Circuit Breakers without a Switch

[Mike M]

... Now, I rarely use the lights...would it be acceptable to NOT install switches, and just leave the breakers out all the time?...Ron Wanttaja

You had me going with the red herrings about being "old" and operating "sport pilot". Yes, the anticollision (a/c) requirement changes with aircraft type certificate issue date and manufacture date, but I couldn't find where the pilot certificate of the PIC affects the required equipment. Macht nichts. It does not have a standard category U.S. airworthiness certificate, so a/c lights aren't required for day VMC under CFR 14 91.205.

So. You don't have the system installed because the wiring is not completed. No problem. Not required, and you knew that.

You're flying E-AB, and I haven't found a CFR requirement for E-AB to comply with standard category requirements like switches AND cb's. So you install the c/b's and only set them when you need the lights. Fine. But. You're going to wear the a/c cb out turning it on and off all the time. "But I don't use the a/c lights!"

CFR14 91.209(b). If an a/c system is installed, it must be used. No mention of aircraft age or category of airworthiness certificate. If installed, must be used. Exception - if PIC determines safer to leave it off. Also, AIM 4-3-23.

So. No switches, just c/b's. Leave the nav light breaker out, the a/c cb in all the time if that's what you want to do. a/c will come on with the master, go off with the master. You're only operating day, so it won't blind anybody. Pull the breaker if you need to have the master on during maintenance for some reason. You'll also be more likely to notice if you left the master on after shutdown.

I may have missed a reg, so this comes with no guarantee.

[Sam Buchanan]

When i did the electrical rebuild, I used automotive blade-type fuses for the radio and transponder. Here's the little fuse holder I picked up at Napa Aerospace:

Attachment 3516
I put a strip of velcro on the back, with a matching line of velcro on the far side of the bulkhead where the instrument panel resides. If I have to get at them, they're an easy reach. You can see the fuzziness of the velcro on the back.

I used this type of fuse holder due to repeated BAD experiences with the classic in-line fuse holders for the cylindrical Buss fuses. They get brittle with age and eventually break, leaving live wires loose behind the panel and the unit de-powered.

Ron, while you were at NAPA Aerospace you should have picked up one of these:

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...205_0407673634

The fuse block uses the convenient and reliable automotive blade fuses and can be mounted behind the panel where you can run your entire aircraft bus through the block. Much neater than the single fuse holders you purchased. The Fast-on terminals are super easy to use and won't fail even under high vibration. Here is a similar block on my RV-6:



With this architecture you can use simple switches on the panel to control lights and devices.

[Mike]

verticalpower.com

[Jim Heffelfinger]

While vertical power's solution is an amazing device the $1500 price tag for a very simple VFR panel/plane seems a bit overkill just to turn on and off a few accessories. I ask, how many cycles will a CB be exposed to if used as a switch in this example over a period of say 10 years? Perhaps a 1000 ? Change out the CB every X years.