Our RV-12 had no lights, so we purchased the retrofit light kit from Van’s Aircraft and started from scratch. The big thing was, the original builder was suppose to have run strings in the wings through all the snap bushings from the root to the tip just for this future upgrade. I found them installed, 13 years old, but still very strong. I used them to pull a new dependable string.
The install starts by making another big cut-out in the wing. The right wing gets the (1) landing light and strobe/nav light on the wing tip. Only (1) landing light allowed on the Rotax 912uls engine, so it doesn’t overload the electrical system. I found using strong packing tape to place the lens, lets you pull harder for a tighter fit. The landing light gets (3) wires – power, pulse and ground to the wing rib. It went together pretty good, except I didn’t countersink the 8 lens mounting screws per plans. The paint cracks and flakes off when you dimple the holes. So I used a stainless AN526C832R8 screw with a white nylon washer.
