Bill Strahan
Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 145
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 Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 7:19 pm Post subject: Night flying |
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A flurry of late night posts, I know. But as long as I've remembered my password. 
I do a lot of night flying. The first few times in the Lightning were a little weird. 7RW wasn't very pleasant to fly at night, but it's gotten a lot better. Here's a list of changes I made, some of which you may find useful:
1) I didn't build 7RW with an overall cockpit light of any kind. Sometimes I used my phone, or flashlight. Finally I had a little burst of inspiration looking at a little work light stuck to the side of my toolbox. Here's a link:
http://www.overstock.com/Sports-Toys/Battery-Operated-Hanging-Light-with-27-LED-Lights/6491727/product.html?cid=202290&kid=9553000357392&track=pspla&kw={keyword}&adtype=pla
I grabbed a 1" fender washer, stuck velcro to one side, and stuck the washer to the top of the cockpit over the baggage area. The light sticks to the washer, the whole thing comes out easily if I need a flashlight, and it's all removable. Nice, easy fix, and it works perfectly for a cockpit light.
2) The trim and intercom LEDs at night feel like miniature green potlights! I took some thin foam tape, that's sticky on one side, and cut two pieces to fit over the LEDs. Can still see them fine during the day, but not blinding at night.
3) The EFIS reflects off the canopy. I rigged up a quick glare shield over it that I had been using on my iFly, but I will probably build something more permanent. I'll probably take some VERY soft flexible plastic (remember you're hitting that panel in a crash) and make an eyebrow over it that will block all reflection.
4) The landing light reflects off the landing light cutout which is painted white like the wing, and it's pretty bright. I rigged up a reflective shield that fits inside the plexiglass cutout cover that reflects it all downwards. I get a little more light for taxiing, and I'm not as distracted by the light itself when it's really dark outside.
And with those changes, 7RW is a pleasure to fly at night. Well, I suppose there's one last little thing, but it may be unique to my plane. With the brightness on the GRT sport EFIS set to 1, when I throttle to idle on landing the EFIS screen brightness jumps around a bit, like it's responding to voltage fluctuations. No big deal, it's a short phase of the flight.
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