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How to make my RV-6 night legal?

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WingsForWillem

I'm New Here
Hey all,

I recently bought my first RV. It's a very well-built airplane from a well-known builder, and overall I'm extremely happy with it. However, during the pre-buy, an RV expert in my area pointed out that the airplane is currently not legal for night flight, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to fix it.

Here's the backstory:
Like many RV-6s, this airplane does not have a rear position light mounted on the tail. Instead, it originally had rear-facing position lights integrated into both wingtips, which made it compliant for night operations.

The issue started when the previous owners tried to make the airplane ADS-B compliant. The airplane has a Trig TT21 transponder and a Garmin 430W, and they attempted to use that combination for ADS-B Out. Unfortunately, after numerous attempts and what sounds like a lot of time and money spent with an avionics shop, they were never able to get a reliable ADS-B Out solution working.

As a result, they went with a uAvionix SkyBeacon on the left wingtip. In many ways it was a great solution. It provides ADS-B Out, a strobe, and a position light all in one package. The problem is that the SkyBeacon does not include the rear-facing position light that the original wingtip light assembly had.

So when the original light was removed, the airplane lost one of its rear-facing position lights. As it sits now, the rear of the aircraft can only be seen from one side at night, which is why the inspector says it is no longer night legal. So now I'm trying to determine the easiest and most practical fix.

The options I've thought of so far are:
  • Install and wire a dedicated rear position light on the tail. The challenge is that the airplane doesn't currently have a mount/fairing for one.
  • Replace the transponder with a different ADS-B solution and go back to a conventional wingtip light assembly. Effective, but very expensive.
  • Add a separate rear-facing position light somewhere on the wingtip. This would likely require some drilling and additional wiring.
  • Have another avionics shop take a crack at getting the TT21/430W combination working correctly so I can remove the SkyBeacon and reinstall the original light assembly. However, given the amount of effort that was apparently already spent trying to make that setup work, I'm not very optimistic.
Is there an obvious or commonly accepted solution that I'm overlooking?

I'd appreciate any advice or ideas. Thanks!
 
Adding a taillight to the rudder is probably the easiest solution. Building a fairing is not that difficult. Look at the fairings where your rudder cables exit the fuselage and copy.
 
WingsForWillem said:
they went with a uAvionix SkyBeacon on the left wingtip. In many ways it was a great solution. It provides ADS-B Out, a strobe, and a position light all in one package.
Click to expand...
Actually, the SkyBeacon doesn’t have a strobe function; it’s strictly nav light plus ADS-B out.

IMHO, the SkyBeacon is kinda crappy and doesn’t work all that well; the previous owner on our Aerostar went cheap and put on a TailBeacon… it was failed when we brought the plane home. After much troubleshooting, uAvionix replaced it with new… and now a year later the new one is acting janky and failing the performance reports, so we may need yet another replacement.

In your case, try and get the Trig/G430 combo working right, it’ll be less kludgy than adding a tail light plus strobe to the left wing tip.
 
s/b no reason why a TT21 and a 430W can't provide ADSB out as long as they are correctly wired and configured. I'd chase that and put the original wingtip light back it it were me
 
jbDC9 said:
Actually, the SkyBeacon doesn’t have a strobe function; it’s strictly nav light plus ADS-B out.

IMHO, the SkyBeacon is kinda crappy and doesn’t work all that well; the previous owner on our Aerostar went cheap and put on a TailBeacon… it was failed when we brought the plane home. After much troubleshooting, uAvionix replaced it with new… and now a year later the new one is acting janky and failing the performance reports, so we may need yet another replacement.

In your case, try and get the Trig/G430 combo working right, it’ll be less kludgy than adding a tail light plus strobe to the left wing tip.
Click to expand...
In most cases on the tail they don't. Mine is an oddball, it's got the one made for the wings and it comes with strobes.

Exact one here:
uavionix.com

skyBeacon TSO

ADS-B Out | WAAS GPS | Altimeter | LED Nav Light | LED Anti-Collision (Strobe) The world’s only wingtip-mounted ADS-B OUT solution to meet the 2020 mandate. skyBeacon has the lowest installation cost and largest approved model list of any UAT ADS-B OUT solution.
uavionix.com uavionix.com

Just a little concerned about letting another shop take a stab at it, it's been looked at by many shops, the conclusion seems to be the gps data is not the format the older T21 is looking for. But that may be due to incorrect wiring.
 
Okay, here’s your basic problem: The TT-21 is a lower power transponder and is not approved in the US for ADSB-out. You need the TT-22 (or new TT23). I have a TT22 fed by a 430W (pressure altitude comes from a GRT Hx) and it works great. For a while Trig would upgrade 21s to 22s for about $1K, not sure if that offer is still available. So if you want 1080 MHz adsb out that may be your low cost option at this point. It does not include adsb-in. For that I have a $500 ‘Skyradar D2. I don’t think it’s available anymore, but maybe you can find something used, or something else. It connects to the GRT Hx display via USB, but also broadcasts via wi fi to an iPad running WingX or the free Skyradar software. You’ll also need a ‘ground-airborn’ automatic switch. The Hx provides this software switch (if IAS is below stall speed it assumes you are on the ground. It might also look at gps ground speed, I’m not sure).
If you go USB, the FlyLED white nav light is $100-$200 and can also provide an aft strobe function. You’ll have to figure out a fiberglass mounting arrangement.
Edit. PS, the TT22 can accept the garmin ‘adsb+’ format for the gps data. If your 430W has really old software (like pre-2017 or so) you’ll need to update it, to get that option. I wonder if that was the original problem although an avionics shop should have known.
 
Last edited:
BobTurner said:
Okay, here’s your basic problem: The TT-21 is a lower power transponder and is not approved in the US for ADSB-out. You need the TT-22 (or new TT23). I have a TT22 fed by a 430W (pressure altitude comes from a GRT Hx) and it works great. For a while Trig would upgrade 21s to 22s for about $1K, not sure if that offer is still available. So if you want 1080 MHz adsb out that may be your low cost option at this point. It does not include adsb-in. For that I have a $500 ‘Skyradar D2. I don’t think it’s available anymore, but maybe you can find something used, or something else. It connects to the GRT Hx display via USB, but also broadcasts via wi fi to an iPad running WingX or the free Skyradar software. You’ll also need a ‘ground-airborn’ automatic switch. The Hx provides this software switch (if IAS is below stall speed it assumes you are on the ground. It might also look at gps ground speed, I’m not sure).
If you go USB, the FlyLED white nav light is $100-$200 and can also provide an aft strobe function. You’ll have to figure out a fiberglass mounting arrangement.
Edit. PS, the TT22 can accept the garmin ‘adsb+’ format for the gps data. If your 430W has really old software (like pre-2017 or so) you’ll need to update it, to get that option. I wonder if that was the original problem although an avionics shop should have known.
Click to expand...
Pretty much my setup also except a tt31. I remember there's a config in the trig to tell it what format the data is in, there's several options. it should get gps data via serial and the air data also by serial. So, a question for the OP would be, how is air data getting to the trig. do you have and EFIS?

ifaict radenna is out of business. I like my D2 seems to work pretty well, pity.
 
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