What do people use?

Loupark

Loupark

Filing Flight Plan
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Jun 7, 2008
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Lou
I am starting to wire my wings for nav lights. I bought a set of
strobes (not from an aviation store) that didn't come with colored
lenses. I have found the lenses I need at a boat shop. I did this mainly
for cost savings. I was wondering what other builders have done for
their lights.
Lou
 
Check barnstormers.com, there is a very affordable LED set on there. I think they are around $100.00 or so.
 
I used LED Nav lights from CreativeAir.com - the square ones they used to sell that you put together yourself. They have much nicer ones available these days.
Also look at thorllc.net for integrated Nav/Strobe lights.
Strobes should not have colored lenses! Only the Nav lights are colored.

Dennis Glaeser
RV-7A
 
Loupark said:
I am starting to wire my wings for nav lights. I bought a set of
strobes (not from an aviation store) that didn't come with colored
lenses. I have found the lenses I need at a boat shop. I did this mainly
for cost savings. I was wondering what other builders have done for
their lights.
Lou
Click to expand...

They're probably a little pricey .. but I used Whelen dual wingtip
strobes with the marker lights and an A413A power supply.
 
Loupark said:
I bought a set of strobes (not from an aviation store) that didn't come with colored lenses. I have found the lenses I need at a boat shop.
Click to expand...

Ummm... Colored strobes? :dunno:

You should have a solid red light and a white strobe on the left wingtip, and a solid green light and a white strobe on the left wingtip. (And, of course, solid white and white strobe on the tail, and a red strobe or rotating red light on the tail or elsewhere.).

I know old planes don't have strobes, not sure if you're required to put strobes on a new one or not.
 
We use Kuntzleman Electronics stream line combo LED nav and strobelights on our SLSAs and experimentals. They are very light, easy to install, inexpensive, and draw very little current. They offer a wide variety installations and even have LED beacons and landing lights. Check them out at www.kestrobes.com
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Ummm... Colored strobes? :dunno:

You should have a solid red light and a white strobe on the left wingtip, and a solid green light and a white strobe on the left wingtip. (And, of course, solid white and white strobe on the tail, and a red strobe or rotating red light on the tail or elsewhere.).

I know old planes don't have strobes, not sure if you're required to put strobes on a new one or not.
Click to expand...

Per 91.205 and 207, Any aircraft certified according to part 23 after certain dates has to have an aviation red or aviation white anticollision light system. White strobes or red rotating beacons satisfy this requirement. For flight at night, you need the apprpriately positioned red, green and white position/nav lights whether you have the engine driven electrics or not. You have to have a landing light when operating for hire at night.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Ummm... Colored strobes? :dunno:

You should have a solid red light and a white strobe on the left wingtip, and a solid green light and a white strobe on the left wingtip. (And, of course, solid white and white strobe on the tail, and a red strobe or rotating red light on the tail or elsewhere.).

I know old planes don't have strobes, not sure if you're required to put strobes on a new one or not.
Click to expand...

maddog52 said:
Per 91.205 and 207, Any aircraft certified according to part 23 after certain dates has to have an aviation red or aviation white anticollision light system. White strobes or red rotating beacons satisfy this requirement. For flight at night, you need the apprpriately positioned red, green and white position/nav lights whether you have the engine driven electrics or not. You have to have a landing light when operating for hire at night.
Click to expand...
Diamond DA-20 has only the white strobes on the wing tips, no beacon.
 
Sorry guys, I'm still a bit new at this. Yes, white strobes all around, but
I'm considering colored nav lights from a boat shop. Does anyone know if
there is a minimum distance that the colored nav light have to be seen from?
lou
 
How handy are you, and how financially efficient are you?

I know someone that asked a road crew what they did with the LED red and green traffic lights they took out of a downed signal. They gave them to him. If you could get some of these, you could build your own high intensity position lights that should be able to bee seen from quite a distance.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I know old planes don't have strobes, not sure if you're required to put strobes on a new one or not.
Click to expand...

Only if you want to fly at night (after civil twilight). BTW AFaIK there's no requirements that strobes or beacons be white or red. I'm pretty certain that the FARs don't differentiate between the two types of "anti-collision" lighting.
 
lancefisher said:
Only if you want to fly at night (after civil twilight).
Click to expand...

Not even that - The 182 doesn't have strobes, just the beacon. But, it appears that even a brand-new airplane doesn't need to have strobes, and that theoretically any of them can be either white or red:

§ 23.1401 Anticollision light system.

(a) General. The airplane must have an anticollision light system that:

(1) Consists of one or more approved anticollision lights located so that their light will not impair the flight crewmembers' vision or detract from the conspicuity of the position lights; and

(2) Meets the requirements of paragraphs (b) through (f) of this section.

...

(d) Color. Each anticollision light must be either aviation red or aviation white and must meet the applicable requirements of §23.1397.
Click to expand...

Why, then, have I never seen an airplane that has red strobes on the wingtips, or a white rotating beacon? :dunno: Maybe old rules? I can't chalk this up to "tradition."
 
Loupark said:
Sorry guys, I'm still a bit new at this. Yes, white strobes all around, but
I'm considering colored nav lights from a boat shop. Does anyone know if
there is a minimum distance that the colored nav light have to be seen from?
lou
Click to expand...
There is an FAA spec (of course) defining the required intensity vs. azimuth, both horizontal and vertical.
I assembled and installed LED position lights from CreativeAir.com, and they included a copy of the spec so you could verify your installation - requires a light meter of course.

Dennis Glaeser
RV-7A
 
Regs for flying at night have changed over the years. First there was the requirement for Green/Starboard and Red/Port lights. Then someone added a reg where you needed a White tail light.
Sometime in the 1950's (I think) someone decided that blinking lights were easier to spot than steady-on lights and the Red Flashing Beacon was mandated in addition to the solid Nav lights for planes produced thereafter. Red was probablly chosen to limit light splatter in the back of the prop at night...
Until recently White Strobes were optional equipment on aircraft.

On most older factory-built airplanes you can get an STC to replace the old fusealge or tail mounted beacon (either the motor-driven kind or the simple blinky type) with a Strobe type flasher. A split color lens is sometimes used (red facing forward and white to the rear) for the same reason as the old beacon, to limit prop-flash at night. This is the only place a colored strobe lens is nessessary or legal.
A 1977 C-150 needs only the tail beacon and nav lights to be legal. Ditto a 1950's Piper Pacer. You can ADD strobes if you want to but they are not a requirement. Newer airplanes are mandated to have strobes which have totally replaced the old red rotating beacon...

As noted above, the Whelen website is a great reference for required lighting patterns and requirements for production airplanes.

As to making your own nav lights...I'd bet you can find a complete set of real aviation nav lights for cheap just by asking around on the forums. With the new LED nav's becoming so popular there are old Grimes-type lights being removed and replaced daily...



Hope this helps...

Chris
 
Last edited:
Loupark said:
Sorry guys, I'm still a bit new at this. Yes, white strobes all around, but
I'm considering colored nav lights from a boat shop. Does anyone know if
there is a minimum distance that the colored nav light have to be seen from?
lou
Click to expand...

I always planned on using boat lighting, because it is waaaaaay less expensive, and if you've ever spent time on a boat at night, you know that they are visible for miles and miles.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...=true&storeNum=5002&subdeptNum=9&classNum=236 <---nav lights
 
Just FWIW;
The lights depicted in the link above have WwAAaayyyy to much shroud to be useful on an airplane...
If you look at a Grimes-type tip nav light you will see that, as it is mounted in/on a wing you can see it from above, below, ahead, to the side and and about 30* aft on the side. Just because an airplane is an EXP does not change the lighting requirements in the FAR's.

Chris
Hiperbipe 7HT
 
Hiperbiper said:
Just FWIW;
The lights depicted in the link above have WwAAaayyyy to much shroud to be useful on an airplane...
If you look at a Grimes-type tip nav light you will see that, as it is mounted in/on a wing you can see it from above, below, ahead, to the side and and about 30* aft on the side. Just because an airplane is an EXP does not change the lighting requirements in the FAR's.

Chris
Hiperbipe 7HT
Click to expand...

Can you link to the regulations you mean (I've never seen the requirements you listed above...).

I know there are requirements...
 
SkyHog said:
Can you link to the regulations you mean (I've never seen the requirements you listed above...).

I know there are requirements...
Click to expand...

Here ya' go...FAR 23.1389. As I am the person who normally rails AGAINST the FAR's I hope this minor transgression of quoting them does not cause anyone a stroke...:eek:

http://www.aopa.org/members/files/fars/far-23.html#14:1.0.1.3.10.6.102.29

What it says in a nutshell is the green (Starboard) position light must be visible horiziontally from 0* (directly in front of the spinner) to a radius of 110* (20* behind the wing planform). from that point you must be able to see the white tail position light...Ditto for the Port (red light). The lights must also be visible for 180* in the vertical plane (directly above to directly below).


Homebuilt experimentation is a wonderful thing if the result is an appliance that is the same or BETTER than the Spam-can fleet has otherwise it's simply better to use recycled aiplane parts. Innovation not Substiution.
JMPO here but I help lots of people with aircraft wiring and have had (and will continue to have) battles with builders to use the proper switches, wiring, connectors, etc. instead of the Autozone fuseblock and wiring.

A minor cost savings now might come back to bite you later if you decide to sell...if you used non-avaition lights, wiring,etc. a buyer might wonder what else did you scrimp on...nuts and bolts???

Again; JMPO


Chris
 
Last edited:
Hiperbiper said:
Here ya' go...FAR 23.1389. As I am the person who normally rails AGAINST the FAR's I hope this minor transgression of quoting them does not cause anyone a stroke...:eek:

http://www.aopa.org/members/files/fars/far-23.html#14:1.0.1.3.10.6.102.29

What it says in a nutshell is the green (Starboard) position light must be visible horiziontally from 0* (directly in front of the spinner) to a radius of 110* (20* behind the wing planform). from that point you must be able to see the white tail position light...Ditto for the Port (red light). The lights must also be visible for 180* in the vertical plane (directly above to directly below).


Homebuilt experimentation is a wonderful thing if the result is an appliance that is the same or BETTER than the Spam-can fleet has otherwise it's simply better to use recycled aiplane parts. Innovation not Substiution.
JMPO here but I help lots of people with aircraft wiring and have had (and will continue to have) battles with builders to use the proper switches, wiring, connectors, etc. instead of the Autozone fuseblock and wiring.

A minor cost savings now might come back to bite you later if you decide to sell...if you used non-avaition lights, wiring,etc. a buyer might wonder what else did you scrimp on...nuts and bolts???


Chris
Click to expand...

I would never sell a homebuilt airplane....not with the country in the state of litigation it is now, even with a liability release. Thanks for the FAR reference.
 
apropos of nothing but the fact that wing strobes are being talked about here...

One night earlier this year I was walking out to close the gate, so I could let the dogs out of the house. A plane came over around 3K agl with white wing strobes. It was a VERY dark night. Those strobes were so bright, I could actually read by them, standing on the ground a half mile below them. I couldn't believe it - never saw anything that bright that wasn't associated with an explosion before! :eek:

You may now continue with your discussion. :D
 
etsisk said:
apropos of nothing but the fact that wing strobes are being talked about here...

One night earlier this year I was walking out to close the gate, so I could let the dogs out of the house. A plane came over around 3K agl with white wing strobes. It was a VERY dark night. Those strobes were so bright, I could actually read by them, standing on the ground a half mile below them. I couldn't believe it - never saw anything that bright that wasn't associated with an explosion before! :eek:

You may now continue with your discussion. :D
Click to expand...

When I first got my (mere incandescent) wing leading edge lights I threw them on at about 3000 feet over Wisconsin and was amused that I could see shadows on the ground.
 
mikea said:
When I first got my (mere incandescent) wing leading edge lights I threw them on at about 3000 feet over Wisconsin and was amused that I could see shadows on the ground.
Click to expand...

Mike's plane looks bad ass on final at night. :yes:

The rest of the time, it still looks like a Cherokee. :rofl: Sure is a sweet-flyin' old bird though! :yes:
 
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