PC12 PLT IDENTIFIES SAFETY CONCERNS ABOUT NON-STANDARD PLT CTLED LIGHTING AT 74V.

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HAD DIFFICULTY TURNING ON PLT CTLED LIGHTING SYSTEM AT 74V. PASSED OVER MTU VOR AT APPROX 10000 FT MSL AND BEGAN ATTEMPTS TO TURN ON THE ARPT LIGHTS. AFTER APPROX 10 OR MORE ATTEMPTS USING SLOW CLICKS AND FAST CLICKS; THE LIGHTS CAME ON ABOUT 2 MILES FROM THE ARPT. THE LIGHTING SYSTEM IS NOTAM'D AS CDC 05/046 RWY LGTS PCL KEY 122.8 6 TIMES MED/7 TIMES OFF. I WAS AWARE OF THIS NOTAM BEFORE DEP AND THE CTR CTLR ADVISED ME OF IT. THERE IS NOTHING IN ANY PUBLICATIONS STATING THIS IS A NON STANDARD LIGHTING CTL. I HAVE BEEN FLYING TO 74V FOR THE PAST 7 YRS ALONG WITH 5 OTHER PLTS; AND WE ALL HAVE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES WITH THIS LIGHTING SYSTEM. I HAVE ALMOST HAD TO DIVERT TO A NEARBY ARPT ON A FEW OCCASIONS BECAUSE I COULDN'T ACTIVATE THE LIGHTING SYSTEM UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE. I BELIEVE THIS HAS ALSO HAPPENED TO OTHER PLTS. I HAVE ADDRESSED THESE CONCERNS WITH PERSONNEL AT THE UTAH DIVISION OF AERONAUTICS WHO REALIZE THERE ARE PROBS WITH THE LIGHTING SYSTEM AND IS WORKING TO RESOLVE THEM. THIS CAME AFTER I TRIED ONE NIGHT TO GET THE LIGHTS ON AND A VOICE CAME OVER THE UNICOM FREQ SAYING YOU HAVE TO CLICK 6 TIMES SLOWLY AND SOMETIMES 7 TIMES WORKS WHEN YOU ARE FAR AWAY. I HAVE ALSO CONTACTED CEDAR CITY FSS THE SAME TIME I WAS IN CONTACT WITH THE UTAH DIVISION OF AERONAUTICS. UNTIL A BETTER UPDATED SYSTEM IS INSTALLED; I FEEL THE CURRENT ONE IS A HAZARD. IT FOCUSES THE PLT'S ATTENTION ON TRYING TO GET THE LIGHTS ON WHILE FLYING LOW IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. IF THE WX HAPPENED TO BE DOWN; AND A PLT UNFAMILIAR WITH THE SYSTEM CLICKED MIC 6 TIMES INBOUND ON ONE OF THE INSTRUMENT APCHES; THAT PLT WOULD PROBABLY BE LOOKING AT A MISSED APCH BECAUSE THE LIGHTS NEVER CAME ON. FORTUNATELY; THE ARPT IS NOT USED OFTEN AND MOST OF THE NIGHT USERS ARE LOCAL OPERATORS THAT KNOW THE SYSTEM.