Panel Post Lights

[wa4jr]

After waging battle with the two pesky Grimes lights, trying to get them to cast some usable light on my panel, I have run up the white flag I have come to the conclusion that the only way to get safe, usable instrument lighting is with individual post lights. I'd like to hear from some folks that have installed post lights. Does not seem like a big job. Price has me up in arms a bit. Almost $30 for each post light Filaments of gold perhaps
Does anyone know of a good salvage source for used post lights

[N1277D]

My 170A has post lights on the main instrument panel and the older grimes lights for the clock, oil pres/temp and amp instruments. The post work very well, however you do need a glare shield with them - they tend to reflect in the windshield. A glare shield is easy to fabricate, or you can purchase one.

[wa4jr]

Just as soon as I got off this site last night, I began looking once again through the Aircraft Spruce cataloge. I found my answer for my instrument panel lighting woes The Fiberlite lighting system seems to be the economical way to get a soft even flow of light across the face of each instrument. System is less that half the cost of 17 post lights and since only one light illuminates all instruments via fiber optics and light rings, MX costs and hassles are greatly reduced Has anyone installed the FiberLite system on their 170

[JDH]

John, I had considered installing the fiber lites. Spoke to a tech friend who tells me they install them in helicopters all the time and they work great. The ones in Spruce are not PMA'd or STC'd. I went withh the Nu-Lite system instead. I had them in a Cherokee a few years back and liked them then and like them now. The differences I found: Nu-Lite are individual lites with more lite over the top of the instrument and less at the bottom of the ring (neat). The fiber lites have one bulb for the lot (or 9 rings); + = only one lite to change - = lose that lite at nite and unless it is in an easy access spot, you're screwed. Either way, get a good dimmer.
One thing you will have to plan for is a mod to your panel. Both these units end up spacing your instrument by 1/8 to 3/16" from the panel and on my '52, I had to remove the cover assy (pn: 042518) it ended up being too offset and I could not read part of the instruments. Another thing is that once you remove that, you will end up having lite reflect right up into the windscreen (cause of the space caused by shock mounts). That is an easy fix: Make an "eyebrow" out of thin aluminum, covered by foam annd leatherette and velcro that to the top of the glareshield. All and all, very worthwhile if you like to fly in the dark! The fire hazard original back lights are not enough to fly comfortably at nite. I also have 2 post lites on the sub panel for breakers and 2 for engine monitoring gauges. I made a nice overlay to cover the panel, uses the shock mount screws, out of vinyl covered .040 aluminum. JD

[wa4jr]

Thanks for the tip, JD Just so I have the mental picture correct, did you mount your Nulight rings between the instrument case and panel, or outside of the panel but inside of the panel overlay My initial desire is to take each of the instuments off of the panel and then install the Newlight ring between the instrument and panel so as to not mess up the spacing of the panel overlay...as it does come very close to the face of some of my instruments.

The little Grimes horrors will be disconnected and the supply wire pulled back down and affixed to a "dimmable bus" using the original dimmer reostat if the final load of all the Nulites is within the rating of the original reostat.

[JDH]

John, you have to mount the Nulites between the instrument and the panel. Which brings me to something I forgot to mention the first time: You will need some longer brass screws and if you are using instrument mounting nuts, they will either have to be longer or you'll just have to "nip" off the turned out ends, to accomodate the 3/16" difference in thickness (or if you are using ordinary nuts, you can use strips of masking tape to hold the nulites to the instruments to facilitate the installation).
The spacing between the panel and the overlay will remain the same, but your instruments will now sit 3/16" farther back, which means that the rings will sit that same distance farther from the bezel, which means that on the eyebrow panel like on my '52, the whole left side of the tach cannot be seen without moving your head to the copilot's area... Even in daylite. It is difficult to explain, but if you want to try and visualize it before you spend the $$, remove the tach and re-install it at a 3/16" distance by using spacers or wahers betweeen the face of it and the panel; then, position your seat in the flying position and see the effect of the ring on the placement change.
I still think it was worth the mod for me, yes, it is true that my panel is not "original" as in the way it came out of the factory, but it is "original" as in, you won't see an other one like it. But the most important is that the lighting is fantastic and even if I always carry 4 flashlites including headset mounted units, it makes flying at nite more pleasant. If you wannt to see pictures of my panel, Email me (jdhoude@sympatico.ca) and I'll send you JPegs. Good luck, JD

[DHeal]

Keep in mind that some panel instruments are not well lighted by these kinds of ring lights. We installed a set of these ring lights in our F33A and were very disappointed with the poor illumination given to "deeply set" instruments such as the Attitude Gyro". The ring lights did not throw enough light into a few of the instruments, so we had to install supplemental post lights and/or replace the effected instuments with internally-lit versions. Something to think about.

[superpilot_75965]

I used eyebrow lights and a dimmer circuit from a 172,which gave a much better amp capacity and doesn't get quite as hot as the original. Went the 337 route. I don't have a original type panel but modified for IFR flying. Bill

[GAHorn]

Also, keep in mind that if you have the AN style gyros, Nulites will not accomodate those.