Many make a habit of NOT turning on the strobes until they are entering the active runway to depart. And then deactivating the strobes once they are off of the runway and in the process of "cleaning up" the airplane.Not a fan of taxiing around with strobes on
Is it legal to have a rotating beacon installed on an airplane that doesn't have one?
Most experimentals don't have one. Neither do Cirri or Diamonds. Not a fan of taxiing around with strobes on.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/70509.php?clickkey=4073Well, you can do whatever you want to an Experimental (AB at least). I'd not consider adding lights to be major.
If you're talking about other aircraft, then it would depend. Cutting holes in plastic aircraft is probably a major mod. I'd not put a rotating beacon in, but rather one of the not-quite-strobe flashing red light (probably LED these days).
Many make a habit of NOT turning on the strobes until they are entering the active runway to depart. And then deactivating the strobes once they are off of the runway and in the process of "cleaning up" the airplane.
So if you adopted the habit, then you've solved the problem you describe for free.
Certified aircraft have very specific rules what major modifications can be done and how they are done. And it's not as simple as drilling a hole for the mounting and running a wire.Oh and the reason I asked my initial question was because eventually I'd like to stop renting and start owning and was wondering what the options were then. Thanks for all your answers. Much appreciated.
...The argument being that an anti-collision light must be on when maneuvering on the ground. My understanding is that only strobes and beacons qualify as anti-collision lights, whereas position lights don't.
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