You can see here my redneck approach to waxing the tail of the Twin Comanche. While I was doing this, I found the strobe lens atop the vertical stabilizer had cracked almost completely around it’s circumference.
I ordered a replacement from the webco aircraft guys, along with new fuel caps for the nacelle tanks. Unfortunately, the wrong lens came in, which was my fault for not being thorough enough in my explanations.
Apparently, since the airplane is approaching 50 years old, there is a dizzying array of configurations for the lighting systems on these airplanes.
Now that I have the entire beacon tip installation removed, I’ll run around getting the parts I need this week. This is a Hoskins 701620-1 Red Tail Strobe. I just need the lens, but am willing to find a drop in replacement or an entire fairing. This is a 14V DC unit fed by two wires (not a 3 wire harness.
Looking into the fairing, you can see the power supply cylinder. Note that it is connected to the fairing by three screws that you can see in the Tail Tip Fairing photo.
While I am certainly glad I found this issue before it stranded me somewhere (or I had to fly home with duct tape on the tail), it did cancel a trip to pick up Marisa for the week at the beach. I’ll reschedule after the repair and my July annual.
No drama with the nacelle caps though – yet. Here they are. Looking forward to a flight test to ensure they fully seal, and remain easier to use.
