With the flood reflector, the light is less intense, but actually provides better overall lighting of the runway or taxiway. It's an appropriate name because now the system completely lights the entire width of the runway. I have since replaced the focused reflector with a flood reflector. My installation came with the focused reflector, which intensely lit up a narrow beam ahead of the airplane. A conventional bulb typically draws 8 or more amps. The light draws about 3 amps the ammeter needle doesn't even wiggle when I turn it on, and I no longer get the "low volts" annunciator when the light is on during taxi. A nice side benefit is the miniscule current draw for the Boom Beam. Because of the virtually unlimited bulb life, I tend to leave the light on continuously below 3,000 feet or anytime I'm descending to an airport.
In both cases, the system has performed flawlessly. I've been flying the Boom Beam on my Beech A36 Bonanza since March 2000, and we also have one installed in AOPA's Millennium Mooney sweepstakes airplane. A ballast can be mounted elsewhere, typically on the firewall. In addition to the bulb and reflector, the system includes a starter, which is mounted near the bulb. It actually looks rather blue-like the headlights on new high-end automobiles, which use the same technology.
The light is whiter than incandescent lights. A pair of electrodes in the tube applies voltage to the gases, causing them to glow brightly. Inside the reflector is a glass tube filled with mercury and xenon gases. The reflector is about the same size as a conventional bulb, so no airframe modification is required. Should a bulb need replacing after the five-year warranty expires, expect to pay about $50 for a replacement. In either case, installation takes approximately three hours, depending on the model. You'll spend another $135 for an installation kit unique to your model of airplane. The Boom Beam kit costs about $700 for a Mooney, for example. And that doesn't account for the grief and downtime you go through getting the conventional bulbs replaced. If your aircraft is one that eats bulbs every few hours, the approximately $1,000 to $1,200 installed price may seem like a bargain. The company warranties the bulb and all components in the system for five years. But what's most impressive is the bulb life. LoPresti claims that its new High Intensity Discharge Xenon system is six times brighter than a conventional landing light, which appears to be true. Regardless, when it breaks, both pieces are yours. It might last for the first 50 hours or maybe for the first 10 minutes. Most frustrating, there is no guarantee that a new bulb will last any particular length of time. Bulb replacements can run from about $25 to triple figures. One of the biggest problems with conventional incandescent and halogen landing lights is that normal vibration from our piston engines tends to quickly break their filaments, resulting in burned-out bulbs. It's hard to think of a light bulb as "high tech," but in fact the new Boom Beam landing light system from LoPresti Speed Merchants is just that.