Replacing position light bulbs

"Blanche" wrote in message ...
Dale wrote:
If you do change the wingtip bulbs take care. The glass lens used is
easily dropped as you remove the retainer and is expensive to replace.
Been there, done that. G

And under no circumstances touch the new bulb with your fingers! Use
gloves or something (shirt tail?) Oil & sweat from your fingers is
not good for the bulb. In fact, if you have the box the bulbs come
in, that warning is printed (or should be) on the box.

It's not going to be a problem for most position like bulbs. They have
regular glass envelopes and they don't burn hot enough to make a
difference. Quartz-halogen bulbs are a different story. The quartz
envelope on these will soften from the oils in your hands. Note that
this applies only to instances where you touch the envelope directly.
Your Q4559 bulb actually has a glass enclosure around the whole
thing (so that it will fit into the same form factor as the traditional
4559). You couldn't touch the envelope if you wanted.

Hm...I thought the position lights were the red/green on the wingtips.
I keep a set of all bulbs for replacement and the boxes are clearly
marked not to handle with bare hands. Mine aren't halogen tho.

strange...

Blanche wrote in news:1072752966.368381
@irys.nyx.net:

Hm...I thought the position lights were the red/green on the wingtips.
I keep a set of all bulbs for replacement and the boxes are clearly
marked not to handle with bare hands. Mine aren't halogen tho.
strange...

It is strange... Those bulbs are not as fragile as the average 60 watt
household lightbulb. Yeah, it's always nice to keep them clean of
fingerprints and oil, but considering all the dirt and oil on them that
tends to work its way past the seals... I suspect it's a *generic*
warning/suggestion.

The ones you really should be careful of are the strobes, since those are
usually about the only high intensity ones where you can actually get your
fingerprints on the inner shell.

-----------------------------------------------
James M. Knox
TriSoft ph 512-385-0316
1109-A Shady Lane fax 512-366-4331
Austin, Tx 78721
-----------------------------------------------

"Ron Natalie" wrote in message
m...
It's not going to be a problem for most position like bulbs. They have
regular glass envelopes and they don't burn hot enough to make a
difference.

I suppose it just depends on the bulb. The new tail nav light on my
airplane, when I changed it, came in a box covered in dire warning about not
handling the bulb directly. Just like the bulbs for overhead projectors and
other halogen bulbs.

Probably lots of other planes use less fragile bulbs. But one shouldn't
assume that's the case with a given airplane.

Pete

Mutts:

- You do not have to be an A&P to change bulbs. See FAR 43.3(g) and FAR 43
Appendix A.
- Renting: tell the FBO to change it, it's their job (i.e. your rental price
includes "maintenance"). If you're away from home and you need the light to
be legal, most FBOs will let you have the work done if you call and consult
with them first. In any case, they will most certainly require that an A&P
do the work.
- Flying Club: every club is different but most have a specific maintenance
policy spelled out in their charter.
- Is it difficult? Not really, but with older planes you're more likely to
find rusted out/stripped screws, etc. This is why you should make the FBO
or some other "pro" do it as they'll have the tools on hand. Otherwise, add
a drill and some spare screws to your flight bag. If you're flying
something less than ten years old then disregard.

cheers,
mark

"Mutts" wrote in message
...

Any rental pilot/flying club types out there carrying spare postion
light bulbs with them? Do you have to be an A&P to change them? Do
owners frown on replacing bulbs without being informed first?
How hard is it to change them on Archers and 172s?
Its getting old finding the lights burned out during preflight and
everything is closed.

"Mutts" wrote in message ...

Any rental pilot/flying club types out there carrying spare postion
light bulbs with them? Do you have to be an A&P to change them? Do
owners frown on replacing bulbs without being informed first?
How hard is it to change them on Archers and 172s?

The bulbs are trivial to replace and is an owner/pilot permitted maintenance.
While your skirting legality doing it in a rental, if I had the bulb I would certainly
not hesitate to do it if it meant having to otherwise cancel a night or IFR flight.