Has anyone replaced their beacon on a 182 with the Whelen LED?

Mark B Schick

Mark B Schick

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Sep 29, 2018
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Ann Arbor Michigan
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Rudy the Razor
I have a '74 182P and I've been having intermittent problems with the beacon. When I do a preflight I turn the battery side of the master on. I turn everything on, beacon, landing, taxi, strobes, nav and pitot. Usually not a problem but yesterday the beacon breaker blew. It's a 15 A breaker and the strobes and beacon are on the same breaker. After resetting the breaker the strobes worked but not the beacon. When I went to the airport today and turned just the beacon on it worked, solid at first then after cycling in flashed. I then started the airplane and put the strobes and beacon on. Strobes but no beacon. I toggled the switch several times and eventually the beacon worked. At first just a solid on without a flash. Eventually it would flash. My mechanic thinks it's the mechanism that makes the beacon flash that's bad. It is a new bulb in the beacon and the switch is new.

I'd like to replace the beacon with the Whelen beacon. The $500 price tag is a little hard to swallow especially if there's nothing wrong with the beacon. Any thoughts?

Thanks, mark
 
I replaced the OEM beacon on my '78 172N with that $500 When LED. I think it was worth it -- more reliable, lower power draw ... and that puppy is bright! The OEM is mood lighting by comparison.
 
Like Jeff I replaced mine with a Whelen LED because I changed out my audio panel and the old one caused a bunch of noise. Mark, I think that you'll find that when you start troubleshooting and decide its the power pac and then replace it and the labor involved....the $500 price tag of a new LED would be close to making the old one work again.
 
That's good to hear. Was it as straightforward as removing the beacon and the flash generator in the tip of the tail. Do you remember which model beacon you bought? Did you have to purchase a mounting bracket to retrofit it? Thanks for the reply.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Like Jeff I replaced mine with a Whelen LED because I changed out my audio panel and the old one caused a bunch of noise. Mark, I think that you'll find that when you start troubleshooting and decide its the power pac and then replace it and the labor involved....the $500 price tag of a new LED would be close to making the old one work again.
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Thanks Jeff. I'm inclined to make the switch. Did you replace your anti-collision light with a Whelen product?
 
I fly a Cherokee but the principle is the same. I replaced mine with this one. It is so bright I've considered putting a strip of electrical tape down the front of it. At night I can see the reflection of the antennas on the back of the prop.

11-07615s.jpg
 
Mark B Schick said:
That's good to hear. Was it as straightforward as removing the beacon and the flash generator in the tip of the tail. Do you remember which model beacon you bought? Did you have to purchase a mounting bracket to retrofit it? Thanks for the reply.
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Mine is the Whelen #7105501 -- but my airplane has a 28V electrical system, so the model number for 14V might be different. My mechanic did the install, took about 45 min., including removal of the ballast from the tailcone. I think it fits the original beacon mount; pre-1967 Cessnas that had the old rotating beacons might need an adapter.

Looks like Tim has the one that's half red and half white; mine is all red (though the color does not show when the light is off). As installed the Whelen is an inch or two taller than the OEM Cessna beacon.

Screen Shot 2018-10-01 at 3.37.16 PM.png
 
I recently installed all Whelen LED lighting in my T210. It's really bright, and I love it. Well worth the money. Going by the ammeter on my GPU, the combined draw is about 3-4 amps (28V) as things blink on and off.

As far as the beacon goes, the worst part of the experience was discovering that the fairing to which the beacon is mounted was in really bad shape — lots of cracks not visible from the ground. So we replaced the fairing, and now I have to visit the paint shop, too.
 
I have a Whelen LED beacon on my Cub. Nice, but expensive, and the entire airplane uses LED. No regrets. On my 180 I tossed the old rotating beacon several years ago, just ahead of the LED craze, and replaced it with a Whelen #70509 self-contained flasher. That unit is very bright and works perfectly so I see no need to swap it for LED. If cost is a factor? At about $175 the 70509 is still a very good beacon choice. Especially with conventional lights elsewhere on the plane.

Pay close attention to the base and how it installs on your plane. Some beacons are easier to install on some planes.
 
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We replaced the beacon on the 172 with the $500 Whelen in 2009, and it's definitely a worthwhile upgrade with lower electrical load, better reliability, and astronomical MTBF. Here's the 337 write-up.
1. Removed Hoskins Britestar Anti-Collision Light, Model 701620, S/N 3059.

2. Installed Whelen LED Flashing Anti-Collision Light Assembly, Model 7090004, , Part Number 01-0770900-04,
S/N 00582, in accordance with Whelen Installation Guide, Whelen Engineering Company Form No. 13828D
(111505), 2003; AC 43.13-2A, Ch. 4; and STC SA615EA as amended February 22, 2007. No deviations.

3. The electrical load of the removed Hoskins Britestar light was 1.8 Amperes at 14 VDC. The electrical load of the
installed Whelen LED light is 0.85 Amperes at 14 VDC. No additional burden is imposed on aircraft electrical
system by this modification.

4. The installation location for both the removed Hoskins Britestar light and the installed Whelen LED light is on the
top of the vertical stabilizer at 245.0 arm inches aft of datum with negligible weight difference. No change in W&B.
Click to expand...
 
Pilawt said:
I replaced the OEM beacon on my '78 172N with that $500 When LED. I think it was worth it -- more reliable, lower power draw ... and that puppy is bright! The OEM is mood lighting by comparison.
Click to expand...
Have a 67. 182k
where did you buy it
 
Pilawt said:
I replaced the OEM beacon on my '78 172N with that $500 When LED. I think it was worth it -- more reliable, lower power draw ... and that puppy is bright! The OEM is mood lighting by comparison.
Have a 67. 182k
where did you buy it

I am so sorry to say that Pilawt is no longer with us .
Aircraft Spruce is my go too…
Click to expand...
 
I had my beacon changed to the WAT Orion (the lower profile unit) and i is much brighter than the original…..and I gained .002kts TAS! :biggrin:
 
I replaced the coffee grinder type on my Mooney with an Aeroled Sunbeacon 2. Absolutely love it. Lower profile, and super bright. Used their adapter for the 3.75" hole, everything fit properly with no issues.

Sunbeacon II
 
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