Since 1989, Tennessee-based Wysong Enterprises has specialized in helicopter completions. From its early roots in electronic news gathering to emergency medical services (EMS) and law enforcement, the company has always been on the lookout for bright new ideas.
That’s why Wysong’s leadership was eager to sit down with representatives from AVEO Engineering in December 2022. Headquartered in the Czech Republic, with facilities around the world, AVEO delivers custom LED lighting solutions for aircraft, boats, and other vehicles.
“Wysong services both new and legacy aircraft. We wanted to see how we could work together to get some of AVEO’s compelling technology into the hands of first line helicopter operators, especially those in legacy machines,” explained Wysong vice president Jonathan Davis. “We hear from operators about the challenges they face with existing equipment, including long lead times, out of the box failures, and older incandescent lighting technology. This was a chance to bring new LED lighting to the space.”
While AVEO lighting packages are already available on new Airbus Helicopters models, Wysong was focused on servicing the secondary retrofit market across a variety of makes and models. To do so, the company partnered with AVEO to begin the approvals process for three Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supplemental type certificates (STCs). The long-term goal is to expand those approvals to cover the vast majority of civilian helicopter models.
The first product is the steerable AVEO Sapphire LED search/landing light, offered in two sizes with 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 candela output. It features a low weight profile and an expected 15,000-flight-hour lifespan.
“AVEO designs their LEDs to enhance night vision operations, making their own infrared [IR] emitters and many of the lenses in-house,” noted Bob Shepard, Wysong’s engineering manager. “The light quality over distance is incredible.”
Davis explained that some LED lights may appear dim when viewed through night vision goggles (NVGs). However, “when you look at visible light at night, the Sapphire is much sharper and more visible; it’s brighter under NVGs, thanks to AVEO’s LED emitters. For EMS and law enforcement, you’re getting a drop-in lighting replacement that is a step up. I really like that the AVEO team is very open to customization, providing different options for beams and lensing to meet mission-specific needs.”
Wysong has already installed the Sapphire search/landing light on multiple aircraft, serving customers across a wide range of sectors, including law enforcement, EMS operators, and even private recreational owners. While the STC is still pending, the installations are being completed under FAA Form 337, which documents the addition of new equipment on an aircraft.
The second AVEO product undergoing the STC process with Wysong is the Super Sapphire, a mission-oriented searchlight. Designed as a high-intensity option that can be slaved to camera systems, the Super Sapphire is AVEO’s answer for mission and tactical lighting.
According to Davis, the Super Sapphire can be mounted in a variety of locations on an aircraft, with the most aerodynamic placement being a centerline belly mount. The base package delivers 10 million candela, with the high-end model reaching 20 million candela. Like the standard Sapphire, the Super Sapphire operates at a much lower electrical load and offers the same long lifespan.
“You’re getting it all in this light package, with lower power draw and lower profile, so less drag,” Davis said. “It has similar infrared capabilities, beam angles and lengths based on configuration to the standard Sapphire offering.”
He added that LED lights outperform competing Xenon lights, which tend to lose performance with each cycle of use.
Shepard has been working closely with the FAA to develop the form and function of an STC for the Super Sapphire on a Meeker Aviation mount. Wysong has identified as many as nine airframes that could benefit from such an approval.
“We’re trying to fulfill a market need,” Shepard said. “Once the template has been established, we hope to roll them through. If we got the greenlight on form and function, the majority of those STCs would be done within a year.”
The third and final project currently in the pipeline is the Phoenix multifunction light.
“This one is transformational for the industry,” Davis said. “It’s similar to the Super Sapphire but is 17 different light packages incorporated into one unit. Essentially, it’s a belly panel replacement with very minimal drag, offering Super Sapphire capability within a lighting pod — searchlight, landing light, fully articulating spotlight, hover and tail lights, all built into it. It has inbuilt IR capabilities because AVEO is always planning for the future.”
As with the Sapphire search/landing light, all of the above equipment can be installed under Form 337.
“When the STCs are available, I think that capability buys you some goodwill because it’s FAA certified,” Davis said. “It will open a larger market than we currently have available to us.”
While Davis noted that it’s difficult to quantify the potential market for these AVEO lighting packages, he said the net is wide — ranging from private individuals who want better lighting for night landings to forestry, commercial, firefighting, EMS, and law enforcement operators.
A Sapphire drop-in replacement takes less than two hours to install, Shepard said, while a clean install on a green aircraft would take no more than 40 hours, including wiring, installation, and airframe adapter.
Davis emphasized that AVEO is a forward-thinking company “with a lot of tech in the pipeline,” and he looks forward to seeing what the two companies can accomplish together.
“AVEO is high quality and competitively priced to comparable equipment,” he concluded. “Our plan is to support our customers with lights on the shelf, so if there’s ever an issue, we can send a replacement out.
“It’s all about the teams out there saving lives. If this aircraft doesn’t fly, that’s somebody on the ground who is not being taken care of.”
