Taxi light in cowl inlet?

PaigeHoffart · #1 09-12-2009, 05:00 AM

Anyone have any experience with mounting a taxi light on one of the inlet ramps? I've seen a couple of photos, and it seems like a simple solution that wouldn't require any cowl mods. I'm just wondering what kind of effect it would have on cooling.

Thanks,
Paige

jsharkey · #2 09-12-2009, 05:27 AM

Any blockage in the air inlet could cause cooling problems.

Also our flying club has two C172s - one with lights in the leading edge and one with lights in the cowl. We are for ever replacing bulbs in the cowl mounted lights due to vibration damage and to my knowledge we have never replaced bulbs in the wing mounted lights.

Just my 2c

Jim Sharkey

PaigeHoffart · #3 09-12-2009, 08:29 AM

Jim,

Thanks for the reply. The cowl mounted vs. wing mounted debate has played out. I'm planning on using both with a LED based taxi light to fill in the area immediately in front of the plane. The question is do I cut into the cowl, do some glass work, and then have to mess with a wire connector every time I pull the cowl, or can I get away with putting it in the inlet. Surely someone on the board has to know someone with the setup depicted above (http://k53.pbase.com/u17/sonex293/la...4.IMG_0667.jpg).

Here's a pic of the light I'm thinking about using:

900 lumen according to the specs, cast aluminum, and about $55.

Paige

Ron Lee · #4 09-12-2009, 10:01 AM

Before you do something so uniquely clever.

In the cowl inlet you have cooling issues. What will the light be shining on? Hmmm. Is that really what you want?

Robert M · #5 09-12-2009, 10:07 AM

I too flew a C-172 that had the landing light in the cowl - was always needing replacing. Had to make a night landing one time and light did not operate. a bad thing if landing at night

Shockwave · #6 09-12-2009, 10:16 AM

The link doesn't work for me, I get an access forbidden message.

terrykohler · #7 09-12-2009, 11:44 AM

The inlet area has been pretty much reduced to minimum section for sufficient cooling. If you search thru the forums, you'll see that efforts for further reduction have been made in search of more speed. Little to no success on the speed end, and increased problems with engine cooling. Putting your engine at risk for a center mounted light is probably something you should avoid. I have one light (standard duck-works wing mount) with a higher output bulb that is sufficient for taxi and landing. No plans to add another.
Terry, CFI
RV-9A N323TP

PaigeHoffart · #8 09-12-2009, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Lee

Before you do something so uniquely clever.

In the cowl inlet you have cooling issues.

Hence the reason for the question. I too have reservations about the possible cooling effects, but there is at least one RV out there with the setup. I'd love to hear a "I tried it, but my CHT's went up 50 deg" or "works fine for my O-320...". Just looking for some empirical data, it's not my original idea.

Quote:

What will the light be shining on? Hmmm. Is that really what you want?

Ummm... the same thing every other cowl mounted light would shine on.. the prop? What am I missing?

Paige

Shockwave · #9 09-12-2009, 01:46 PM

A slightly tangent thought would be to mount a clear plate to the cowl and mount the light to a part of the structure and just shine through. You wouldn't have to worry about unwiring or unplugging it when you drop the cowl. It'd be much easier to aim the beam too.

PaigeHoffart · #10 09-12-2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shockwave

A slightly tangent thought would be to mount a clear plate to the cowl and mount the light to a part of the structure and just shine through. You wouldn't have to worry about unwiring or unplugging it when you drop the cowl. It'd be much easier to aim the beam too.

The thought has crossed my mind. I think the light would have to be fairly close to the cowl to get a wide field of light without a huge lens. The easiest place to mount it would seem to be directly below the inlet ramps but, I worry about difficulty in removing the cowl due to interference from the lower inlet flange. If someone has pics of a setup like that, I'd love to see them. So far the only one I'm aware of has an aluminum bracket mounted to the cowling.

Thanks for the ideas,
Paige