Rotating Beacon

[EricP]

OK, not the most complex part of the plane but....

What is the hot tip for the rotating beacon on the Bearhawk? Do you use one or two, top or bottom of fuselage or both? What is the best to buy.

Yes, I am being lazy... we call it crowdsourcing now!!

[whee]

No beacon. Tip Strobes.

[EricP]

We have tip strobes built into the position lights. Thinking about beacon on top of fuselage. Any other suggestions?

[Chris In Milwaukee]

They're all fairly expensive, but if I had to pick one, I'd probably choose one of the Aveo Engineering LED beacons. Low profile, bright, and good looking, too.

http://www.aveoengineering.com/redbaron-mini/

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/pages/el/ledlighting_beacon/aveoredbaronmini.php

[tailwind]

No rotating beacons. No light on rudder. I have used only wing tip LED strobes and LED nav lights.

[EricP]

The MiniMax looks very interesting.

I am used to having a "red beacon" to indicate engine operation, plus the beacon provides backup anti-collision light in case of tip strobe failure. So I pretty much want the red beacon, if only because I am used to it.

Our position and strobe lights will be on the wing tips only. We do not have any lights on the rudder or tail either. That way we avoid running wires that way. I think we will look at the MiniMax or something similar on the top back of the fuselage.

[Battson]

I didn't use any lights at all, and don't miss the weight. I am always the easiest plane to see in any air-to-air contact, nobody seems to miss the bright yellow.

[EricP]

I plan on flying at night and probably more importantly I am just used to having the lights. So we plan on having full lights including nav position, strobes, beacon and landing lights. But I like your yellow!

[JimParker256]

I just found THIS mini-strobe beacon in either red or white for $40, plus $5–$10 for their mount, rubber grommet, and flange (if needed). There's at least one testimonial from a guy who used one of these on his experimental airplane, and one on a "paraplane" (powered parachute?).

At less than $50 per strobe, I'm tempted to install two of them on the fuselage – one on top and one on the bottom. Like others, I like to leave the "beacon" on as a "reminder" in case I forget to turn off the Master switch. I'll still probably go with the AeroLED wingtip position/strobe lights. Be sure to select the color you want (red or white, vs amber), and the 360º version (versus the 180º version).

By the way, that site also has a bunch of small rocker switches designed for cars (12V 15A) so they should work for airplanes as well. They have some very nice rectangular rocker switches, but they are all pre-labelled (best I can figure) for controlling off-road lighting. The small round ones (with or without LED "indicator" lights) are the ones I'm thinking about. Anyone see reasons why they would not work?