Strobes

In the interest of keeping my 12 light, do I want strobes on the wingtips? I will have one on the rudder, at least. I could have driven right over a cub this week coming into Hood except for his tail strobe. I hate to nit-pick, but ounces add up to pounds.

I wired mine for wingtip strobes but only have the one on the rudder.pak

I just weighed one wings'-length of shielded 4 conductor a/c wire.

It's 1.225 pounds on a digital scale.

I put this 4 conductor in so I could run 1 of the wires for the Nav light power conductor, ground can return through the spar. The other 3 conductors are for strobe.

I thought maybe I'd clean up the installation this way.

So....2.45 pound of wire to do both wings, then add the flash tubes and brackets.

...the power supply isn't much weight.

I think it's worth it. I already had a strobe on the rudder, but this extra several pounds is an OK deal, especially the way Anch. bowl airspace is.

If this was a Gulkana beater, it might matter, but I gotta be realistic.

However, ounces make pounds, so...

Dave Calkins.

Lights are cheap insurance

This is absolutely a no-brainer. Powerful lights are the cheapest life insurance you will ever buy. The few pounds they add to your aircraft are entirely insignificant when compared to the potential they have for reducing a mid-air collision. Wingtip strobes are a minimum, and adding a tail strobe is an excellent idea. Unfortunately, most strobes aren't that effective during daylight, and especially during hazy daylight conditions.

For protection from aircraft approaching from in front a Pulselight system is far superior to strobes. And if you've ever seen a Pulselight with LoPresti boom beams, you'll be amazed.

When I rebuilt my PA-11 a few years back, I installed nav lights and wing tip strobes.wanted to be able to fly at night. Anway...........I soon found out that I got a terrible reflection back from the ground during landing........I actually would turn them off on short final......which, isn't a good thing to do.............When I rebuilt my Super Cub 4 years ago, I wired it for wing tip strobes, but ONLY installed the tail strobe.........and to be honest with you..I'm very glad I did. In my case...it wasn't a weight consideration. If one wanted.........he could always install seperate systems for the wing tips and tail........so you could run everything, and turn the wing tips off prior to landing........food for thought. Brian

Ounces still add up to pounds.

If you buy a pulselite system, Make sure you buy the one that lasts for more than a year.

I had purchased several for customers' and had them burning out within a year. I asked for some warranty consideration and was told it's the nature of the beast. I was checking them out and found that they all had the same serial numbers, go figure.

Buy the good brand, not the cheap brand.

Also, if you have a landing light in each wing, a pulselite system is great for visibility...like miles...but if it's just pulsing one landing light, or a set in one wing, or a set of two in the cowl, ala 185 or 206, the effect is greatly diminished. Pulselites CAN be cool.

Spend your money and your weight wisely.

Dave Calkins.

I totally agree about the pulselites.............the drawback obviously.......is they're just directional ......... but still good.
Brian

Some of the Beavers around here, and at least 1 C-180 have an additional landing light in the right wind.

The pair will pulse alternately, and are visible for 10 miles, in some conditions. (obviously, at night they're good for far more distance)

In my Cubs, chasing up behind another a/c type ain't a problem. It's the gettin' chased that's a prob, but thats why we have tail-mounted strobes.

The head-ons are a problem.

Dave Calkins.

2 cents worth: wire the wings for strobes and lights, tail mounted strobe selfcontained unit is the easiest and works well. filaments get weaked with use and vibration, Landing lights are notorious for that, (especially racked around in a cub!)

I agree, I never ran over anyone in a cub! In crowded airspace like around PT. Mckenzie during huntin season, the aircraft to either side was always my concern, wing tip strobes switched seperately from the tail strobe is a good option!

( I always am surprised at how many aircraft I don't see) keep eyes moving, and ask your passengers for help!

Tim

<<tail mounted strobe selfcontained unit is the easiest and works well>>

How might one fit this without doing a coimplete recover fo the tail surfaces? Presumably, there's no way.

BCB

Do they make a strobe that will replace the original tail nav lite? I wired mine but haven't located a replacement........the ones I have seen are all a tad too big.

If your rudder has a nav lite in it Whelen makes a combination tail lite/ strobe that goes in the same hole. You do have to open up the inside hole a little with a diegrinder but that is all. The strobes on top of the rudder work good but look horrible to me. Having been envolved in a midair and through the Grace of God lived to tell about it, I believe anything you can do to be seen is worth a little extra weight.

Steve

OK, Steve P., there's a story!!

Are you ready to tell it, yet?

Dave Calkins.

Short and sweet till the FAA get done with me. On final for 27R at 80-100 ft @ Sun & Fun this year in my PA16 following a Cherokee with my Mom & Dad following in their PA16. Controller told an RV6 to move to the left runway, he turned and climbed into my right main. All I saw was a flash of maroon and the ground start coming at me real fast. Kinda reminded me of doing spins in a Clipped Wing Cub. I had enough time to think this is it. Hit the ground straight down nose first. Eveything stopped and I thought hell I'm still here. The airplane is sticking straight up in the air on its nose so I'm looking at the ground through whats left of the windshield when I notice a puddle of fuel getting bigger and bigger. I decided it was time to get the hell outa there. I tried going over the back seat but my foot was caught on the fuel valve on the nose tank. I took my shoe off and climbed over the back seat and out the back door. I wasn't feeling any pain till I put weight on my rt. leg. Limped aways until a couple of guys helped me. Broke my tibia below my knee on the nose tank and crushed my larinex and perforated my esophogus. Guess I hit the panel with my throat(no shoulder harnesses). Spent 10 days with an IV and another week on liquids. What a diet 155lbs down to 130 in no time. The right wing colapsed the rear spar carrythru. The PA16 overhead structure is built just like a Super Cub. I know first hand why the "X" brace is so important. The events leading up to the collision are still a sore spot. If you read the NTSB Preliminary Report it is not cosistant with mine or my Dads recolection or with the tower tapes. I have 3 certified letters on my desk right now that I would like to see go away but that depends on who has the best lawyer I guess.

Steve

PS. Yes I do feel very lucky to be here. I truly believe God was looking out for me.

Steve, Im just glad you are able to tell the story. As far as liability at an EAA type fly in just have your lawyer consider multiple arrivels and some radio and some not and you probably dont need advice from me but after reading your story once again Im just glad Im hearing it from you.

You said it, Cub Junkie!!

I'm glad to be hearing it from you too, Steve!!

Dave Calkins.

Wingtip strobes are great, but the number one thing is pilot awareness. Too many guys are gluin' their eyeballs to their new GPS, MFD, Glass cockpit whatevers, and forgetting they are in a VFR environment. We have the Capstone program going on out here with all of the 135 operations, and if you've been to Bethel before, it is a high traffic area, busy days have 600 ops out of this airport. With all the new pilots staring at the cool display, and my plane not on it, I get on the radio and tell them I'm there! Gotta teach this new generation of Nintendo pilots to keep their eyes outside the cockpit!

The primary instrument for VFR is the "windshield". I totally agree with you about heads in the cockpits and not outside. As a flight insturctor of many years, it's always amusing, you get a student pilot (VFR) that always wants to look at the instruments, and then when that same student later on wants to work on an instrument rating, all he wants to do is look outside. LOL, at least it sometimes seems that way. HEADS UP and OUTSIDE.
Brian

I too am glad to hear that you?re here to tell the story. This weekend, while in flight, my electric?s died and I had to disconnect myself from the electric world. I, the guy that relies on ATC and electronics, had to revert (?) to the ?head on a swivel? stuff and Dutch rolls so that I could be seen.

I?m based at a very popular (but uncontrolled) airport and was so busy looking outside, seeing and avoiding other traffic, that I nearly forgot to fly the airplane. I actually caught myself thinking ?it feels OK, so keep looking outside instead at the panel? I consciously had to remind myself to do job number 1, fly the airplane!

I?m not suggesting in any way that weren?t doing your job! I?m certain that you were. Please don?t get me wrong! But your testimonial serves to remind us of the fact that ?we?re not alone up there? and no one at ATC has ever had to wear a cast from their mistake. Too bad it doesn?t have the same consequent for them.

I hope I?m not bringing up any bad feelings, but how did the RV fair?

He didn't make it.

Steve

I hope I've got the same type of Guardian watching out for me that you have watching over you!

WOW!

Thanks for the pic.

Yes, thank God you are here, Steve! That looks terrible to say the least.

Holly cow...Steve, Thank you for sharing. If you ever go to Vegas I'am sitting next to you buddy.

Steve Pierce,

Good to hear you are giving credit to where it is due, As we all know it is but for the Grace of God....
Wish you the best of luck w/ the feds, and wish them the worst of luck. I knew a guy that survived a mid-air herring spotting several years ago, the guy in the L-19 didn't survive.
Andy

Found out Friday that the Insurance investigator for the other pilot discovered he was on the wrong frequency. Be interesting to see if the FAA recognize this fact and drop the poceedings against me. My lawyer is trying to get the NTSB to look at this evidence. It is surprising to me that this is just now coming to light. The saga continues.

Let's see almost a year since the last Sun and Fun, $200 hr, attorney fees,? no reason to be in a hurry when you are billing the client or the "insurance company" either way win or loose they get paid. Steve, I do believe you will be exonerated, but what a shame that the other family has to go through the pain to, over and over again! Check the tapes, review the photos, question the people, settle the case for damages, Pray to God the pilot is in a better place and get on with life!!

Tim

A little insight:

http://aero-news.net/news/sport.cfm?ContentBlockID=8702

Have to go back to Sun & Fun this year. Kinda like getting back on the horse. Will miss the TX Cavalcade but hope to hook up with everyone at Ranger enroute.