Light lenses for M20M

[Cameron Giffin]

Good evening Mooney Space this is my first post ever from my account,

I fly a 1990 M20M and I just upgraded to new Whelen LED landing and taxi lights. They work very well but the issue that I have found is that my somewhat old and foggy light lenses are ruining some of the brightness of the lights. Does anyone know where I could possibly purchase a new set of light lenses anywhere?

Thanks everyone,

[hypertech]

http://www.glapinc.com/

 

I sent mine to them, they did the trimming and practically nothing but drilling the holes was needed on my end to replace them.  If you don't have it, they will also supply you the correct bit you need to drill holes.

[Cameron Giffin]

Awesome I just found that they sell the exact ones I need new. How difficult was it to drill the holes in the lens?

[Schllc]

20 minutes ago, Cameron Giffin said:

Good evening Mooney Space this is my first post ever from my account,

I fly a 1990 M20M and I just upgraded to new Whelen LED landing and taxi lights. They work very well but the issue that I have found is that my somewhat old and foggy light lenses are ruining some of the brightness of the lights. Does anyone know where I could possibly purchase a new set of light lenses anywhere?

Thanks everyone,

One of my landing light lenses had that, and I used a leftover headlight restoration kit I had from my truck and it worked like a champ?  
LOT cheaper than new plastic. If your on the ramp it probably won’t last as long.

[PT20J]

11 hours ago, Cameron Giffin said:

Awesome I just found that they sell the exact ones I need new. How difficult was it to drill the holes in the lens?

The wing lenses are Lexan (polycarbonate) and do not polish out like harder Plexiglass (acrylic). I believe GLAP is the OEM supplier for Mooney. They need to be trimmed to fit and drilled. The good thing about Lexan is that it is much more forgiving about cracking when you drill and cut it than acrylic. Carefully cut them to size and put them in place and mark the hole positions with a sharpie and drill the holes with a step drill bit. For trimming you can use a small saw or cutoff wheel on a Dremel.

Skip

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard Cameron!

How long have you had the M?

 

If you are new to the Long Body Mooneys...

There is one important thing to be aware with respect to the lights...

 

The fancy recognition light we have... doubles as a heat ray gun....

The ragged lens you are describing can get melted in one long taxi, if you leave the recog lights on...   

 

Get used to using the check list as you exit the runway...

 

Then find the LED project for updating the recog lights...

Recogs are really nice to have... melted Lexan is not...

Try to find a mechanic that has done this before... some trimming and drilling is expected...

Its too expensive to goof up a trial lens...  

PP thoughts on, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

[LANCECASPER]

On 5/26/2021 at 9:24 PM, Cameron Giffin said:

Awesome I just found that they sell the exact ones I need new. How difficult was it to drill the holes in the lens?

As has been mentioned I would send them your lenses and they will trim the new ones to them.  The drilling is the easy part. Put the new lens in place and use a Sharpie marker to mark a dot where you want to drill. Pull the lens off and use the bit that you buy from them and it's very easy. I use a tinnerman washer so the lens doesn't crack when i put the screw in.

[glenn reynolds]

make sure that you drill an oversize hole to allow for expansion and contraction of the plastic around the metal screw.  If you were to install a snug fastener in a small hole, thermal expansion will cause it to crack.  Same logic applies to how tight you torque the fastener, the plastic needs to be able to move.  Be sure to round all edges as plastic is very susceptible to stress fracture.  There is lots of info on this subject on line.  do all your work with film or paper covering the plastic and only remove it when your done to reduce scratches.  I made my replacement ovation lenses by buying sheet stock and bending and trimming it using the old lens as a pattern.  

[ZuluZulu]

I bought a new set of lenses but haven’t installed them yet because I had some success with an automotive headlight restoration kit. It’s not perfect but it held up and looked good for about 6 months. Needs another treatment now which I’m hoping to get around to doing this weekend. Wish I’d tried this first but at least I have a set in the hangar if I crack one!