The Cessna 120-140 Association Forum

what would the approximate cost be to install, test and log the installation on a 120 . The avionics shop will ground test everything , no test flight . It is a tail beacon just wondering what to expect Thanks Labor only I already paid for the part

While there may not yet be enough installations to establish a dependable "average" cost, uAvionix has sponsored specials at both SNF & AirVenture where IA's charged a flat $100 (for SKYbeacon) as I recall, including programming & paperwork. A local tech near me (who normally charges $65 per hour) has charged just that ($65) on a couple of straightforward installs that only involved basic remove nav light/install TAILbeacon & paperwork. I've read somewhere recently that another shop was quoting "5 hours" for installation and paperwork, but I'd think that's higher than the highest. That probably helps you little, if any...but if it's just 3 screws out, wire hook-up, and 3 screws in it's hard to imagine it being a "major" cost, even with adding time for log entry & "simple" 337. ...best case may be having your IA supervise your own installation (?). As far as avionics shop involvement, you can expect the normal cost for the biennial TXP re-cert & hope that nothing needs tweaking to increase that cost. Mac

For SkyBeacons and then the tail beacon paperwork takes longer than the install. Unless..........you have a situation like recently encountered here (see Tech forum) where the Sky or Tail Beacon doesn't install readily with a simple replacement of the nav light with the "beacon". In which case all bets are off. 5% of the installs have run into mounting problems due to variations of wing tip mounting or rudder bracketry.


If your shop is 1-2 people, the costs will be lower due to less paperwork. For a shop like ours which is a 145 repair station then steps are added which take time.
1. open work order
2. catalog in work (airplane, owner, N number etc)
3. Bring aircraft into hangar. (not always)
4. Install (usually the smallest portion of the job)
5. Test unit
6. Paperwork.
A. 337
B. Log entry
C. work order
D. Invoice.
E. Notify customer

For us, figure two hours labor. (at your going rate)

Thanks guys I got bill yesterday with everything $535 I think that’s fair for what was done . Install log and test with transponder cert at my hanger. Thanks again

Thanks for the update, Rick -- good that you could have it all done right at your hangar. ...sure seems to be great service and reasonable price.
Mac

Just received my tail beacon. It appears easy enough to install, configure, test, and then do the paperwork.

Any pitfalls I should be aware of?

What numbers did you use for:

Lateral from roll axis?

Longitudinal aft from nose?

Thanks,

Sam

I looked at my paperwork it doesn’t list the information you are looking for. Sorry I cannot help

The measurements are in meters, because it's the FAA and why wouldn't they do that. Lateral from roll axis is zero, because it's mounted on the centerline. For aft from the nose I used 6 meters (about 19 1/2 ft). Actual is about 21 ft, but you have to use 1 meter increments.

Thanks for explanation lateral is 0 longitudinal is 8 on my paperwork

The offset fields and such swill pre-fill in the app based on N-# and Hex code association. I only changed the stall speed to a lower value to prevent inadvertent transitions to Ground mode.

Pitfall for me: the existing wiring shield was stuck inside the rudder and it wouldn't come out of the light housing enough to splice. It took a bit of work to get it to cooperate. Then the housing wasn't entirely flat, so the rubber gasket didn't seat perfectly. A tiny bit of clear silicone fixed that issue.

Work was performed by me and supervised by an IA and 337 form submitted. Minimal cost for his time.