Lights....

[TSC.]

Let's see. Read a POH or have more time to cuddle Lady Crashalot......... eehhhmmm lemme fink........... Where is the papershredder?

Crash

LOL Crash - she's stood behind you isn't she



TSC.

[Sir_Crashalot]

LOL Crash - she's stood behind you isn't she



TSC.

A not worthy smilie? Let me tell you this, TSC. I am the boss in this house. As long as my wife is not at home.

Crash (why, why............)

[Jakemaster]

Another question popped up. Why are the cabinlights dimmed on take off and landing? Every time when I fly at night, they dim the lights at those moments.

Crash

Safety I'm sure, probably not necessary today.  Back in the day when pilots didnt seal the cockpit door with heavy duty bullet proof locks the lights may have created glare.

[beaky]

Here's how I do lighting, real-world.

Beacon)  On before starting, left on until shut-down.
Strobes) On when cleared for take-off and on after intial, pre-landing CTAF/Tower contact..
             -off all other times unless visibility is a worry (at night)

Navs)  On at dusk, off at sunrise..
Taxi)  On at night for unlit taxiways only.
Landing)  On during take-off and landing.. sometimes on (depending on the plane) to aid in taxiing at unlit airports.

One over-riding rule. Unless it could affect other pilot's visibility.. ALL lights are on durning take-off/landing.

Always nice to get tips from a real pilot  I read somewhere that some plane owners/operators just leave the beacon switch on all the time so that it comes one when the plane is powered up just so they don't forget it.

That seems to be the general practice. Unlike the avionics buss, it's OK to have that light switch on- doesn't seem to harm it.

[elite marksman]

There is a slight difference between an avionics bus and the beacon switch. Light bulbs generally have much, much greater tolerances for the surges or irregular frequencies that can occur when a generator is switched on than do complicated electronic circuits.

The same applies to cars. It's ok to have lights come on immediately after the engine starts, but the electronics generally wait a short time (few milliseconds) for the power source to stabilize in a pure sine wave with a regular amplitude.

[Brett_Henderson]

Or...  do you mean a nice, rock-solid, rectified and regulated DC ?