So I finally bit the bullet and sprang for the new Whelen wingtip/tail LED light kit sold by Mike Stewart. I got the one that goes under cover. Here's what I had before:
The most difficult part was pulling the old Whelen power supply out of its location in the baggage floor:
...and rewiring it thus:
I got rid of about 2 pounds by removing the old power supply. Not to mention the much greater current draw with the old system. I was able to use the original 3-conductor cabling from Whelen although Mike sells the new lightweight 4-conductor cable if you can pull your old wires out. For me it was just easier to use what was already there. I did have to change from the Whelen connectors to some 4-pin Molex connectors that I had on hand. Here's the old:
For the tail, I had to convert to the 4-pin Molex connector as well. This one worked well:
I also had to take a Dremel sanding drum and open up the hole just a little to accommodate the larger tail strobe/nav light. The old mounting screw holes matched up perfectly with the new unit:
On the wings I used a similar Molex 4-pin connector that I happened to have on hand:
Existing holes in the wing matched up perfectly with the new units as well. You can pretty much do the whole job in a day, but I split it up into several shorter sessions while waiting for the new lights to arrive. Here's everything put back together:
So last night I went for a trial flight at sunset and flew by my buddy Dave von Linsowe's house on a nearby airpark. He filmed my fly-by. I should have turned the wig-wag's off, but you can get the idea from the video (thanks, Dave!):
http://youtu.be/7jXyDBMNk-w
I'm very pleased with the upgrade; Mike Stewart makes it very painless (except for the cash I dropped). Yes, going LED is expensive, but I think it's worth every penny in the long run.
The most difficult part was pulling the old Whelen power supply out of its location in the baggage floor:
...and rewiring it thus:
I got rid of about 2 pounds by removing the old power supply. Not to mention the much greater current draw with the old system. I was able to use the original 3-conductor cabling from Whelen although Mike sells the new lightweight 4-conductor cable if you can pull your old wires out. For me it was just easier to use what was already there. I did have to change from the Whelen connectors to some 4-pin Molex connectors that I had on hand. Here's the old:
For the tail, I had to convert to the 4-pin Molex connector as well. This one worked well:
I also had to take a Dremel sanding drum and open up the hole just a little to accommodate the larger tail strobe/nav light. The old mounting screw holes matched up perfectly with the new unit:
On the wings I used a similar Molex 4-pin connector that I happened to have on hand:
Existing holes in the wing matched up perfectly with the new units as well. You can pretty much do the whole job in a day, but I split it up into several shorter sessions while waiting for the new lights to arrive. Here's everything put back together:
So last night I went for a trial flight at sunset and flew by my buddy Dave von Linsowe's house on a nearby airpark. He filmed my fly-by. I should have turned the wig-wag's off, but you can get the idea from the video (thanks, Dave!):
http://youtu.be/7jXyDBMNk-w
I'm very pleased with the upgrade; Mike Stewart makes it very painless (except for the cash I dropped). Yes, going LED is expensive, but I think it's worth every penny in the long run.
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Got some drop in PAR 36 LED replacements 
