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Lighting Kit for RV-12 Announced

I like the lights - I think I must have been a moth in a previous life...

We can't fly an RV-12 at night in the UK but I like to be seen in the gloom even if there is a weight penalty.
 
Here's hoping Mitch will tell us all how long it takes to put in. Actually, I'm more interested in the wheel pants.
 
Just about finished with the lighting kit. I've got about 24 hours total in the installation. The biggest problem I've faced is having to be so darn careful because I'm adding the lights to a painted airplane. Still, I've made some cosmetic goofs that need to attended to. Dang it!

I've reported back to engineering with my comments which were very few.

Don't worry about the weight folks. There are three units: the wingtip mounted combo Nav/Strobe lights and the leading edge mounted landing light. They are very light. There is also an eyeball type cabin light that is mounted to the roll bar.

As with all the previous kits, it's a straight forward process. Just follow the instructions. I know, I sound like a broken record (for those of you who can remember records).
 
Current

What kind of current does this pull? I noticed the fuse got boosted. And why did I think there was a strobe on the vertical stab? Just a Van thing?
 
Just about finished with the lighting kit. I've got about 24 hours total in the installation. The biggest problem I've faced is having to be so darn careful because I'm adding the lights to a painted airplane. Still, I've made some cosmetic goofs that need to attended to. Dang it!

.

Mitch, can you elaberate? I waited to paint the plane due to installing the lights. Was it the wing tips that gave you problems or was it the landing lights? I'm thinking of just installing the strobes & position lights. Also, I would like to add a wig wag option. Any thoughts?
 
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Mitch, can you elaberate? I waited to paint the plane due to installing the lights. Was it the wing tips that gave you problems or was it the landing lights? I'm thinking of just installing the strobes & position lights. Also, I would like to add a wig wag option. Any thoughts?
Wig-Wag was my only reason for wanting the lights, but the catalog listing seems to indicate that there is only one leading edge light.

The wig with no wag isn't all that useful to me - I don't fly at night. I guess the strobes might make it worth the cost, but I suspect that I could install those later for less money.

Odd, though, is that when I was looking at the plans for installed the switch labels and placards I could swear that I saw a switch label for wig-wag.
 
By no means

By no means am I a lighting expert, but since they are LED's...would that put a damper on wig wags???? I don't see why that would be an issue....could be an amp draw issue....which could be corrected after the A/W issue under experimental....just a thought
 
There is no wig-wag in the sense of alternating between two landing lights(because there is only one landing light).
The landing light switch on the panel has a pulse and a steady position.
This provides either stead or pulsing of the one light.

The entire lighting kit installed weighs 2.3 lbs.
The dual EFIS option weighs 2.23 lbs (that is why I was remembering an approx 4 pound increase).

The fuse size got changed because it was originally sized at the bare minimum. Turns out it would occasionally blow due to inrush current when the nav/strobes were first turned on. The wire gage is sized for up to 10 amps. so that is not an issue. The total power consumption of the electrical system with all options installed and operating is still within the 80% limit of the alternator capacity using a conservative nominal output rating of 18 Amps for the alternator (I think Rotax rates it at 21 - 22). The lighting kit comes with a cooling shroud for the voltage regulator since it does cause the system to be operated at closer to its nominal power output (extra insurance for regulator longevity).

Van's RV-12 has many personal options...one of which is a single strobe on the vertical tail.
The RV-12 lighting kit has a LED nav/strobe combo light on each wing tip and a single LED landing light in the right wing outboard leading edge...nothing on the tail (hense, no wiring routed during construction).
 
Thanks for the clairification Scott.

FYI: There is a 1-2 week lead time for the light kit as of today.
 
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great

I think that lights are a must, even if you are day VFR only....It's a safety thing for me....lights and radios....I was very surprised that the "1st edition" of the kit did not have a lighting option....happy that it is now available.

----Tail Kit on the way :)
 
Larry,

There are no "problems" installing the kit. It's just that on a painted airplane, any slip of the drill, marker, snip, etc. can cause a real pain in correcting cosmetic errors. If the wing is unpainted, it is much easier to cover up any misteps.
 
Larry,

There are no "problems" installing the kit. It's just that on a painted airplane, any slip of the drill, marker, snip, etc. can cause a real pain in correcting cosmetic errors. If the wing is unpainted, it is much easier to cover up any misteps.

Thanks Mitch, I'm glad I wait to install before painting. I ordered the kit yesterday and it should ship Friday or Monday.
 
I'm a little concerned about the last post, "Unless you plan to polish it". My wings will be ready to skin within a week and I'm planning to polish'em out. I'd like to go ahead and install the light kit before skinning. Is the modified wing tip/light housing fabricated from aluminum or fiberglass? If fiberglass, then I can understand your comment about polishing. If aluminum, then "it's all good".
 
Check the photos on the website. On each wing there is a molded extension on which the NAV/Strobe light is attached. These extensions are fiberglass.
 
Preview of plans would be nice

Don't know about others who are considering some of the options, but I think it would be nice if Van's would post the plans for the RV-12 option kits so builders could preview what is involved in the installation. VAF has been very useful in getting some sense for what is involved (as with the autopilot, for example- there were several good posts and pictures) but for those who are midstream in their kit builds, it might help them decide what the optimal time would be to install the option and hence, when to order. I ordered the autopilot shortly after its release but my decision to do so was based on a few VAF posts that led me to conclude I was at a perfect point in the build to do the installation without having to undo a lot. Might also help make the decision for those who are on the fence regarding a particular option. I know that if I had been on the fence for the autopilot due to concerns about complexity of the retrofit, a quick preview of the plans would have sold me!

Scott- I wonder if this is something you could take back to the Mothership for consideration!
 
Isn't everything pretty much already wired up from the wing attachment? All you would have to do I would think was pull the wires thru the wing (on your string) and cut holes etc. Something such as a tail strobe would not be part of the original SLSA so it could not be put on until after your sign off and you would have to wire it yourself.
 
Lighting Kit arrives...

Contents of the Lighting Kit shipment:
764816519_T2ATZ-M.jpg

Very nice (but spendy:eek:) LED landing light and nav/strobe units, fiberglass wingtip light fairings, a lense, bag of hardware pieces and wiring, and Section 40 plans.
A quick look at the plans show a fair amount of work will be needed to install.

Tony
 
Thanks Tony T, your pics are very helpful. Can you confirm that the landing light goes on the RIGHT wing please? I am about to skin the right wing, would it be easier to install before the outboard skin is rivetted? What is the basic construction method?

Thanks and regards

Alan

Sunbury, Australia
(+43 deg C in the workshop last week :eek:)
 
Landing light

Thanks Tony T, your pics are very helpful. Can you confirm that the landing light goes on the RIGHT wing please? I am about to skin the right wing, would it be easier to install before the outboard skin is rivetted? What is the basic construction method?

Thanks and regards

Alan

Sunbury, Australia
(+43 deg C in the workshop last week :eek:)

Affirmation Alan, the landing light goes on the right wing. It probably would not be much easier to install before riveting the outboard skin. It looks well engineered for installation on a completed wing. But, I have not put it in yet, so there could be issues, maybe Mitch will read the post and comment.

Tony
 
interior light

Tony:

Can you describe where the interior light goes and how the wiring gets to it? I am guessing that it connects to the butt connectors behind the panel that are open on one end for interior lighting (meaning the comm tray will need to come out to get to them if avionics are already in). However, if the wiring runs along the rest of the wire bundle, that is going to be a chore to do with all of the flight controls in, etc.

Thanks

Jeff
 
Interior light...

Alan,
The interior light is a small LED eyeball that mounts on a bracket below the top of the rollbar near the handle. And yes, you will need to fish a wire down thru the rollbar and then in the existing wire bundle up thru the panel base to the splice left earlier. I made sure I could get to those splices without taking out the radios.

Routing the wire is probably not difficult for a seasoned builder, more so for me. Stein sells a little wire spoon that helps you slip a wire thru existing wire ties, so there are ways to do it. It's all a learning experience ;).
Tony
 
Alan and everyone,

You need to have the leading edge of the right wing complete to install the landing light. The way the kit installatiion is designed, there is no real advantage to installaing it during initial construction.

There would be, as I've said before, the advantage of installing the wingtip extensions prior to painting (if you paint it) so the finish would be more uniform. On New Blue, I had to paint the extensions, install them, then use a touchup brush to paint the rivets. Would look better if it were painted all at once.
 
Any tips on installation from the guys that have done it or are doing it? My kit will be here tomorrow!
 
Any tips on installation from the guys that have done it or are doing it? My kit will be here tomorrow!

Larry,
I am working on the lighting kit, but have not gotten far yet. Will be posting pictures. So far, no issues. The plans say you will need an "abrasive disk". I took that to mean my Dremel tool with cutoff wheel, for the skin cuts:
For more pics click on the photo:
Tony
[url=http://tonytessitore.smugmug.com/RV-12-Project-N577RV/Light-Kit-Option/10947227_EyGVM/1/#768479541_bhngn-A-LB][/URL]
 
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Thanks and keep the great pics coming

Tony:

Thanks for continued posting of pics from the lighting install (and for the ones you previously did for the autopilot). I am on the verge of ordering and the pictures help from a planning perspective- particularly for the wiring of the interior light given where I am in the build process. Keep them coming!
 
A WORD OF CAUTION!

I do almost everything with the Dremel cut-off disks. They are great.
However, be sure to use eye protection. Until you get proficient, you will break quite a few disks, and at the high RPM of the Dremel, pieces go everywhere.
 
Interior light...

Tony:

I am on the verge of ordering and the pictures help from a planning perspective- particularly for the wiring of the interior light given where I am in the build process.

JT,
I am probably not going to install the interior light as I am mainly interested in the strobes and landing light for day VFR safety. The pertinent plans page is 40-11 for the interior light and it has not been revised so not on Van's revision page yet to download, but I could email you a copy if you need it. Send me a PM.
Tony
 
dremel discs are dangerous - period. I use diamond cut off discs from my local dental supply depot. About $10, last forever and do not break up.

Graham
 
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