Rudder Cap Beacon
Hey everyone, first, what a wonderful wealth of knowledge here. Thanks to everyone past and present for sharing.
I am currently restoring a 77 Archer II and would like to know if it is possible to eliminate the beacon located on the top of the rudder. Any input on the administrative process will be much appreciated.
Thanks!
TJ
KVPZ
Comments
Please check with your IA. I've casually looked at doing something similar, but to me at least, the beacon is part of the rudder and removing it would affect the balance of the rudder. I can't say if it would be possible to rebalance the rudder using Piper's approved procedure with the weight of the beacon missing at that spot.
DJ
If beacon-echtomy is not possible, next best alternative is checking whether there is a low profile STC retrofit available. IIRC, the low profile mod is good for about 1 knot in cruise (don't quote me on that though as I am going from memory of information searches past).
Related, use care if going the LED route. I have seen LED retrofits that are near worthless in daylight, which raises the question of nighttime effectiveness.
Unless have a weird rudder arrangement on your 77 Archer the beacon or strobe depending upon which one you have is not actually mounted to the rudder . Mounted to the vertical stabilizer fin cap so yes you could take it off , just get a new cap or just plate it over the top, it's not hard to do it all . I only question whether or not it's legally required for night ops but there's an awful lot of pipers that don't have a beacon at all so apparently it's not that big of a deal I would make sure you have at least wingtips srobes though. Led units are excellent for day and night visibility. Carl
48 yrs A/P IA DAL aircraft inspector. 172N
From what I have seen in research on the tail beacon, all aircraft have anti-collision lighting, where a few were designed without the tail beacon as the source. Put another way, if the tail beacon was part of the aircraft's original design, then chances are good it will need to remain.
I happen to have one of the aircraft without a tail beacon which brings its own issue. Anti-collision lighting is the wing strobe. At night, some of my hangar neighbors do not appreciate that I must keep strobes On during ground operations. There is allowance for turning the strobes Off as necessary to avoid night blindness of others. One night I was not quick enough on the switch to turn the strobes Off as I taxied past a rescue helicopter, and its pilot hit me with the search beam 🙁 Fair enough response I guess.
One clarification about the comment regarding LEDs. Agree that LEDs can make a great substitute for incandescent and HID, but not all LEDs are equal. Some are great, and some are putting a check-in-the-box meh. So if going the LED path, do homework to get a great unit and avoid disappointment with a meh unit.
Mea Culpa. You're right, Carl. I was thinking of the white nav light.
DJ
DJ, you had me questioning my sanity for a little bit. Lol Carl
48 yrs A/P IA DAL aircraft inspector. 172N
I replaced the fat beacon on my Cherokee 180 years ago with a fairing from Knots 2U and a Whelen Strobe. Just a logbook entry in this case. They also have the smooth cap with no beacon mount but you must have another approved anti-collision lighting system to completely remove the one on the vertical fin. Have a look here:
Regards,
Mike