The drain line hole has been back filled.   Now it is time to plant some grass seed and add some fill to level the yard out a bit.

Tony Cole stopped by today to bring over his HID light he purchased for an amazing $50 for two.  Came direct from China.  We had to run a side by side test against the HID light sold in Aircraft Spruce for $450.    

First thing you notice is the weight.  The China one 498 grams and the ACS one is 383 gm. 

When Tony powered them up although they had the same rating (35 watts), the ACS model had a much tighter, brighter beam.    Like a spotlight should be.   The ACS HID light color was warmer than the cooler, bluer  (6000 Kelvin) look of the China model.   

The China HID used a reflector meant for a motorcycle which spread out quite a bit and could be used as a taxi light.    While cheap, I would deem it not good for a landing light and the only place I would use it would be for a taxi light.  

I did some research on the ACS HID light and found it is actually made a re-purposed light from Speaker Model Model 9440LS-12V 35W retrofit light.   I found the OSRAM  ballast for $75, and the bulb for about $60, I couldn’t find a proper reflector.  Finding a supplier for the Speaker model above would be the best solution.   One could call the company.   Overall, in some ways I fail to see why anyone would want HID lights in a plane that cost half a grand.  I have a $20 aviation bulb in my plane, and while not the brightest on the block has worked well for 8 years.  It take more power, a little heaver wire, but it works and is cheap.

Today’s efforts was concentrated on finishing up the nose lift cover (which I cut into 3 sections), installing nut plates, glassing heat ducting and manufacturing the mounting brackets for the EFIS AHRS (gyro).

Worked 6.5 hrs.