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Flashlight for night flight poll

Which flashlight you like to fly with at night?

  • Smith&Wesson Galaxy 13 LED (10 white, 3 red)

    Votes: 4 14.3%

  • Smith&Wesson 6 LED (3 white, 3 red)

    Votes: 4 14.3%

  • Other, please post your choice

    Votes: 20 71.4%
  • Total voters
    28
  • Poll closed .
W

Waterobert

Active Member
In a week or two I will do my first night flight! I am about to buy a flashlight and need so advice. It seems that Smith&Wesson galaxy 13 LED (10 white, 3 red) flashlight is one off the most popular choice ,however many pilots like 6 LED (3 white , 3 red) from the same manufacturer. Sometimes more light is not always better. What are your's opinions and recommendations? Thanks !
 
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Flashlights

Two I like: Coast LED Lenser 689180, 5 wh 1Red, small and efficient. Slightly larger and less expensive the CoastG35. S&W Ok but seem bulky and overpriced? Also like one of the many headlamps with red and white LED's. Will watch with interest to find one even better! Thanks.
 
Rigel Systems Skylite

I use a Rigel Systems Skylite. It's not optimal but it works. Adjustable brightness for both white and red light. Silly thing uses a 9V battery though. Seems like a niche that is ripe for a new product - Dimming red/ white flashlight in a reasonable form factor.

I also use a Coast headlamp that has red and white light - but does not dim.
 
I keep two cheap Harbor Freight LED flashlights (one flat one with bout 24 LEDs and one round with 9 or so) for preflights and other stuff.

For in the cockpit i have a relatively inexpensive head mounted lamp with white, green, and red LEDs that I got at Spruce or Sporty's (neither of them carry the same model anymore but have comparable ones). The head lamp is great--it goes on under my headset and i can turn it on any time i need it. The panel lighting in my Warrior kind of stinks, so the head lamp get used quite a bit.

I think flashlights are very useful but i could never justify spending a whole lot on them. The best little light I have is a small mag-lite LED penlight that doubles as a standing lamp when the lens bezel is removed, but i don't use it in the plane. It is just to bright to be useful in the cockpit.
 
None of the above

First off I don't fly much at night and have good aircraft lighting plus glass panel. So my thought is to go light and simple enough to have two, kept in the cockpit at all times for those rare times as needed. As the sun sets in flight I get them out and check the battery condition. Only one AA runs each for a long time, they put out more than enough white light. The red light saves night blindness is an old wife's tale.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0006...flashlight&dpPl=1&dpID=31W8GA64WTL&ref=plSrch
Now for camping, walking the dog, intruders, dark preflight inspections I go with surefire 6PX
If you want my 10 white 3 red Smith & Wesson, I will sell it half price free shipping but one red never has lite. Just try though to pull my cold fingers off my FNH!

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When I was still actively flying in the AF Reserve (KC-10 boom operator), I was required to carry a flashlight for night flights. I have an older Inova X3 that fits perfectly into the shroud cutter pocket on the left leg of the standard USGI flight suit, but it was too bright to use in the jet at most times. I used it for post-flight walkarounds if we landed with a problem, or if we suspected a birdstrike and the whole crew was searching for the impact, more than anything else.

I also kept a red Inova Microlight clipped to the main zipper pull on my flight suit, and a white Microlight clipped to my dogtag chain. I used these far more than any other light - I've replaced at least 5 sets of batteries in them over 9 years of flying. I don't think I ever had a night flight when I didn't use the red one at least a few times... and for about a year, nearly all my flying was at night.

EDIT: I'm not affiliated with Inova, just a satisfied user.
 
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My kids gave me a nice Black Diamond headlamp for Christmas a while back. I don't know the model name/number, but it's really nice. It has a high intensity white spot light, lower intensity white flood, and a single red LED. You can hold the button down to adjust the brightness of any of them, and the light pivots up and down so you can aim it where you want it. It costs a few bucks more than the cheap ones, but it sure is nice.

I've got a Mini Mag 2-AA with a Nite Ize white LED that I use a lot too, just not in the cockpit.
 
I have a 4-LED red light wired in to a dimmer on the panel.

For backup I have a Princeton Tech 3 white + 1 red headlamp. Two different intensities; Low intensity red is plenty enough for flying. Runs for about 36 hours on 3 x AAA lithium batteries.

I figure if my fixed light is dead it probably means the rest of my electrical system is dead, including my radios. So I also carry an iCom IC-A24 with a headset adaptor so I can declare PAN and turn on pilot-activated runway lights.


- mark
 
Headlamp

I gave up on hand-held flashlights long ago - the headlamp goes where you're looking, and requires no hands. We are a household of cave explorers, and have almost no handhelds (other than buying a pack of cheapies from Home Depot for toolboxes once a year - where do they go?!?).

Prefer Petzl's with retracting cord headbands.
 
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For bright light situations I love the $10 Defiant LED headlamp from Home Depot or Lowes. Great battery life. I have 5-6 scattered around different locations. The 5 led model is plenty of light for most uses, but the 9 led model is the same cost.
 
At this latitude we get lots of night ops. I have a Mini-Mag Lite (2AA) in the seat back pocket - it has been retrofitted with the NiteEyz LED head and pushbutton tail switch. I have a headlamp on the headset hanger - it features 1 small incandescent bulb that never gets used, plus white and red LED's - I rarely use anything other than the white LED. I also have a NiteEyz LED conversion for a Mini-Mag in my flight bag, plus another incandescent Mini-Mag in my flight bag. I also have two small clip-on LR-44-powered LED lights clipped to the headliner. Attached to my Bose X headset is a Browning Ballistic 2AA swivel-head red flashlight. In my flight bag is a small Xenon strobe light powered by 3 AA cells - I've left this on the ground and have seen it from the air at a distance in excess of two miles at night, so it's a pretty decent rescue beacon.

Why so many lights, you ask? I once flew at night and ended up with absolutely zero working lights. The aircraft interior lighting failed. The flashlight in the seat back pocket lasted about five minutes before it died. The flashlight in my flight bag came apart as I fumbled to remove it from the flight bag and I never did find its end cap. Not a good experience. When it comes to night flight, I believe in a belt, suspenders, another belt, and then some more suspenders. It's no fun when things are totally dark. Fishing around for your handheld radio in your flight bag, is a pain when you can't even see your flight bag. Today's LED lights are so cheap there's absolutely no reason not to have several of them as a layered system of defense against having to operate in total darkness.
 
Hat lite

dwf6ol.jpg


Here's my perfect solution. The push button switch is in the bill. You can turn on 1, 2 or 3 lamps. The light is always pointed where you look and the batteries last a long time. Sorry, the hat was given to me and I don't know where it came from, but I had a similar hat made by Craftsman. John
 
Two or three years ago stumbled on the Coast PX20 in the Aviation Lighting aisle at HD. Five white, one red, uses 3 AAA batteries. First used it around the auto shop to augment drop lights. Became invaluable, bought about five more, one of which hangs from the cabin heat pull knob in the cockpit. I move it to my wrist for night flights, works great, easily fits in your mouth when you need both hands.

Wait, what? Um, yeah. Need to get new batteries for the headlamp. :rolleyes:
 
My favorite is the old boy scout/military style that has the 90 degree head on it because it is so easy to clamp it between your legs when you need a spare hand and it is big enough so you can find it if you drop it in the floor. Plus they look cool. I do not know if they make these in LED style.
 
I never fly, day or night, work or play, without a Ray 0 Vac penlight in my shirt pocket. LED bulb. Single AAA battery.
The problem with preflight flashlights is that they are way too overbearing in the cockpit. Too much light can be as frustrating as too little. The little penlight is perfect for checking a document, finding something dropped on the floor, looking into your flight bag, etc. It is absolutely essential for the sim.
It is also great for land based RVing, boating/sailing, etc. I buy them on sale for 10 for $20 and have one stashed in every vehicle and every bag and tool box.
I've rested one on the temple of my glasses and its small enough to even pop in your mouth if you have to.

I've been flash blinded a time or two when a co-star pulls out their latest tactical taliwhacker 2000 in the cockpit. Forehead lights are great for the hangar, but in a Boeing the other reindeer will laugh and call you names if you sport one of those.
 
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woxofswa said:
.... but in a Boeing the other reindeer will laugh and call you names if you sport one of those.
Click to expand...

That's funny....but then again, its hard to laugh with a flashlight in your mouth!;)

This is my latest little headlamp, a Petzl E+Lite. It's always in my pocket, has multiple brightness settings, red as well as white - and a retractable Kevlar (I think) string to use as a headband. The SD card next to it shows the size - one of the smaller items in my pocket. I use it almost every day for something or another.

Petzl - don't go under ground without one !
 
No flash light needed here, I can see in the dark. :)

Actually not so, my risk meter is too far in red to fly single engine at night. An engine out landing would be most dicey.
 
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