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RV4 with tail beacon?

dmat

dmat

Well Known Member
Advertiser
Do any of the rv4 drivers have a tail beacon installed? I have a friend who said he called vans and they do not recommend a tail beacon in the 4 due to the modification to the fiberglass? It didn?t make much sense to me.... I thought it?s a direct replacement for a tail nav light.

Thanks,
Dan
 
If I understand what you're asking, there are two different things here.

The tail nav light is a small light affixed to the lower rudder tip. Sometimes these might include a built-in strobe in the same mount. Van's rudder tips have this as a standard, with a tip for no light as an option (at least on the RV-3B, which is similar).

A tail beacon is mounted to the top of the vertical stabilizer. I've never seen an RV with one of these. Typically wingtip strobes provide at least as much coverage and are commonly used. The vertical stabilizer tip would need to be modified for a tail beacon.

Dave
 
I think the OP might have been asking about a uAvionics ADSB out "Tailbeacon" which does mount in the same spot as the tail light normally placed on the bottom rear of the rudder.
 
I saw an RV-4 with a SkyBeacon mounted on the side of the boot cowl. In the position that a traditional venturi would to be mounted lke ion a TriPacer etc. It was scabbed on temporarily so the airplane could access rule airspace. One of the darndest things I ever saw. But it worked great! Later the owner took it off and put it on the wing tip of a Cessna 210 and then put an EchoUAT in the RV-4.

So I suppose a Sky / Tail beacon could work most anywhere but reason would dictate having a full sky view for the GPS and fin antenna.
 
I have an RV-4 that had a tail light. It now has the tail beacon. I have the original non-swivel tailwheel and there's enough clearance that avoiding the antenna isn't much of a concern with the tow bar.

The tail beacon installation took about 25 minutes since the nav light wire was slightly short. I had to unscrew the rudder fairing to reach it with the crimper. It probably would have been 10 minutes without that. It was a drop in replacement otherwise.

It was simple to setup and works great with a good performance report with no tweaking required. I looked at many options and this was the easiest for me. I've been using it for about 6 months so far.
 
FYI - Depending on the age of your kit, the tapered bump that fairs in the tail light mounting spot may or may not be large enough to take the tailBeacon. I installed a tailBeaconX in my -6 as part of the beta program, and needed to use a 1/4" spacer between the mounting flange and the fibreglass fairing to mount it. It sticks out a little bit more than normal, but works perfectly otherwise.
 
The ADS-B out tail beacon does not include a strobe, only a position light.

So, if your wingtip mounted position lights are mounted in cutouts or are surface mounts without rear facing strobes, you will not have rear coverage and can't legally fly at night.
 
Hey Snowflake, do you happen to have a picture? That would be helpful to determine if it's right for him.
 
I see no reason to use a certified TailBeacon on an experimental vs. EchoUAT plus SKYFX-EXT. You will pay more money and forego ADS-B in capability for a marginally simpler installation.
 
And the certified GDL 82 is $1,627.00 and the echoUAT +SkyEXT kit is $1,301.00 if you are a volume customer at ACS.
 
I am using the Echo on my F1 its only around $900.00 from GRT and its ADSB in as well and will Bluetooth to my GRT and 796. I already had a 430W so its easy and a lot less cash
 
I am using the Echo on my F1 its only around $900.00 from GRT and its ADSB in as well and will Bluetooth to my GRT and 796. I already had a 430W so its easy and a lot less cash
 
Snowflake said:
FYI - Depending on the age of your kit, the tapered bump that fairs in the tail light mounting spot may or may not be large enough to take the tailBeacon. I installed a tailBeaconX in my -6 as part of the beta program, and needed to use a 1/4" spacer between the mounting flange and the fibreglass fairing to mount it. It sticks out a little bit more than normal, but works perfectly otherwise.
Click to expand...
Not sure why you needed a spacer. You could take the rudder fairing off the bottom and trim the aluminum rudder skin slightly to make more clearance. I suppose a little fiberglass work also might be involved. Spacer it is! Ha ha. :)
 
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gmcjetpilot said:
Not sure why you needed a spacer. You could take the rudder fairing off the bottom and trim the aluminum rudder skin slightly to make more clearance. I suppose a little fiberglass work also might be involved. Spacer it is! Ha ha. :)
Click to expand...
I looked around through the hole and was fairly certain that the interference was the fibreglass taper before the aluminum, but maybe I need to look again.
My fairing is riveted on, not screwed, so removal and re-installation is a bit more work than it might be on some aircraft.
 
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