Getting rid of tail beacon?

[Cardiff Kook]

I was told that if i put replace my tail nav light with a nav/strobe i can get rid of my tail beacon on my cessna 185.

I plan on upgrading all my lights to LED anyways.

Anyone know if this is true and where in the regs that would be supported?

Any pros/cons to keeping the tail beacon? Benefits of losing it would be less drag and weight- if i keep it i would will need to also buy led for that position but possibly more viz?

[cubdrvr]

I took off my rudder beacon and replaced all three nav lites with nav/strobes years ago. They flash and are much brighter. Legal?..... Don't care. I just don't fly at nite.

[Scooter7779h]

This is a Supercub/Cub website. Why don't you go ask the Skywagon guys on their website?

[Farmboy]

This weather sure has been detrimental.


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org

[stewartb]

Your 1980 airplane falls under the most stringent anti-collision lighting requirements, but three strobes should meet that requirement. I don’t believe a beacon is required. I do believe a beacon is a useful addition. LED beacons are WAY better than originals were. If the point is to be seen, more is better.

https://flywat.com/pages/aircraft-li...,FAR%2023.1389).

[aflyer]

If you are taxiing at night at an airport, your strobes should be off to avoid dazzling the other pilots. This is when its nice to have a beacon to aid in being seen.

[JWE]

Scooter7779H,

Please check the supercub.org logo at the top of the page, and read what it says.

[SJ]

This is a Supercub/Cub website. Why don't you go ask the Skywagon guys on their website?

Mike, our reach has greatly expanded over the years!

sj

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

[Cardiff Kook]

This is a Supercub/Cub website. Why don't you go ask the Skywagon guys on their website?

Good question.

I would but their website sucks. Plus I trust the member opinions from this site the most.

[Formandfunction]

This is a Supercub/Cub website. Why don't you go ask the Skywagon guys on their website?

I think most people here have other planes or relate to this content the most. They're also willing to offer up advice on all bush planes which they have ample knowledge of here. I don't actually even own a cub but this is my home. In fact I'm going to donate to a cub forum now not owning one just because of your post.

[charlesf]

I think most people here have other planes or relate to this content the most. They're also willing to offer up advice on all bush planes which they have ample knowledge of here. I don't actually even own a cub but this is my home. In fact I'm going to donate to a cub forum now not owning one just because of your post.

A curious question related to this. As I read the FAR’s, to fly at night, a plane must be equipped with a tail mounted beacon, or appropiate strobes, period. There is a 1953 Cessna 180 nearby, that the owner says is exempt from the regulation on lighting, that is, no beacon. Am I wrong on this? Thanks.

[wireweinie]

The reg requires 'anti collision lights'. In my humble opinion, strobes at three points does that job just fine.

Web

[Cbass]

This is just an opinion...on my Cessna I like the idea of having a tail beacon separate from strobes that is always switched on in order to give people around me a heads up that I'm about to fire up or if I jump out and accidentally leave the master on I have one more visual cue to help me out. The LED beacons have a low profile and for me the benefits outweigh the weight and drag.

[stewartb]

FWIW, on my Cub the rudder-top Whelen LED beacon is the most powerful light. It has Orion strobes and they’re good, but that beacon is hard to look at so hard to miss. I plan to upgrade the Cessna with the same light. This thread may accelerate that. My own experience supports a beacon on a Cub to help the go-fast guys see it from the back but these days I see more and more turbines in the hood so the same logic applies to my Cessna.

[RedOwlAirfield]

Count another voice on the "more is better" crew.

Weight and drag are not statistically significant in this instance. Put all the lights on there you can fit - and afford.

[skywagon8a]

There is a 1953 Cessna 180 nearby, that the owner says is exempt from the regulation on lighting, that is, no beacon. Am I wrong on this? Thanks.

Back in the 1960s the regs were changed to require an anti-collision light to fly at night. This light was required on all newly manufactured airplanes. And, if you had an older airplane you were required to install the anti collision light if you wished to fly at night. Your acquaintance needs to look at the regulations.

[BC12D-4-85]

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.205

Gary

[charlesf]

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.205

Gary

Thanks guys. That’s the way I read the FAR’s. Incidentally, I think this individual is an instructor, but that’s another topic.

[chadronmike]

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-1...ection-25.1401

[hotrod180]

IMHO the most effective place for a single anti-collision light is on top of the tail....but it is also the ugliest.
Even the lowest profile lights I've seen look like a wart on a witch's nose up there.

My C180 used to have a vertical stab-mounted rotating beacon,
a previous owner got rid of it & installed a smooth fin cap & a stobe on the belly.
When that became inop, I removed it & installed a strobe on top of the cabin.
I don't generally fly at night, & I don't think strobes / beacons do much for viz in the daytime,
so I'm happy with a single anti-collision light--
that is, if you don't count my blinking landing light.