Chrisgoesflying
Cleared for Takeoff
It's time to upgrade my 1960 Piper Comanche 250 to brighter and more modern lights, hence replacing all the regular lights with modern LED lights. However, the more I research about this, the more confused I get.
1. Landing lights: Those are straight forward. I will replace both sides with Whelen PLED1L. I looked it up on the Whelen website and it seems like they're eligible via PMA for the PA-24 250. Did I read this correctly?
2. Rotating beacon: I have two of those. One on top of the fuselage, one on the belly. First question is, do I even need two? Most planes I see only have one. If I indeed need two, is it possible to simply swap the bulbs inside the current unit with LED bulbs (if so, which one?). If not, do you have recommendations for rotating LED beacon lights for the PA-24 that are legal to install? If I only need one (the top one would be my guess), what do I do with the hole of the bottom light?
3. Red and green position lights: I have the wing tips where the position lights are behind a glass near the leading edge of the wing. Question is again, do I simply exchange the bulbs with LED bulbs or do I need some light assembly?
4. Tail position lights: There are two white position lights on the tail of the plane. Those seem pretty straight forward, being simply bulbs. Which LED bulbs would I need to change those with?
5. Interior lights: Inside, I have the following lights:
- The red instrument panel light: Is there an LED replacement for this? If so, is it worth it to replace it or does it not draw a lot of current anyways?
- The white/yellow dome light: Same here, is there an LED replacement for this? If so, is it worth it to replace it or does it not draw a lot of current anyways? I rarely use that light to begin with so probably moot.
- The gear indicator lights: Is there an LED replacement for those? If so, is it worth it to replace them?
1. Landing lights: Those are straight forward. I will replace both sides with Whelen PLED1L. I looked it up on the Whelen website and it seems like they're eligible via PMA for the PA-24 250. Did I read this correctly?
2. Rotating beacon: I have two of those. One on top of the fuselage, one on the belly. First question is, do I even need two? Most planes I see only have one. If I indeed need two, is it possible to simply swap the bulbs inside the current unit with LED bulbs (if so, which one?). If not, do you have recommendations for rotating LED beacon lights for the PA-24 that are legal to install? If I only need one (the top one would be my guess), what do I do with the hole of the bottom light?
3. Red and green position lights: I have the wing tips where the position lights are behind a glass near the leading edge of the wing. Question is again, do I simply exchange the bulbs with LED bulbs or do I need some light assembly?
4. Tail position lights: There are two white position lights on the tail of the plane. Those seem pretty straight forward, being simply bulbs. Which LED bulbs would I need to change those with?
5. Interior lights: Inside, I have the following lights:
- The red instrument panel light: Is there an LED replacement for this? If so, is it worth it to replace it or does it not draw a lot of current anyways?
- The white/yellow dome light: Same here, is there an LED replacement for this? If so, is it worth it to replace it or does it not draw a lot of current anyways? I rarely use that light to begin with so probably moot.
- The gear indicator lights: Is there an LED replacement for those? If so, is it worth it to replace them?