Possibly, but as your system only dims one small bulb, this may have too large a wattage to be affective.
REVISED POST:The bulb is equivalent to a GE #94, which draws 13w of power. The original rheostat (from what I can determine) was rated at only 12.5w of power, which is probably why it failed. When on, it was often operating at slightly more than full rating, causing overheating and damage. Cessna may have chosen this size for two reasons... small enough to fit in a small space, and cost (savings add up on various small items over an entire production run)! It will likely last for years, even at full capacity plus, but not indefinitely. IMHO, the ideal replacement rheostat would fit the allotted space, and be rated at 15w. A 25w rheostat may not be affective until at least halfway "off", or even nearly off.
Rheostats are by definition "wire wound" and dissipate unused power as heat, like electric heaters. Potentiometers are smaller and use a layer of carbon on a circuit board to create resistance, but are not well suited to higher power circuits (these are commonly used in electronic circuits, not lighting circuits, and wattages may be RMS values vs. a purely resistive load, as found with rheostats). I mention this as when you search for rheostats, potentiometers will be offered as equivalent (not often true).
