Jump to content

Mooney M20J with all LED exterior lighting.


Recommended Posts

If Jeff Foxworthy did jokes about Mooniacs it would probably go something like this...

 

"If you get really excited about LED lights on your Mooney... You might be a Mooniac."

 

(Here's a link a video with the new lights.  Perhaps I should do a demo of the lights during the day as well.)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xqJ3adGpEM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spruce sells those Whelen Orion 600 lights.  If you haven't seen them before, they are aesthetically pleasing, as well, compared to the older wingtip lights (at least for those of use without the sculpted covers).  Very nice!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very cool!!!! for some reason this is the favorite improvement I have done to my J.  Its cool to have towers tell you your lights look cool and that they can see you way out on final at night.  Plus the decrease in power consumption is real nice!  Nice job!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I calculated a power consumption savings of approximately 79.869% + or - 50%.  Thanks for the compliments everyone.  This was one of the improvements I really wanted for my plane since buying it.

 

"If you've ever shown someone a photo of your airplane BEFORE showing a picture of your first born child... You might be a Mooniac."

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I calculated a power consumption savings of approximately 79.869% + or - 50%.  Thanks for the compliments everyone.  This was one of the improvements I really wanted for my plane since buying it.

 

"If you've ever shown someone a photo of your airplane BEFORE showing a picture of your first born child... You might be a Mooniac."

 

Indeed that is a great comment. Depending on who I talk to I sometimes do exactly that. Now of course , that my son likes to fly with me... no problem I show his picture with my Mooney...

 

Interesting power consumption. With all the avionics I installed, I think this is a great argument to go full LED. However, I just like my boom beam too much to get rid of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Installation cost me $75. I did all the work, my IA inspected it, wrote and signed off the 337s and made the appropriate logbook entry for me. It was a minor alteration.

Very nice! I like it!

Is it a simple fixture swap I wonder? Do the power aupplies have ti ne removed? The tail is not a strobe/position correct? It stays on continuasly?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The strobe boxes are no longer needed and therefore need to be removed. That part is easy. The most difficult part was running the synch wire from one wingtip to the other so the strobes flash in sequence with one another. That necessitated removing the front inspection panels under the wing and one belly panel from the airplane. I also needed to get in the cabin, remove the fromt seats and pull back the interior carpeting near the wing root to run the wire where it needed to go. You'll also need someone to help you run the wire as it is definitely a two person job. Hopefully someone with small arms as I had to fit my arm in the inspection panel hole to run the wire along the existing wire. I then used the existing wire for the strobe and nav lights for the new strobe and nav light functions. It's not difficult if you know what you're doing but if you have doubts I would have a professional do it for you.

The tail position light is only that, it does not flash as a strobe but the cool thing is with that replaced as well, I now have 3 white LED position lights. Two on the wing tips and one on the tail, thereby increasing my visibility to other aircraft. I feel kind of like those business jets with 3 position lights on them.

Replacing the belly beacon is super easy as well. I had an old Whelen rotating beacon with a 5 screw mount. I bought the A440 adaptor from Whelen that was a perfect fit for the new LED beacon and the screw hole pattern. That part couldn't be easier. The position light was slightly challenging only because there wasn't much slack in the existing wire to play with but I made a good use of my mechanical fingers from Harbor Freight to help me.

If you were local I would offer to help you as it was a fun but rewarding challenge to do this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Installation cost me $75. I did all the work, my IA inspected it, wrote and signed off the 337s and made the appropriate logbook entry for me. It was a minor alteration.

337s are only supposed to be used for major alterations or major repairs. If your installation was a minor alteration, why were 337s prepared?

ETA: never mind, saw your post in the other thread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...
On 5/11/2013 at 6:29 AM, NotarPilot said:

If Jeff Foxworthy did jokes about Mooniacs it would probably go something like this...

 

"If you get really excited about LED lights on your Mooney... You might be a Mooniac."

 

(Here's a link a video with the new lights.  Perhaps I should do a demo of the lights during the day as well.)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xqJ3adGpEM

The You Tube link does not work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.