Aviation400 - An Overview

[BubblesAviation]

LED beacons don't have the bright red cap of "normal" anti-collision lights.

On the 787, the top and bottom anti-collision lights (AKA rotating beacons) only look red when lit. When not flashing they are an unsuspecting dark spot.

View attachment 69755

Photo from Reddit:

View attachment 69756


I'm not home now, but looking at photos online seems like other brands have replicated this more accurately. Even in 1:200 scale, where jewels are the standard, it seems like at least GJ has opted for a discrete black dot on the 787. Can anyone with one handy confirm this?

Of course, we are delving into legit rivet-counter territory, and this opens up a can of worms. For instance, the same can be said about the green and red wing tip position lights (AKA navigation lights), which I think are one of the coolest features of precision scale airplane models dating back to the Herpa Wings 1:500 1st. gen. Many nav lights are also LED nowadays, and the cover is clear. Older airframes can also be retrofitted with LEDs, and you can find multiple light bulb variants on the same aircraft type.

I don't think it is a huge deal, but I do believe omitting the red jewel is safer in this case.

I’ve always kind of thought they were red… all my 1:200’s have the red beacon.

 

[Jazajia]

I’ve always kind of thought they were red… all my 1:200’s have the red beacon.View attachment 69759

This is actually a good example.

My Gemini200 E-170s have red jewels, and this is correct for those airframes. However, the newer E-175 in your photo is equipped with LEDs in real life.

 

[YesterAirlines]

LED beacons don't have the bright red cap of "normal" anti-collision lights.

On the 787, the top and bottom anti-collision lights (AKA rotating beacons) only look red when lit. When not flashing they are an unsuspecting dark spot.

View attachment 69755

Photo from Reddit:

View attachment 69756


I'm not home now, but looking at photos online seems like other brands have replicated this more accurately. Even in 1:200 scale, where jewels are the standard, it seems like at least GJ has opted for a discrete black dot on the 787. Can anyone with one handy confirm this?

Of course, we are delving into legit rivet-counter territory, and this opens up a can of worms. For instance, the same can be said about the green and red wing tip position lights (AKA navigation lights), which I think are one of the coolest features of precision scale airplane models dating back to the Herpa Wings 1:500 1st. gen. Many nav lights are also LED nowadays, and the cover is clear. Older airframes can also be retrofitted with LEDs, and you can find multiple light bulb variants on the same aircraft type.

I don't think it is a huge deal, but I do believe omitting the red jewel is safer in this case.

Yes but they are flashing 50% of the time and the AV400 version is in relief - correctly. Every other brand prints them on and they are flat. So I'd argue that the AV400 variation is just as accurate as any other and arguably more so.

Ultimately it comes down to personal preference (frankly I don't care either way), but to claim they are inaccurate - I don't really see it. Especially in comparison to other brands efforts.

 

[BubblesAviation]

This is actually a good example.

My Gemini200 E-170s have red jewels, and this is correct for those airframes. However, the newer E-175 in your photo is equipped with LEDs in real life.

This model, N163SY is from 2018 so it could not be a “newer” 175? I don’t know though.

 

[Jazajia]

Yes but they are flashing 50% of the time and the AV400 version is in relief - correctly. Every other brand prints them on and they are flat. So I'd argue that the AV400 variation is just as accurate as any other and arguably more so.

Ultimately it comes down to personal preference (frankly I don't care either way), but to claim they are inaccurate - I don't really see it. Especially in comparison to other brands efforts.

I don't care too much either. I think the praise those little pieces of translucent plastic get can be too much, and that annoys me a bit, but we know what they say about opinions.

Hey, I am someone who proudly displays Phoenix 747s if they wear my favorite liveries, and I would do the same with AV400 if they made something I like, which is very unlikely at this time, though I actually have one of their A350-900s displayed.

 

[Jazajia]

This model, N163SY is from 2018 so it could not be a “newer” 175? I don’t know though.

It is, it's got the blended winglets, those were delivered with LEDs. The older E-170s and -175s with the straight-up winglets did not. Although some got retrofitted with the blended winglets. I am almost sure all of SkyWest's E-175s came with LEDs.

 

[Phantom]

Jorge summed it up quite well.
A classic style beacon light uses light bulbs or the later style of them xenon flash. The light they emit is "white" so they need a colored lens/cover to actually achieve the colored light desired.
Todays beacon, nav etc. lights rely on LED which emit a specific wavelength range (red for example) and so don't need colored lenses/cover. A 787 doesn't have those red covers which makes those red jevels rather pointless from a technical point of view. Yeah they flash on the real thing, but on a model they appear as an oversized dark red blob in most conditions - and that's something that's just not there on the real thing.

Here's a quick collection of different techs - top to bottom:
- THE classic beacon: a (twin) oscillating anti collision light
- xenon flash under red lens/cover
- LED under red cover (you find these on retrofitted 737NGs)
- LED under clear cover (you can find both clear/red on the A320 family for example)
- that's your latest style (?) tiny LED beacon on top of a 787 fuselage