Strobe, and red, green, white position lights.

See also FAR 91.205 (c)
 
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noelf said:
Strobe, and red, green, white position lights.
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That is correct. Landing and taxi lights are optional.

Some builders add the old style ugly red rotating beacons to the top and bottom but have the lights Noel mentioned, they are not required.
 
Taxi lights

I started out with a landing/taxi light in the left wing only, but was very nervous taxiing around airports at night with only one light so I quickly added one in the right wing. Duckworks halogen landing lights are ridiculously inexpensive and can be upgraded to LED later if cost is an issue. There are lots of expensive obstacles on airport ramps. John
 
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I went with duckworks round lights and kuntzleman strobes, both will go in the wing tips. You can spend all the money you want, but i went with these due to cost and they seem to have good reviews. They aren't the latest and greatest, but they work well according to others.

You can spend $600 on lights, you can spend $3000 on lights.
 
Building?

If you're still building be sure to run a power wire in each wing for landing lights even if you don't plan to install them. It will save you from having to remove fuel tanks if you change your mind. It's a good idea to run a wire for pitot heat and coax if there is the possibility of putting any antennae in the wing tips. John
 
If you think that you might want AOA, this is a good time to run a plastic tube out there and whatever wiring it might require. I've got AOA on my -9A and haven't found it worth the money, but that's a whole 'nother story.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm getting ready to close up the left wing on my Mustang II plans build and am trying to head off any mistakes.
 
If you don't want to run wires in advance of any forecast need, at least do yourself the favor of running the wires you do want in a conduit, and leaving a pull string in the conduit for future use. There is no telling what the next 5 years will bring for technology...
 
So, to answer the original question:
Your op limits require you to have the same lighting for night as normally certified aircraft. Those are:
1. red, green, white nav lights of prescribed brightness and field of view, and
2. approved "anti-collision lighting". This can be strobes or rotating beacon(s), again meeting brightness and field of view standards.
 
Lights

BobTurner said:
So, to answer the original question:
Your op limits require you to have the same lighting for night as normally certified aircraft. Those are:
1. red, green, white nav lights of prescribed brightness and field of view, and
2. approved "anti-collision lighting". This can be strobes or rotating beacon(s), again meeting brightness and field of view standards.
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Where do builder install the "white" light?
I looked at a lot of RVs and never noticed white other than taxi/landing.
 
wirejock said:
Where do builder install the "white" light?
I looked at a lot of RVs and never noticed white other than taxi/landing.
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The bottom rudder fairing. The aft end is molded to accept surface mounting a nav light. I installed a combination white nav light and strobe there.
 
Some install the white lights on the wingtips along with the red/green lights. Okay as long as the whit is visible from the rear. Van's LN SYS1-A1
 
Tail light

A better description for the tail position light would be clear. There is no requirement for white.
The most inexpensive strobe is a single unit mounted on top of the fin. You will probably want to block the very front of the lens to prevent it flashing in the cockpit.
 
There are several ways in which an aircraft can meet the FAR's. It just depends on what you want to implement.

1. Combo unit with nav position lights and a strobe all in one unit...one on each wingtip.

2. Nav and strobe on wing tips and one white light on rudder bottom

3. Nav and strobe on each wingtip, combo white light and strobe on rudder bottom.

Vans has 2 different optional fiberglass rudder bottom p/n. One accepte a rear mounted white light (or combo white light and strobe), and the other has no provision for a light of any type.

As far as color goes, and as long as we are not talking LED technology, all the conventional lights (light bulbs) emit white light. It is up to the overlying glass envelope to supply the proper color, i.e. Red, Green, and clear for white.
 
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BobTurner said:
What color is clear? I know what you mean, a clear window over a white bulb. But FAR23.1385ff use the word "white".
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And in a later FAR (23.1397) even defines "white" :)

(c) Aviation white?

x is not less than 0.300 and not greater than 0.540;

y is not less than x−0.040 or y 0−0.010, whichever is the smaller; and

y is not greater than x 0.020 nor 0.636−0.400x;

Where y 0 is the y coordinate of the Planckian radiator for the value of x considered.
 
az_gila said:
And in a later FAR (23.1397) even defines "white" :)

(c) Aviation white—

x is not less than 0.300 and not greater than 0.540;

y is not less than x−0.040 or y0−0.010, whichever is the smaller; and

y is not greater than x+0.020 nor 0.636−0.400x;

Where y 0 is the y coordinate of the Planckian radiator for the value of x considered.
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Ref this diagram:
image129.jpg
 
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