Night flying lights check

[FenderManDan]

So piper or cessna POH does not speak of much detail regarding the lights check on your night flying walk around.

Do you have a tip on best practices to avoid unecessary battery drain before the start. Do you do it differently in the winter vs summer time?

[Big Pistons Forever]

So piper or cessna POH does not speak of much detail regarding the lights check on your night flying walk around.

Do you have a tip on best practices to avoid unecessary battery drain before the start. Do you do it differently in the winter vs summer time?

Inside to outside and low drain to high drain. So check the cockpit lights first as part of your cockpit setup then turn on navlights and bcn and do a quick walk around to make sure nothing has burnt out and then turn off master. You can check strobes and taxi/landing lights after start up.

On a related topic this is what I teach for proper use of lights at night.

-Nav lights on when power applied ( master on or external power connected)
-Beacon on to indicate you are about to start engine
-Taxi light on when clear of lighted ramp, and off when entering lighted ramp. Taxi light off if meeting another opposing aircraft on same taxi way and when holding short of active runway.
-Strobes on when entering an active runway and off when clear of runway
-Landing light on when cleared for takeoff.

What pisses me off. During the day as part of the walk around, the pilot turns on every signal light and then does a leasurly walk around the plane with everything on.

[Beefitarian]

I'm a practitioner of the unesiscarily long walk around. Partially to stay in practice for if I need to walk around something that has not been checked several times that day. Partially because I have to satisfy my OCD. And partially in case I find something everyone else missed.

You really only need to walk to see the Nav lights.

The beacon is visible from the drivers seat, the strobes more so. The interior, landing and taxi light will be apparent. You could even wait until the after your engine is running. No worries about draining the battery down there.

[CpnCrunch]

You can check strobes and landing lights after start up.

Then it's a little more effort replacing a burnt out landing light. Much simpler IMO to test it during the walkaround, and you can then quickly change the bulb if it's burned out. Switching the landing light on for a few seconds isn't going to drain your battery.

[Big Pistons Forever]

You can check strobes and landing lights after start up.

Then it's a little more effort replacing a burnt out landing light. Much simpler IMO to test it during the walkaround, and you can then quickly change the bulb if it's burned out. Switching the landing light on for a few seconds isn't going to drain your battery.

Have you ever changed a landing light bulb ?

[Colonel Sanders]

You can check single-draw items (landing light,
taxi light, beacon, pitot heat) by checking for
ammeter deflection, too.

If it's busted, the needle will not move.

Because there are 3 different bulbs on the nav
lights, you have to check them individually - the
ammeter trick won't work.

During the day as part of the walk around, the pilot turns on every signal light and then does a leasurly walk around the plane with everything on

Actually, that's ok with LED lights. Virtually zero current draw.

[CpnCrunch]

You can check strobes and landing lights after start up.

Then it's a little more effort replacing a burnt out landing light. Much simpler IMO to test it during the walkaround, and you can then quickly change the bulb if it's burned out. Switching the landing light on for a few seconds isn't going to drain your battery.

Have you ever changed a landing light bulb ?

Yes, why? It takes a few mins.