What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Rotating Beacon - ideas?

challinan

Active Member
I want to put a rotating beacon on the vertical stab. Has anyone else worked out a solution? There is no suitable hole for wiring in the tip rib. I'm guessing a 1/4" hole wouldn't be a big problem, maybe open up one of the tooling holes. Not knowing what the rest of the structure looks like, I'm guessing one would have to route the wiring down between the forward and rear VS spar. I'm thinking I should put some cable ties on the rearward surface of the front spar.

Here is a closeup of what it looks like after it's completed:
http://rv-14a.blogspot.com/2013/08/empennage-kit-ordered.html

Has anyone else done this?

Thanks,

Chris

--
 
Last edited:
I have never seen this done on an RV. This is a throwback for slow airplanes when economical LED strobes where not an option.

Good strobes are, in my opinion, a better option than putting this ugly drag monster on your plane.

Carl
 
If you really wanted a red beacon, I'd find a low-drag LED one that pulses instead of physically rotating.

One thing you could look at is emergency vehicle lighting--just before I left the fire department we got some vehicles with little round red LED lights that were really bright and visible from a long way away. But you really don't want one of those soup-can-sized beacons.
 
LED of course

Sorry, I should not have used the "old-school" term. I don't mean an actual physical device, but a modern, low drag, low current, LED-type beacon. There are several manufactures of such devices, I've seen some of the vendors at Oshkosh.

My question was more about how to route the wires, etc.

Chris
--
 
I have never seen this done on an RV. This is a throwback for slow airplanes when economical LED strobes where not an option.

Good strobes are, in my opinion, a better option than putting this ugly drag monster on your plane.

Carl

So true, Carl. I kinda botched the question. Of course, I don't mean an actual old-school "drag monster" (love the term!) but something modern, small, lightweight, low-current and low-drag. Sorry ;)
 
I glassed in an Aveo MiniMax red LED strobe in the VS cap. The cap is removable because my V/LOC antenna is also up there. The wiring for this was run through a small pvc pipe that I prosealed in the leading edge of the VS after it was completed.
 
Keep in mind that if you intend to fly at night, a beacon on the vertical stabilizer will annoyingly light up the top of your wings.
 
Keep in mind that if you intend to fly at night, a beacon on the vertical stabilizer will annoyingly light up the top of your wings.

Yes, I do fly at night and I certainly intend to in my RV. What do other folks do on RVs that are used for night flying?
 
Yes, I do fly at night and I certainly intend to in my RV. What do other folks do on RVs that are used for night flying?

The 3 kit-standard strobes satisfy the anti-collision light requirement. And they don't shine anywhere where it would annoy you.
 
The best place for a beacon on an RV is on the belly, not on the tail... it won't shine in the cockpit if it is on your belly, it is also easier to install and wire it on the belly.
 
The best place for a beacon on an RV is on the belly, not on the tail... it won't shine in the cockpit if it is on your belly, it is also easier to install and wire it on the belly.

But to legally fly at night, an anti-collision light must also be visible from above.
 
I wanted a red beacon on my tail so I wouldn't have to have my strobes on blasting people around me at night while taxiing.
 
I have the ubiquitous Whelen 3 strobe system running off the single comet flash power supply. The wing tip positions provide 100% of the coverage requirement, and my third lamp (normally used in the tail) has a red lens and is on the belly. As many of you know, this power supply can be wired to run this third chanel independantly of the other two, so I use this single red strobe for ground ops, then add the wingtips when I enter the runway environment.

This configuration would be easy to duplicate with LED stuff too, of course.
 
Last edited:
I put this Kunzelman Red LED flashing beacon on my cabin top. It does not bother me at night and I like not having to run the strobes on the ground at night. AIM 4-3-23 recommends turning on the rotating/flashing beacon any time an engine is running on the ground, so I turn mine on just prior to engine start. Alerts anybody around the airplane that an engine is running or about to be running. I have been called "old school" for installing this beacon, I am proud to say!:D
 
I put this Kunzelman Red LED flashing beacon on my cabin top. It does not bother me at night and I like not having to run the strobes on the ground at night. AIM 4-3-23 recommends turning on the rotating/flashing beacon any time an engine is running on the ground, so I turn mine on just prior to engine start. Alerts anybody around the airplane that an engine is running or about to be running. I have been called "old school" for installing this beacon, I am proud to say!:D

Can you share a picture of the installation?
 
Rotating Beacon

My Cessna 150 came with an incandescent bulb rotating beacon on the vertical stabilizer. When it died I replaced it with a Whelen comet flash strobe. Boy is it bright! I found in the limited night flying I did that it lit up the entire cockpit through the rear window, as well as the tops of the wing struts. I had to make a "baffle" to control where the light went to avoid this distraction.

I would caution against any kind of flashing (red) light on the top of the VS on an RV for night flying. Distracting doesn't even begin to cover it. You'll be reaching for the switch to turn it off.

For my RV-9A I'm going with the Whelen 3 light strobe kit, one in each wingtip and one aft facing on the rudder.
 
I also wanted a red beacon on the tail for ground operations. My version uses a Whelen LED unit meant for emergency vehicles: http://www.rv7blog.com/2012/10/28/red-beacon/

20121028_whelen_vertex.jpg
20121028_beacon5.jpg


20121028_beacon4.jpg
20121028_rudder_cap5.jpg


20121028_rudder_cap6.jpg
20121028_rudder_cap8.jpg


20121028_rudder_cap7.jpg
20121028_beacon8.jpg
 
I really like your installation, Matt. Have you flown with it yet and does it flash in the cockpit?
 
I really like your installation, Matt. Have you flown with it yet and does it flash in the cockpit?

My project is currently on pause due to a cross-country move, so I'm still in the building phase. I did temporarily install it on the rudder and it did not shine directly through the canopy (it's pretty far back from the VS leading edge). It may or may not reflect on the wings, I don't know yet.
 
Thanks. I like the idea of a flashing beacon to indicate engine start, day or night, and yours looks pretty low-profile.
 
I'm about ready to start riveting my VS together and was on the fence about adding a recog light to the tip. After reading this thread I think I definitely want to add one, or at least give myself the option to add one later. So I'm planning on running some wire up through the VS and sealing the ends off (for now) with heat shrink to keep moisture out. My question is: What's the best way to run the wire and affix it? My initial thought is to bring it up through one of the lightening holes in the nose rib at the base of the VS, attach it to the front spar with two clamps evenly spaced, and then run it through a new hole that I will drill in the tip rib. Any thoughts or suggestions on a better way to do it? The wire I was going to use is 18ga 27500 mil-spec shielded.
 
Whelen sells sanely priced lamps of all size and shape for fire company, police and
EMT s, also many colors ! Tom
 
Thanks. I like the idea of a flashing beacon to indicate engine start, day or night, and yours looks pretty low-profile.

What's the difference between that and just turning on your strobes and yelling "Clear"?

Also, I haven't seen anyone put "logo lights" that illuminate the VS yet. I always thought that would be a cool mod.
 
Superbrightleds sells the "MSTRB" for $35.

No noise. One in the VS cap, just a few inches from the rear so it has the most shadowing of the cockpit. Add one on the belly. Run a wire to connect their two yellow sync wires. $70, done.
 
Ordered

Thank you all for this most timely discussion and information. Just ordered the MSTRB flasher. About $45 delivered. As above, I will mount this unit on top of the VS of my RV-12. Flying from really busy airports here in the L.A. basin, this addition is almost necessary as there is a lot of ground traffic. White flashers on the wing tips will be turned on as I take the runway.

The MSTRB flasher number is MSTRB-360-R. Thanks again for the info.:cool:
 
What's the difference between that and just turning on your strobes and yelling "Clear"?.

Strobes can be very annoying at night. I hate sitting next to a guy on the ground who has his strobes flashing in my direction. I have a Red beacon for ground ops and turn on my strobes on as I take the runway.
 
I also wanted a red beacon on the tail for ground operations. My version uses a Whelen LED unit meant for emergency vehicles.

On my -7A, I installed one like Matt's, but it's on the fin just ahead of the rudder. I also have the 3 strobe light system, wingtips and tail light. I leave it on the beacon for all ground ops. It alerts others that my engine is running or about to run and doesn't shine on the tops of the wings. It serves as a good reminder that I left the main battery on, also.

When I take the runway, the beacon goes off when the strobes come on through an ON-OFF-ON switch, so the beacon is never used inflight.

PM me with your email if you want pictures.

Mike
 
On my -7A, I installed one like Matt's, but it's on the fin just ahead of the rudder. I also have the 3 strobe light system, wingtips and tail light. I leave it on the beacon for all ground ops. It alerts others that my engine is running or about to run and doesn't shine on the tops of the wings. It serves as a good reminder that I left the main battery on, also.

When I take the runway, the beacon goes off when the strobes come on through an ON-OFF-ON switch, so the beacon is never used inflight.

PM me with your email if you want pictures.

Mike

Curious why you choose to turn it off in flight?
 
Only because the strobes are significantly brighter and I wanted to keep the operation of them on a single switch.
 
The best place for a beacon on an RV is on the belly, not on the tail... it won't shine in the cockpit if it is on your belly, it is also easier to install and wire it on the belly.

I agree with this and have been meaning to mount one of their units on my belly for some time, just haven't got around to it. I'm also a big fan of the AeroLed lights, they have great products and are great folks.
 
Last edited:
MSTRB=great

Bought the MSTRB as recommended by Rich. Received in just a few days and this thing is awesome even when powered by a small 9V battery. It's almost blinding even in daylight!

As above, I will use the red flashing light on the top of the VS at night before engine start principally. Due to the fact that my RV-12 Rotax engine/generator only produces about 18 amps, I am extremely limited as to power consumption and as a courtesy to others on the ground, I will leave my anti collision white flashers off until I am cleared for takeoff.

As of now (not flying yet), I highly recommend that you consider this light.
 
I wanted a red beacon on my tail so I wouldn't have to have my strobes on blasting people around me at night while taxiing.
Excellent thought. For in-flight a 3 position strobe is fine, but for ground ops, you just want to be noticeable, not annoying.

George
 
Back
Top