Lightburner LED Afterburner - RCGroups.com Review
This EDF upgrade is HOT!
Upgrade your EDF with this HOT afterburner that installs in minutes
| Product: | Lightburner LED Afterburner |
| Weight: | 32g single, 40g dual |
| Battery: | 3s - 12s |
| Price: | $50 single, $65 dual |
| Available from: | The Lightburner |
Most jet pilots you run into are all about scale realism. The EDF jets released in recent years have come a long way in that department, despite being largely made of foam. They've got panel lines, cockpits, lights, retracts...but they're still missing something...the bright cone of fiery afterburner out the back! Well, fire and foam don't mix too well...but the Lightburner LED Afterburner comes close by adding a fantastic yellow-orange glow out the exhaust!
Ran Grumer, owner of The Lightburner, developed these units over a period of 4 months and now has afterburner solutions for a wide variety of EDF jets. With a super bright LED bulb array and a custom control board, Ran designed this to be one of the simplest upgrades you can do to your jets. Let's blast off and check it out!
In the Box
Included with the kit is the LED bulb in a custom 3d-printed housing, the light controller board with a balance lead, and a few zip-ties. The entire package is very light at 40g including the controller. Ran told me the single runs around 32g.
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The Lightburner kit includes the bulb(s), control unit, zip ties and instructions.
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This control unit is designed to run off of the 6s battery balance connector, but can run on 11-18v.
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The bulbs are a huge array of micro-LEDs. They come mounted in a custom 3d-printed housing and a long JST power wire.
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The top view shows even more micro-LEDs that shine straight out.
Assembly
There really isn't much assembly needed for this kit. The instructions come on 2 sheets of paper that include full-color pictures. Please note that your install may differ slightly depending on what aircraft you install the Lightburner on.
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You may want to mark your motor-to-ESC wires before disconnecting!
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Loosen the 2 grub screws and remove the cone.
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Slide on the Lightburner unit with a few drops of CA and secure with the zip-tie.
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The trickiest part of the installation was feeding the power wire up through the fuselage. Once it was close, I used a dental hook to reach in and pull it through.
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Since I didn't have one on hand, I made my own Y-connector.
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The control unit fit nicely right in front of my receiver.
Once at the field, simply secure and connect your flight battery as you always do, then connect the Lightburner to the balance tap of your battery. Advancing the throttle slowly will calibrate the controller. The Lightburner is set to illuminate on the upper 1/3rd of the throttle range. Once calibrated, it's easy...take off and admire your new afterburners!
Photos
Summary
The Lightburner was a remarkably simple upgrade to install, and it resulted in a dramatic change in the air! The bright afterburner light not only added to the realism of those high-speed passes, but also helped keep orientation when the tail was visible. Plus, it makes sunset sorties a whole new set of fun! It was easily visible, even on a bright day. There is very little weight added by this unit, and the additional power consumption on your battery is minimal. Ran said the Lightburner will only use about 20 mAh during an average 4 minute flight with mixed throttle! The Lightburner is darn-near close to plug-n-play, very well designed and can fit in a wide variety of airframes. I highly recommend checking out The Lightburner and grabbing one for your jet! FLAME ON!
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looks cool... but curious if there is measurably less thrust considering you are disturbing the airflow when coming past those lights.
I look forward to hearing as more people gain experience with this unit. |
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Thanks Nikolei for your awsome review!
Here are few pictures (pics credit goes to @Borntoolate) of the Lightburner from the past weekend: |
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phacebook
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awesome
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Latest blog entry: Avios Mig-17 Fresco!
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Thread OP
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Latest blog entry: 93" AJ Laser 230z
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Anytime you put something in the ducting there will be a loss for sure. Just curious to see how much as well....
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I have personally seen these in action and I am impressed! Great product design, Ran!
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Latest blog entry: Replacement Retracts for the 1400mm FMS...
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Thread OP
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As I was taking the photos for the review, and the day was growing short, I didn't get a chance to fly it myself yet. However it didn't seem to fly any different or slower than previous sorties. I'm guessing the effect is pretty minimal.
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Latest blog entry: 93" AJ Laser 230z
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Thanks for reporting back! It looks really good for sure!
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