N8427D Barn find Tri-pacer 22-160

[Randy S Bachmann]

Good morning
Any advice on a STC, mod or kit to deal with the landing/taxi lights? Even with the wing covering off and, on the rotisserie, those little screws and nuts are a pain!

[dgapilot]

Landing Light installation is drawing 12534. Kroil or PB Blaster and a heat gun works for getting the screws out.

[rocket]

Good morningAny advice on a STC, mod or kit to deal with the landing/taxi lights? Even with the wing covering off and, on the rotisserie, those little screws and nuts are a pain!

Oh my, are you in for some fun. Fortunately there are now LED landing and taxi bulbs, good for 10,000 hours they say, so most likly you'll never have to replace them. Put silicon grease on the little screws that hold the leads to the bulb, you'll thank me in about ten years. Rocket

[Glen Geller]

Good morning
Any advice on a STC, mod or kit to deal with the landing/taxi lights? Even with the wing covering off and, on the rotisserie, those little screws and nuts are a pain!

The last time I replaced my old PAR36 lamps, I removed all the mounting screws and nuts, and reassembled them with new bolts installed from the back of the mounting plate, then a nut & lock or star washer. It's easy to use an open-end wrench on the bolt-heads behind the frames, and a suitable nutdriver to really tighten the retaining nuts.
You might want to securely tape the wrench to a long stick, or tie a string around the wrench and your wrist, so you are less likely to lose it in the wing behind the lamps!
Now the threaded ends of the bolts are facing forward, for easy access!
I installed CAR3 compatible* LED spots (not traps or floods) in both landing and taxi positions, then secured the outer frames using pre-screwed nylok nuts.
If those LED lamps ever fail, it will be relatively simple to replace them with the nuts on the forward side of the assemblies.
While I had everything apart I cleaned up the cruddy old black paint in the lamp housings and hit the surfaces with Flat Black BBQ rattle paint.

*Think about what an RV builder might use, and remember our planes predate FAA regs for many components.

Best,
GG

[Steve Pierce]

I install nut plates on the back of the landing light mounting plate at recover.

[Randy S Bachmann]

Thats what I was looking for. Thanks guys!