Roger .... thanks guys. Very apperciative of all the help. May have one inbound from a fellow member. I'll keep you posted.
KT
Grimes Rotating Beacon
Moderators: GAHorn, Karl Towle, Bruce Fenstermacher
The Avlite Aviation site is back up. http://www.avliteaviation.com
Their pages say the have overhauled beacons available for exchange, not which models though.
tye
Their pages say the have overhauled beacons available for exchange, not which models though.
tye
Over $600 for a Grimes rebuild? Makes me feel better about going with the new Whelen LED beacon. I bought one at Oshkosh this year for a shade over $400. I like the old grinders, but as soon as I saw another aircraft with the LED beacon from a distance, I was sold. The LED beacons are very distictive and visible even in daylight as well as being much kinder to the limited generator capacity I have. I don't yet have wingtip stobes, so all my eggs are in the beacon basket right now 
John, 2734C in Summit Point, WV
John,wa4jr wrote:Over $600 for a Grimes rebuild? Makes me feel better about going with the new Whelen LED beacon. I bought one at Oshkosh this year for a shade over $400. I like the old grinders, but as soon as I saw another aircraft with the LED beacon from a distance, I was sold. The LED beacons are very distictive and visible even in daylight as well as being much kinder to the limited generator capacity I have. I don't yet have wingtip stobes, so all my eggs are in the beacon basket right now
I am interested in the new Whelen LED beacon but have held off as I heard it is not yet approved and therefore requires a Field Approved 337. Or has this changed?
John E. Barrett
aka. Johneb
Sent from my "Cray Super Computer"
aka. Johneb
Sent from my "Cray Super Computer"
Hey Guys,
First and formost - thanks allot to everyone who responded, offered to look for - or send a beacon.
One of our members, Jud Rupert sent one up and with two new bulbs it works like a champ. In fact it's so bright and fast, from a distance I might be mistaken for a crash truck ....... well not really but you know what I mean 
.
It's one of the true benifits of this group ... lots of great people and everyone is always willing to help.
Take care everyone and have a great Christmas
Kyle T.
First and formost - thanks allot to everyone who responded, offered to look for - or send a beacon.
One of our members, Jud Rupert sent one up and with two new bulbs it works like a champ. In fact it's so bright and fast, from a distance I might be mistaken for a crash truck ....... well not really but you know what I mean .It's one of the true benifits of this group ... lots of great people and everyone is always willing to help.
Take care everyone and have a great Christmas
Kyle T.
Kyle Takakjian
Truro, MA
52 C-170B, N8087A
Truro, MA
52 C-170B, N8087A
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
KYLE I DONT KNOW WHAT I DID WITH IT BUT I REMOVED THE BEACON FROM MY 170 BACK WHEN I STILL LIVED IN MISSOURI. FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON WATER BECAME TRAPPED IN THE LENS ( THE UNIT WAS HUNG ON THE BELLY) AND AN EXTREMELY HARD FREEZE BROKE THE LENS AND CRUSHED THE BULBS. I HAD FOUND THAT OUT ON PREFLIGHT AND PULLED THE BREAKER BEFORE TURNING ON THE MASTER SWITCH. I IMAGINE ALL THE GEARS AND MAYBE THE MOTOR ARE STILL GOOD. WHEN I STARTED LOOKING FOR A REPLACEMENT LENS I FOUND THE COST TO BE MORE THAN OUTRAGEOUS. AND AS BLEU ELDER ( 
) POSTED "IT AINT IN THE REQUIRED EQUIPMENT LIST" SO I COVERED THE HOLE UP AND NEVER WORRIED ABOUT IT AGAIN.
AS I POSTED EARLIER I AINT GOIN OUT TILL IT QUITS RAININ AND WARMS UP A LITTLE BUT I WILL LOOK IF YOU STILL NEED PARTS.
) POSTED "IT AINT IN THE REQUIRED EQUIPMENT LIST" SO I COVERED THE HOLE UP AND NEVER WORRIED ABOUT IT AGAIN. AS I POSTED EARLIER I AINT GOIN OUT TILL IT QUITS RAININ AND WARMS UP A LITTLE BUT I WILL LOOK IF YOU STILL NEED PARTS.
OLE GAR SEZ - 4 Boats, 4 Planes, 4 houses. I've got to quit collecting!
I'll have to go out and look, but I don't think any approval paperwork came with the beacon. Mine is the smaller beacon with two rows of LEDs and is made to directly replace the Cessna flasher units on the tail, but happens to fit the hole on top of my fuselage where the other ratty strobe was located. My old beacon was erratic and crummy looking, and during the pullout I noted that the power supply was for a 28VDC aircraft 
No wonder the flash was inconsistent and weak. Since the 170 never had a beacon, any addition of a beacon for safety would meet with approval from the FAA. I'm just waiting until annual time to get the 337 done if my mechanic thinks I need one. I just replaced an existing beacon, so maybe a log entry will be all that is needed.
No wonder the flash was inconsistent and weak. Since the 170 never had a beacon, any addition of a beacon for safety would meet with approval from the FAA. I'm just waiting until annual time to get the 337 done if my mechanic thinks I need one. I just replaced an existing beacon, so maybe a log entry will be all that is needed.John, 2734C in Summit Point, WV
Placard it "For Entertainment Purposes Only"wa4jr wrote:I'll have to go out and look, but I don't think any approval paperwork came with the beacon. Mine is the smaller beacon with two rows of LEDs and is made to directly replace the Cessna flasher units on the tail, but happens to fit the hole on top of my fuselage where the other ratty strobe was located. My old beacon was erratic and crummy looking, and during the pullout I noted that the power supply was for a 28VDC aircraft
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
You read my mind, George! It is INDEED great entertainment to go out to my hangar on a yucky day, turn on the beacon, bring up a comfy chair and a bottle of Guiness. It doesn't take long to be lulled into a nice nap watching that LED beacon pulsing away....only drawing 300ma so when I wake up I can start watching the beacon all over again and don't have to worry about a dead battery 
John, 2734C in Summit Point, WV
OK .... so after the annual was completed, out we went for the first and second post annual flights. In the interest of getting the corrosion X into all the nooks and crannys I entered a few steep turns, some climbs / decents etc. Wouldn't ya know that @%#^ beacon stopped. So next week I'm off to the hanger to see whats up this time.
It's getting frustrating.... especially since when I departed it was spinning like crazy and bright as could be and after landing it just sat there - bright and STATIONARY ! ARGHHHHHH
I'll report back !
Regards,
Kyle T.
It's getting frustrating.... especially since when I departed it was spinning like crazy and bright as could be and after landing it just sat there - bright and STATIONARY ! ARGHHHHHH
I'll report back !
Regards,
Kyle T.
Kyle Takakjian
Truro, MA
52 C-170B, N8087A
Truro, MA
52 C-170B, N8087A
NO Rotation
Hay whats up with that After reading this post I took a look at the rotating beacon. And now it is only a beacon I have a spare but I also have a strobe for that location. Along with the wing tip strobes I should be pretty flashy 
Lance
After reading this post I took a look at the rotating beacon. And now it is only a beacon I have a spare but I also have a strobe for that location. Along with the wing tip strobes I should be pretty flashy Lance-
Jr.CubBuilder
- Posts: 517
- Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2004 10:33 pm
Re: Grimes Rotating Beacon
Crud! Mine just quit last weekend. Instead of the usual coffee grinder sounds on pre-flight it just made twitching noises and vibrated a little. A quick rap with the knuckles and it began stuttering around in a circle again, so I shrugged my shoulders and went flying. I really kind of like the damm thing for its nostalgia factor, but I may have to replace it with some LEDs also. 