Cigarette lighter in airplane

Cherokee_Cruiser

Cherokee_Cruiser

Bronteroc
......... or the lack thereof.

Which leads to my question, what if you have a gadget that you want to plug in that is powered via an aircraft cigarette lighter receptacle, but the airplane itself does not have this receptacle. Is there some sort of adapter that can accept it and provide power via batteries?
 
My 210 doesn't have a cigarette lighter. It's a nuisance. I just make sure everything has a full charge before I go and bring the chargers with me if I'm staying somewhere. Aftermarket plugs are STC'd and can be installed but it's best to do it at annual since a lot of the interior needs to come out.
 
I've considered one of those solar-charging mats for supplemental power if necessary. Haven't tried one, but in theory, laying on the dash of the airplane it should get some decent light. You can also buy battery packs with multiple charging ends so you can re-charge/power a variety of different devices. They don't take up a lot of space and work nicely in a pinch.
 
In our Metros we had power ports the company installed that accepted this somewhat unique plug that provided 24V out. We used it to run GPS's most of the time, but it occasionally got split to do other stuff.

I've also heard of 'adapters' made from a modified post light housing that runs to a USB cord if you like to play with fire.

We've been adding these into planes to provide a power outlet for our guys...pretty simple hookup that just gives you a direct out to the plug. There's also a much more convoluted and maintenance intensive system that gives 14V out:

9mpyL4P.jpg
 
milleR said:
My 210 doesn't have a cigarette lighter. It's a nuisance. I just make sure everything has a full charge before I go and bring the chargers with me if I'm staying somewhere. Aftermarket plugs are STC'd and can be installed but it's best to do it at annual since a lot of the interior needs to come out.
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Your 210 shouldn't need an STCd one, just order the parts and install per the Cessna drawings.
 
Derg said:
That's what I'm wondering.
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I'm seeing an uptick in this. More pilots are buying portable ADS-B receivers for better SA in rentals or clubs where they fly several airplanes. Considering this myself.
 
I told killbilly about this, but for other folks looking to power various devices, if your stuff uses USB MidContinent Instruments makes a neat little block with 2 USB ports in it that we use that works great. Requires an A&P install and maybe a 337 depending on your FAA fiefdoms interpretation of the rules. They also started making a really cool combination digital clock and two USB port device that drops right into a standard clock hole in older GA aircraft.
https://www.mcico.com/assets/products/ProductFliers/Flier_MD93 Digital Clock USB Charger.pdf
 
Roger Roger said:
I told killbilly about this, but for other folks looking to power various devices, if your stuff uses USB MidContinent Instruments makes a neat little block with 2 USB ports in it that we use that works great. Requires an A&P install and maybe a 337 depending on your FAA fiefdoms interpretation of the rules. They also started making a really cool combination digital clock and two USB port device that drops right into a standard clock hole in older GA aircraft.
https://www.mcico.com/assets/products/ProductFliers/Flier_MD93 Digital Clock USB Charger.pdf
Click to expand...

That's a slick little clock - I like that. Gonna tell the guy who runs the school about that one.

Two of the 3 172s I've been doing IR training in have analog clocks. I'm less of a fan of those than I realized. One of the others has a clock function built into the transponder box which is actually pretty cool/nice. But, yeah, it would be nice to have some USB power in the cockpit. You can power/charge so many different devices these days with it.
 
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