping one's orientation on a model suggests to me that something else is going on.

Obviously not a one size fits all situation.............camouflaged warbirds can be problematic for even the best eyesight - especially on a low circuit and approach against a background of distant trees, where I've experienced a model disappear from view briefly on finals. My WW2 camo artwork was clearly doing its job as originally intended, but still very alarming I can tell you . Landing and nav lights lights would be a help in this case.

Edited March 16 by Cuban8

[Bruce Collinson]

Cataracts are like car brakes.   Failure tends to be slowly progressive and it’s usually a new driver who identifies that not all is well.   The difference post repair is usually stark.