Fuel Cell Powered LED Approach Lighting Systems

Federal Aviation Administration/LED Engineering, 2003-04

Liaison(s): Calvin Miles ’87
Advisor(s): Carl Baumgaertner
Students(s): Brian Humphrey (PM), Allison Auld, Pilun Chen, Karen Lee

Recent developments in high-power LED technology have made LED airport approach lighting systems feasible. Implementation would dramatically reduce costs associated with energy consumption and maintenance. Through the use of pulse width modulation, the team has created different light intensity levels and conducted flight tests at Brackett Airfield to evaluate the performance of the prototype light bar versus an incandescene standard. The prototype’s closed loop controller eliminates variations in LED light output due to age and temperature.