beacons and strobes

[Troy Hamon]

Thanks P.o.P. The partner/IA says he wants to rewire the nav lights rather than replace, as it turns out he had done a runup with each of them sequentially disconnected at the light with no change, so he is thinking it is wiring not the lights. So we may only be replacing the beacon/strobe. So that isn't so bad, and I'll see if he wants to save me some money on that one.

[NHPacerPilot]

Hey Troy, it wouldn't hurt to take apart those position lights and clean them up. They are really simple technology that I call flashlight technology. Sometimes the contact and the end of the bulb get glazed over from time and the ground wire gets glazed, broken, loses good contact from vibrations and time. I took mine apart and cleaned up at the contacts and had to replace a ground wire. I made sure I got a good ground and they have been working well. You could start there and work your way to the panel and see if there is a short somewhere that is tripping the breaker. As P.o.P. said all three need to be on seperate switches and breakers. I think the combo strobe/nav lights are still two seperate light sources and one requires a power box. You would probably need to open up a wing tip to mount the box and I can't comment on that at all because I would not want to do that just for lights unless I was recovering the wing. They make a direct replacement bulb for the Nav lights that are LED and Aircraft Spruce sells them for I believe around $35 a piece and I think they are colored. Don't drop the glass nav light lens because I did and I bought a new one and it was about $30! Getting you current system up to snuff and working properly gives you time to do some night flying and think about what system you want to invest in. Some emery cloth a file and new solder could bring those old nav lights back up to snuff. Just some food for thought.

[Troy Hamon]

Thanks. I may try that. With each bulb pulled, one at a time, the problem doesn't go away, and in the case of the rear nav light the wire was disconnected and it still popped the breaker. So we can clean it up, but it sounds like there is a problem between the switches and the lights somewhere. We just replaced all the breakers and switches, including putting the separate switches for navs and for the strobes. But I love the idea of a drop-in LED replacement from Spruce. I hadn't seen that, I'm going to have to see if I can find it. I love night flying on a clear night, so this is really bugging me.

[NHPacerPilot]

Me too. I cleaned, rebuilt and rewired my nav lights and put on the strobe about 5 years ago and they have been good to go! Here is the link if you have not found it.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...eplacement.php

I'm going to buy theses and do this next. If you put these in, fix the short and put a strobe up on that tailpost, I would say you can fly with confidence at night. Keep the beacon on the belly and you will really light up the night sky! Have fun.

[BrettL]

Here's the applicable excerpt from regulations:

§91.205 (c) Visual flight rules (night). For VFR flight at night, the following instruments and equipment are required:

(3) An approved aviation red or aviation white anticollision light system on all U.S.-registered civil aircraft. Anticollision light systems initially installed after August 11, 1971, on aircraft for which a type certificate was issued or applied for before August 11, 1971, must at least meet the anticollision light standards of part 23, 25, 27, or 29 of this chapter, as applicable, that were in effect on August 10, 1971, except that the color may be either aviation red or aviation white. In the event of failure of any light of the anticollision light system, operations with the aircraft may be continued to a stop where repairs or replacement can be made.

Link to the anticollision light standards of part 23, that were in effect on August 10, 1971. (§23.1401). These requirements do apply to your airplane Troy, if your anticollision light system was initially installed after August 11, 1971. If it was installed on or before August 11, 1971, then it would need to meet the aircraft certification standards in effect at the time it was installed. You could use any number of beacons, strobes, or a combination as necessary to meet these requirements.

As far as a strobe or beacon being certified, I believe it is the same issue as installing any other part on a certified airplane, in that it would need to be a part provided by the original aircraft manufacturer, STCed, PMAed, or owner produced.

[NHPacerPilot]

Thank you Brett. That is why my Rudder/Tail strobe is split for aviation red forward and aviation white rearward and it meets the requirements for the light dispersal and 30 degrees above and below. The belly strobe that I wanted to install did not meet that requirement. Strobes in the wing tips did not meet that requirement either because they were too far forward of the wing tip curve and could not be seen from the rear. I think I referenced 1978 when I should have been referencing 1971. Many shortwingers had the belly beacon installed years ago. Mine did not so when I decided to make my plane legal for night VFR I had to comply with the regulation you referenced. Thanks again.
Paul

[P.o.P.]

While you're at it you may want to assure that the lamps are in fact for a 14 volt system.

I've found auto Parking Lamps & aircraft 28 volt lamps installed.

Incorrect lamps can affect current draw & brilliance.

BTW- My intention is to state that Nav Lights must have a separate switch and the Anti-Collision System needs one as well.

NOT necessarily 1 switch for every strobe though.

Normally all strobes are on 1 switch.

[Troy Hamon]

P.o.P., I read your comment as intended, which is how we have it installed.

BrettL, our lights were definitely installed prior to 1971, but I haven't got the logbook in front of me. I would like to comply with current standards if I can do so without going broke. I just looked at them, and the current standards appear nearly the same, but 75 degree instead of 70 degree angles specified. With the standards as written, does a tail strobe on a PA-22 meet the visibility requirements of current regulation? What about a tail strobe and a belly strobe?

[BrettL]

Troy,

I don't know if the single strobe on the tail, with or without the beacon, would meet current standards (standards for Part 23 aircraft being type certificated today). You'd probably need to hire a DER to determine that for certain. I suspect you'd need to install a new strobe or LED system to meet current standards, and unless you can find one already STCed for your airplane it could be an expensive and/or time consuming process. You should investigate this if getting your lighting up to the latest standards is important to you, but I suspect you'll find either maintaining your current system to its original certification standards, or installing a new system that meets or exceeds the August 10, 1971 standards will be simpler and more cost effective.

Brett

[P.o.P.]

Current requirements for Anti-Collision Light INSTALLATIONS is in AC43.12-2B Chap 4.

Determining the area to be illuminated has actually been made easier to determine.

AC43.13-2A had you evaluating "steradians" & shadows on the wall.

If you can move around & see the light then the light can illuminate that field of your vision.

STC's are not really very specific on this point so YOU do have to do the same evaluation.

With ANY installation there is some light blockage.

From a visibility standpoint the top of the rudder is the best location.

It probably meets field -of-vision requirements.

However; since you already have a belly strobe i would go with the 2 units.

As BrettL really is saying ; "Do you NEED state-of -the-art strobe systems?"

Fix your problems & fly.

BTW- Many newer aircraft have completely eliminated lights on the tail.

The tips do it all.