On a Mooney the factory fitting on the later models was to have strobes on the end of the wings which (surprise! surprise!) flash. They're each visible through 180 degrees from directly in front of the aircraft to pretty much directly behind.
In addition, the recognition lights are very near the end of each wing. These don't flash, they're a steady beam which shines forward only. They're intended to make the aircraft seem more noticeable from in front - eg to an aircraft waiting to line up when you're on finals.
If you really want to light up like a christmas tree, you can also turn on the landing lights and/or the taxiing lights, both of which are half way along each wing.
Mooneys are very well thought out pilot's aircraft and the lights are just one example of this. The interior lights are just as well designed too. In addition to a light in the baggage compartment, the pilot and each passenger has a reading light with dim and bright settings. The pilot has an additional switch to centrally extinguish all the passenger lights. Like most other aircraft, the panel and the internal instrument lights are on separate dimmer switches.
When night flying, one of the nicest features is that there's a separate light on a dimmer switch embedded in the bottom of the yoke, which makes map reading and plog keeping much easier without ruining your night vision and without having to mess about with a torch on a string round your neck. All of this means the only loose battery-powered light you need are your emergency backup ones as everything else is catered for.
Last edited by Wrong Stuff; 21st September 2006 at 17:13.