stevelup wrote:
And that’s something that’s hard to achieve with LEDs without expensive precision optics.
Not really, my bicycle headlamp manages a narrow beam without being particularly expensive. The optics for a LED are going to be no more expensive or complicated than the ones for a filament lamp, just different (and can be made from plastic, given the much lower temperatures involved).
According to the Gospel of Mike Busch, replacing a light with a LED PMA one is not even a minor alteration. It is at 41 minutes of the video :
The PMA concept make the change legally equivalent to a standard replacement.
Yes; a PMA part is the “same” part – if within the PMA applicability list. You can just install it like the original part. Even if working within pilot maintenance privileges.
That’s FAA.
Under EASA, you have various restrictions on acceptance of FAA-PMA parts (there is no EASA “PMA” system) and I don’t know what is the latest opinion on LED lamps 
Practically speaking, FAA-PMA parts have been widely used for decades on EASA-reg planes regardless of the applicability table, because often there is no choice (e.g. magnetos; see above link) but the lights are, ahem, visible so if somebody is out to give you trouble, it is easy.
Peter wrote:
Under EASA, you have various restrictions on acceptance of FAA-PMA parts (there is no EASA “PMA” system) and I don’t know what is the latest opinion on LED lamps
We just got a LED tail beacon installed on an old PA28. It was installed under the 21.A.307(c) authorisation. So as aeroclub chairman, I’ve now pledged my name to the safety of this piece of equipment. :-)
stevelup wrote:
In this application, you want a narrow beam, surely?
I guess – and it really is a guess only – that the narrowness of the traditional landing light is simply because otherwise it would not be bright enough to serve its purpose. Or does having more of the runway lit when landing create problems?
Can owners install led lights on easa reg (ELA 1) planes?
If
then yes
In the TB20 job, installing the LED lamps involved subtle modifications to the Socata metalwork which was a bit too tight.
BTW, ELA2 is now current under Part-ML, so no longer limited to < 1200kg for anything specific, AIUI.
I’m afraid LED lights cannot be considered PMA equivalents of conventional ones. Otherwise, CS-STAN makes such an installation trivial under standard change CS-SC031b “EXCHANGE OF CONVENTIONAL ANTI-COLLISION LIGHTS, POSITION LIGHTS AND LANDING & TAXI LIGHTS BY LED TYPE LIGHTS”, but it is not suitable for release by pilot-owner. But I can release it for you ;-)
It is a fact that some of these are FAA-PMA parts, so which bit (of my four-point list above, I guess) is the problem in EASA-land?
Peter, if the four points are met, then it should be possible indeed. For a definitive answer, I’ll ask a colleague who has done lots of LED replacements, stay tuned.
