Well, the lights generated a lot of interest. Here is a little more
detail.
I placed them in same position as original bulb lights and used two
of the holes (one
for wires and one for mounting screw). I had to drill one new hole as
the LED light
template didn't match the old screwholes. I plugged the old hole with
silicone; but
that may have been overkill as it was covered by the new light. I
didn't have any
exposed unpainted area to touch up. New lights had a slightly larger
footprint than
originals (which I like because now I can see the lights from the
cockpit.
If you have metal wings, you can just ground it with one of the
mounting screws.
Or you can use the ground wire to the old bulb light if you have
fabric.
It comes with heat shrink for coupling the wires; but I didn't
have a heat gun and used the crimp on coupling of my own. There is no
separate
power source used....the power source referred to on the website and
instructions
that come with the lights is for the strobe lights that I don't have.
I ordered one light just to be sure it was going to work well and it
was $96 which
included the shipping. Should be cheaper if you order them both at
once since you
will be paying S & H once.... I just didn't want to gamble the whole
$200 til I was sure
this was going to work out.
It made a pretty neat installation. These obviously have less drag
than my antique
wingtip lights and I expect at least another tenth of a knots in
cruise speed. They also
don't stick out as far so hopefully less likely to catch someone's
shoulder/arm as they
walk by. I like the fact that they have a white light to the rear
which also shows from
the side. Watched a friend of mine flying my coupe one late afternoon
with light overcast
sky and was impressed at how "invisible" it could get against the sky.
One of you suggested getting my mechanic to sign it off in the log
book as this is
apparently a "major modification". You may want to discuss this with
your mechanic
before you buy. I researched the TSO issue and think we are all
comfortable with the
answer that we don't need TSO stuff (except transponder, etc. that
goes with the FAA
system) since the lights/etc. were not TSO'd when the aircraft was
build/certified.
Let me know if you have other questions I can answer.
Dan Caliendo
Ercoupe Mach 0.14 (0.15 now?)
3658H
