Locks and lighting

[RNB]

1. I tried lubricating my pilot door lock yesterday, key still does not want to function well. Copilot door does not have a lock at all??? What is a reasonable approach to remedy this? My guess is to replace all of the locks and add a lock to copilot side? I had to disassemble the lock to get things working at all.

2. Tail beacon light, if I upgrade, is there an easy plug and play LED replacement?

3. Position and landing lights: I have radio static when they are on. You can see in photo that one is likely the reason why. Is there an easy plug/play replacement? I did not build this plane and doing my own work will be new to me. Otherwise might wait until in a shop and have them due to inboard cutting for the newer style landing lights.

 

[Roadjunkie1]

1. I tried lubricating my pilot door lock yesterday, key still does not want to function well. Copilot door does not have a lock at all??? What is a reasonable approach to remedy this? My guess is to replace all of the locks and add a lock to copilot side? I had to disassemble the lock to get things working at all.

2. Tail beacon light, if I upgrade, is there an easy plug and play LED replacement?

3. Position and landing lights: I have radio static when they are on. You can see in photo that one is likely the reason why. Is there an easy plug/play replacement? I did not build this plane and doing my own work will be new to me. Otherwise might wait until in a shop and have them due to inboard cutting for the newer style landing lights.

Aircraft type/model?

 

[RV7 To Go]

1. I tried lubricating my pilot door lock yesterday, key still does not want to function well. Copilot door does not have a lock at all??? What is a reasonable approach to remedy this? My guess is to replace all of the locks and add a lock to copilot side? I had to disassemble the lock to get things working at all.
- you could try some penetrating oil to free up the cylinder. If not the local hardware store or Amaz....should have locks you could use.

2. Tail beacon light, if I upgrade, is there an easy plug and play LED replacement?
- Can't see the bulb but you may find an automotive one with the correct bayonet mount and just replace the bulb. Since your fairing looks like it is removable you could replace it with the FlyLed's tail light which should be an easy replacement.
3. Position and landing lights: I have radio static when they are on. You can see in photo that one is likely the reason why. Is there an easy plug/play replacement? I did not build this plane and doing my own work will be new to me. Otherwise might wait until in a shop and have them due to inboard cutting for the newer style landing lights.

- they look like hardware store and homemade lights which can be prone to interference. Again, FlyLed's has some nice wingtip or leading edge lights that wouldn't put out any interference. Flyboy Accessories sells the lights in the US.

 

[RNB]

Aircraft type/model?

RV10

 

[RNB]

- they look like hardware store and homemade lights which can be prone to interference. Again, FlyLed's has some nice wingtip or leading edge lights that wouldn't put out any interference. Flyboy Accessories sells the lights in the US.

The Flyboy FlyLED stuff looks like it would require additional wiring for the wigwag stuff.

 

[Roadjunkie1]

The Flyboy FlyLED stuff looks like it would require additional wiring for the wigwag stuff.

That is a very interesting lighting setup. There is Whalen-type strobe bulb gooed onto a board and some clear LEDs stuck on something else. Likely nowhere near meeting the brightness criteria for aircraft lighting. The "landing light" is nothing more than a light from Home Depot: I have 4 of those in my kitchen stove hood. It might work for being seen but would do nothing for lighting up a runway or taxiway. WTH.....

I would start completely over. Look at the FlyLED products. I have them in SuzieQ and really like them. I'm not sure you would need a bunch of new wiring for the wigwag. They have two ways you can put that in: a switch with the electric board on it or the wigwag board about the size of two postage stamps that you can wire inline with existing wiring. Then look at what they offer for landing/taxi lights. It amazes me that someone would build such a great airplane and then put something like that in there. Must have run out of money or something.

 

[RV7 To Go]

The Flyboy FlyLED stuff looks like it would require additional wiring for the wigwag stuff.

Without knowing about your wiring it may be as simple as replacing the landing light switch with a wigwag switch or adding the FlyLeds wigwag cct board or switch. Might not be too big of a deal, but we don't know your wiring layout.

 

[BobTurner]

1. For immediate use (or long term), to lock the right side door: Get yourself a 2” x 1/2” x 1/4” piece of pine (final dimensions by trial and error). From inside the plane, copilot door closed, slide the pine from the very front of the handle aft and outboard, so it passes behind the ‘push to open’ button on the inside. Sand to get a snug fit. Attach a string or handle to the front for removal. In place, it prevents both the inside and outside ‘push to open’ buttons from being pushed in, locking the door. Disadvantage: it can only be locked or unlocked from inside. Variations include drilling a small vertical hole in the same location, insert a pin (to keep button from going in).
2. FlyLED makes a LED combo white nav/white strobe that fits into the fiberglass hole at the bottom of the rudder. It’s a kit and easily assembled but for more money they’ll do the soldering.
3.FlyLED also makes nav/strobe/landing lights for the wingtip. They’ll give you a diffuser for one of the 3 lights (per wingtip) to try to get some taxi light directly in front of the plane, but honestly there’s still a pretty dark area there. But livable imho. Yes, if you want to install wig-wag you’ll need to install some extra wiring/switch. Do you currently have a Whelan power supply? If so FlyLED will sell you the plugs to make installation closer to ‘plug ‘n play’.
There are obviously other choices. Just to note: the existing wingtip nav lights look so small, and point in just one direction, I tend to doubt they meet the specs for coverage. But hard to tell in a picture.