Skybright Strobe Installation Detailed Instructions

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Check out photos showing complete installation. For written instructions, click on image and see details of each step.

New Hand Shields ... Prototype Ver. 1 ?

From my pal, Steve Tweedt, an engineer by trade... comes this cool design for hand shields that wills surely get you faster service at the gas pump on the flight line! "Give me 10 gallons and make it snappy!!! GRRRRRRRRR!!"

New idea I'm developing for Hand Shield ... comments?

Winter flying is just around the corner. I like to fly year-round, and have various "goodies" in my bag of tricks that allow me to fly in cold weather. Heavy coat, insulated pants and bib, heavy boots, heating coils for my body parts, full mask, balaclava, etc. The one piece of
equipment with which I'm not satisfied is the classic "bar mitt".

Perhaps I'm unusual in my preference, but I can't seem to figure out a good way to use the existing bar mitts. It seems that I'm always having trouble with them because I fidget a lot. I don't like to keep my hands nailed down to the bars or in one spot for very long. Since the bar
mitts I have from Airplane Gear are very "tight" to get into, the situation is even harder.

This has gotten me thinking. I love to tinker with designing new "concepts" and modifications...so why not a new twist on the OLD idea of bar mitts?

Rather than making the mitts attached to the bar...why not simply make hand/wrist deflectors that stay attached to the user's arms, yet provide the same wind deflection? Plus, these would give two surfaces to use for writing notes (airport info, radio frequencies, etc.) and
holding sliced-up chart sections.

I'm building a prototype now, but basically, think of a flat piece of polycarbonate (plastic) that is lays across the wrists and fingers and up to the forearm. It would be curled over the finger tips like the letter "J" with the fingers going into the curl when wrapped around the control bar. It would then have a "C" shaped curl facing down on to the forearm at the other end. There would be two straps, one would be a semi-permanent attachment strap at the forearm, so the device would not fly off in mid-air. The other would be a "loop" of velcro or similar (perhaps a soft but strong bungee material) that would fall into the nook of the first knuckle of every finger, so it could be squeezed against the control bar without interfering.

The idea is that one could wear whatever warm gloves they choose, or even thin gloves, but still be able to have full motion of their fingers and use of their hands on and off the bar. The plastic shield would deflect the brunt of all wind when the hands were on the bar. Also, the deflectors could hold a heated coils or similar to provide additional warmth to the backside of the hand/glove, in addition to providing those extra handy surfaces for notes and charts.

I will take pictures and make notes as my project progresses, but I'd like to hear from you guys as well. Any thoughts or ideas or preferences? What do you use for hand warmth in the winter and how well does it work?

Skybright Strobe Installation Update

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I spent the last couple days working on the Skybright Strobe installation on my Quik. I'm preparing a full installation "how to", but in the meantime, I've got some more preview shots of the installation.

The project has gone pretty smooth so far, the only hitch has been taking my time in figuring out how to make the custom landing gear leg mounts, the wiring harnesses, and the new switch array for the dash. When completed, I will have a landing gear light, quad strobes with variable pattern, and position lights on the wing tips, all controlled by their own switches. I've put the strobes and position lights on their own 10A circuit branch.

All of the hardware for my mounting design is off the shelf from Lowes Building Supply and requires only simple hand tools to customize.

I look forward to sharing the complete "how to" as soon as the installation is completed!

Skybright Strobe installation "how to" coming shortly!

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Had a great couple days at Trikepilot Ranch. I took some time to tweak a turn out of my wing, then made the fast track over to the building-supply store for "bits and pieces" to cobble-together my latest creation -- a custom mounting bracket system for the amazing Skybright Strobe System.

I'm going to do a full "how to" shortly, but here are a few preview shots (click on slideshow to see detailed pics). I have two position marker/strobe lights on the wings, red on left and green on right, as well as two high intensity tubular strobes on the trike body. At first I was considering mounting the tubular strobes on the kingpost and belly, but after much head scratching, I elected to go with a little less conventional approach. I think that mounting aft of the cockpit at a slight projected angle (on the landing gear fairings) is the ideal spot for my trike. First, because it relieves any possibility of damage or dirt from being on the belly. Second, because it relieves any problems or danger from being up on the streamlined King Post...where the wires could get fouled or the strobe could come loose and damage the wing in flight. Lastly, because this position is visible from 360 degrees, with the strobe actually reflecting off the engine to make an even larger "target" from a distance.

All the mounting pieces were made from off the shelf components I found at "Lowes" and total cost for the custom brackets and pieces and stainless hardware was about $20.00 total.... not bad.

More details to follow!