Re: Headlight for night flying

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, David Gunter > said:
>I am starting night flight training in a couple of weeks and will
>evaluate this, but wanted to point it out in case anyone else is using
>this or is looking for something similar. The cost was $12 and included
>the 3 batteries.

I use a Penguin LED light that attaches to the ear cup of my headset. For
night IFR, it's good for lighting up the panel, since the built in lights
on the panel suck rocks. It was considerably more expensive than that,
though, but at least I don't have a strap around my head to interfere with
the headset, foggles, or hat.


--
Paul Tomblin >, not speaking for anybody
Can I LART an aol'r for attempting to subscribe to a majordomo list
with their street address, or should I wait for a second offence?
-- Allan Stojanovic

[Maule Driver]

I use a Ray-o-vac head light for my night flying. It has become my primary
light despite some gooseneck lamps (red & white) that I have mounted.

The Rayvac has an elastic strap around the head and across the top. Seems
like it might be obtrusive. Just the opposite - I can slip my headset or
hat or whatever over it as needed. It has double red LEDs, a single 'warm
white' LED with a good size reflector, and a single "blue-white" LED that is
very bright to the eye. I find myself setting the switch between the red
and the warm white. It's gotten to the point where I don't trust my vision
with reds and I rely on the warm white for map work. The bright one is
great for walk arounds.

Only problem is making sure I take it off after landing. I look like a
Trekkie with one of those things on.

One secret to successful night lighting is to have backup lights and backups
for your backups. And batteries for all. No bulbs though. I keep a
selection of batteries (ANR, flashlights, Palmtop) in a hard glass case. .
Easy to find by feel, secure closure, etc.

"David Gunter" > wrote in message
...
> I was at Target the other day and spotted a nifty new head-mounted
> flashlight that seems like it'll be perfect for night flights. It has
> two very bright white LEDs and one sort-of-bright red LED. The switch
> allows for toggling between the two. It's powered by 3 AAA batteries
> with a claim of 50 hours total time. The casing will tilt up to 90
> degrees for better aiming.
>
> I am starting night flight training in a couple of weeks and will
> evaluate this, but wanted to point it out in case anyone else is using
> this or is looking for something similar. The cost was $12 and included
> the 3 batteries.
>
> Energizer "LED Essentials" is the name, and I've found a pretty thorough
> review of it here:
> http://flashlightreviews1.home.att.net/reviews/energizer_ledessentials.htm
>
>
> Cheers,
> david
> SAF
> --
> Replace spam with david in the email address if you want to send email
> to me personally.
>

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, (Paul Tomblin) said:
>I use a Penguin LED light that attaches to the ear cup of my headset. For
^^^^^^^
Pelican, of course. Sorry.


--
Paul Tomblin >, not speaking for anybody
If you drink Real beer, you become horizontal... so, if you
drink Imaginary beer, you become vertical...
-- Thorfinn

[Michael]

David Gunter > wrote
> I was at Target the other day and spotted a nifty new head-mounted
> flashlight that seems like it'll be perfect for night flights.

Around here, we call them 'dorklights.' Just put one on, look in the
mirror, and you'll see why. I own one, and use it for night flying
all the time.

Michael

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, said:
>On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 17:39:10 +0000 (UTC), (Paul
>Tomblin) wrote:
>>In a previous article, (Paul Tomblin) said:
>>>I use a Penguin LED light that attaches to the ear cup of my headset. For
>> ^^^^^^^
>>Pelican, of course. Sorry.
>
>The Penguin attaches to the cummerbund of your tuxedo.

Or to the "Linux Inside" sticker on my computers.


--
Paul Tomblin >, not speaking for anybody
We're the technical experts. We were hired so that management could
ignore our recommendations and tell us how to do our jobs.
-- Mike Andrews

[Don Tuite]

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 17:39:10 +0000 (UTC), (Paul
Tomblin) wrote:

>In a previous article, (Paul Tomblin) said:
>>I use a Penguin LED light that attaches to the ear cup of my headset. For
> ^^^^^^^
>Pelican, of course. Sorry.

The Penguin attaches to the cummerbund of your tuxedo.

Don

[G.R. Patterson III]

David Gunter wrote:
>
> I was at Target the other day and spotted a nifty new head-mounted
> flashlight that seems like it'll be perfect for night flights. It has
> two very bright white LEDs and one sort-of-bright red LED.

Well, try the red one, but I think you'll find that you really want dim
lighting for night flying.

George Patterson
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that cannot
be learned any other way. Samuel Clemens

[G.R. Patterson III]

David Gunter wrote:
>
> For those who attach a light to the side of your headsets: Do you feel
> it pulls one side off the ear or feels off balanced?

Mine doesn't. I also have the Blackhawk.

George Patterson
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that cannot
be learned any other way. Samuel Clemens

[Cub Driver]

>Only problem is making sure I take it off after landing. I look like a
>Trekkie with one of those things on.

Tell people you got used to night-vision goggles in Iraq :)

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

[Thomas Borchert]

David,

> Do you feel
> it pulls one side off the ear or feels off balanced?
>

Not at all. Oh, FWIW, the Blackhawk makes green light, nicer than red,
IMHO. It's a tad too bright with fresh batteries, but good for panel
flood lighting in rentals, where lights normally don't work.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Bob Gardner]

Penguins don't fly, pelicans do.

Bob Gardner

"Paul Tomblin" > wrote in message
...
> In a previous article, (Paul Tomblin) said:
> >I use a Penguin LED light that attaches to the ear cup of my headset.
For
> ^^^^^^^
> Pelican, of course. Sorry.
>
>
> --
> Paul Tomblin >, not speaking for anybody
> If you drink Real beer, you become horizontal... so, if you
> drink Imaginary beer, you become vertical...
> -- Thorfinn

[Bob Gardner]

Green is in, red is on the way out.

Bob Gardner

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> David Gunter wrote:
> >
> > I was at Target the other day and spotted a nifty new head-mounted
> > flashlight that seems like it'll be perfect for night flights. It has
> > two very bright white LEDs and one sort-of-bright red LED.
>
> Well, try the red one, but I think you'll find that you really want dim
> lighting for night flying.
>
> George Patterson
> A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that cannot
> be learned any other way. Samuel
Clemens

[Robert A. Barker]

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> David Gunter wrote:
> >
> > For those who attach a light to the side of your headsets: Do you feel
> > it pulls one side off the ear or feels off balanced?
>
> Mine doesn't. I also have the Blackhawk.

Mine doesn't and I also have a Blackhawk

Bob Barker N8749S>

[Roger Halstead]

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 23:07:27 -0400, "G.R. Patterson III"
> wrote:

>
>
>David Gunter wrote:
>>
>> For those who attach a light to the side of your headsets: Do you feel
>> it pulls one side off the ear or feels off balanced?
>
>Mine doesn't. I also have the Blackhawk.

The one I have is so light you can attach it to the headset, or the
bill of a cap and not even feel the weight.

Roger Halstead (K8RI EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
www.rogerhalstead.com
N833R World's oldest Debonair? (S# CD-2)
>
>George Patterson
> A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that cannot
> be learned any other way. Samuel Clemens

[G.R. Patterson III]

Bob Gardner wrote:
>
> Green is in, red is on the way out.

I agree, but, given a choice between "very bright white" and "sort-of-bright
red", I'll take the red.

George Patterson
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that cannot
be learned any other way. Samuel Clemens

[Gary Drescher]

"Ron Natalie" > wrote in message >...
> "David Gunter" > wrote in message ...
> > I was at Target the other day and spotted a nifty new head-mounted
> > flashlight that seems like it'll be perfect for night flights. It has
> > two very bright white LEDs and one sort-of-bright red LED. The switch
> > allows for toggling between the two. It's powered by 3 AAA batteries
> > with a claim of 50 hours total time. The casing will tilt up to 90
> > degrees for better aiming.
>
> You don't want even sort-of-bright for night flying.

I just got a Sharper Image clip-on LED flashlight ($15, uses 3 AAAs).
I haven't taken it flying yet, but testing it in a dark room (clipped
to my headset), it's too bright. When I cover it with a piece of
white paper, though, it seems perfect. I haven't tried green paper
yet.

--Gary

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, David Gunter > said:
>For those who attach a light to the side of your headsets: Do you feel
>it pulls one side off the ear or feels off balanced? Given how light
>these are I doubt it, but just want to check.

No, but then again the microphone boom only attaches to one side too, and
it doesn't unbalance your headset.


--
Paul Tomblin >, not speaking for anybody
"The thing you don't check is the thing that will kill you."
-- Rick Grant (quoting RCAF pilot training)

[ijustfly]

On Sat, 13 Sep 2003 17:22:33 GMT, "Bob Gardner" >
wrote:

>Green is in, red is on the way out.
>
>Bob Gardner
>
I found this information to be a bit 'enlightening' regarding what
color is best for night vision.
http://members.cox.net/rigelsys/why_red.html
--
....but then WDIK... ijustfly

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, "Bob Gardner" > said:
>Green is in, red is on the way out.

I thought it was "red right returning"? :-)


--
Paul Tomblin >, not speaking for anybody
There are two ways to write error-free programs. Only the third one works.

[TripFarmer]

I bought something like that and put velcro on the side of it and then velcro
on the side of my headset. Works great! Use the red only, though.

Trip


In article >, says...
>
>It's something I'll keep in mind. I'll make at least one trip with this
>light just to see how I like it. It does fit under an ordinary baseball
>cap and it _seems_ unobtrusive.
>
>For those who attach a light to the side of your headsets: Do you feel
>it pulls one side off the ear or feels off balanced? Given how light
>these are I doubt it, but just want to check.
>
>Thomas Borchert wrote:
>
>> David,
>>
>> I agree with Paul, get something that attaches to the headset you're
>> wearing anyway. I have the Blackhawk, but that was before LED.
>>
>
>--
>Replace spam with david in the email address if you want to send email
>to me personally.
>

[Richard Graves]

I don't know, if you got a big enough sling-shot....

;-)

-Richard

"Bob Gardner" > wrote in message
news:YlI8b.432706$YN5.292219@sccrnsc01...
> Penguins don't fly, pelicans do.
>
> Bob Gardner

[Kevin McCue]

I got a "Photon" at the local battery store. Single red LED lithium
battery. Locks in on position. Battery life is 5 days. Size of a quarter
about 3/16" thick. weight is negliable Single dot of velcro and put on ear
cup of headset.

--
Kevin McCue
KRYN
'47 Luscombe 8E
Rans S-17 (for sale)

[Aloft]

I did this too, but with a Photon III (w/blue-green LED), which has three
brightness settings. I keep it on the dimmest setting for in-cockpit use,
but can momentarily get full brightness by pressing the forward half of the
on/off button. It's light enough that I leave it velcroed to my headset all
the time.


"Kevin McCue" > wrote in message
...
> I got a "Photon" at the local battery store. Single red LED lithium
> battery. Locks in on position. Battery life is 5 days. Size of a quarter
> about 3/16" thick. weight is negliable Single dot of velcro and put on ear
> cup of headset.