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squall line

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 12, 2003
Posts
62
I've been looking for a nice compact flashlight for my flight kit. I'm looking one approx equal tor a 2) D-cell LED. I've seen the surefire brand, but they are a bit spendy. Any others out there that you might suggest? I would also like something that can use rechargable batteries.

THANKS

SL
 
First issue: a "2 D-cell LED." Since LED's are so efficient, there are few, if any, D-cell LED's due to unneccesary size/weight. You can have enormous burn-times with 2,3, or 4 AA-size batts at a much smaller size/weight. Large D-cell Maglights are basically for cops to beat people over the head with at a traffic stop (when the cameras are not rolling.)

Second issue: Shelf-life of rechargeables. Even the newer NiMH, compared to the miserable NiCD, have awful shelf-life. Charge it up, put it in your flight bag, and 2 months later they're dead.

Best to use alkaline or lithium batteries so that, the day you have a total electrical failure, your batteries kick ass.

Try: brightguy.com for an awesome selection of the latest flashlights. Let me know what you find, and feel free to PM me.
 
I got a small aluminum one from Wal-Mart that uses 3 AAA batts and an LED...came with a blue and red filter, very bright, about 4 inches long, 1 inch diameter, and I think I paid $13.00 or so.
 
I just got the Gerber LX 3.0 from REI for $49.95. 3 volt (watt?) LED is extremely bright. It even has a warning sticker that you could damage your eyes if you look at it. I think the battery life is 50 hours on 3 AA's. Supposedly lights up objects 150 feet away. It seems more than adequate for preflighting aircraft of any size.
 
Do you airlines require a 2C or 2D flashlight? That seems dumb today when you can get an LED with AA that is brighter than the old mag lights.
 
Streamlite.com there are several there that are as bright as 40,000 candle power and they are rechargeable.
 
The basic weakness of ALL flashlights is... the battery is certainly going to be low or dead the only time you need it.
Someone gave me a flashlight, 6" long/1.5"wide with its own internal electrical generator. Now it is not a NighttimeSun-lamp but you do not need or even want a lot of light in an emergency night time cockpit situation. Anyway, you give it a couple of shakes and it powers up a capacitor and bleeds the electricity into the bulb. Certainly there are components that can fail in this thing, but it is going to have a lot better chance of helping you than something with batteries.
 
Something to think about on the "no batteries needed" flashlights is that some (if not all) do use batteries. When you generate power (shake, crank, whatever) you are transfering electricity to the batteries (charging if you will) which in turn power the bulb for a while. If there were no storage for the power, once you stopped cranking the flashlight, the light would go out. BTW, these batteries eventually need to be replaced as they wear out just like any other battery.
 
GravityHater said:
The basic weakness of ALL flashlights is... the battery is certainly going to be low or dead the only time you need it.
Someone gave me a flashlight, 6" long/1.5"wide with its own internal electrical generator. Now it is not a NighttimeSun-lamp but you do not need or even want a lot of light in an emergency night time cockpit situation. Anyway, you give it a couple of shakes and it powers up a capacitor and bleeds the electricity into the bulb. Certainly there are components that can fail in this thing, but it is going to have a lot better chance of helping you than something with batteries.
Click to expand...

One night Viper548 and I went for a flight with one of those self charging/rare earth magnet/super cap flashlights. We soon came to the conclusion that that thing had no place being in the cockpit of an airplane. We noticed that we were having some funky heading issues and we soon learned that we could hold a course on the GPS and totally jack up the whiskey compass by passing that flashlight around the cabin, even around the rear seats in a four place twin. Leave those things in the trunk of your car.

FlySacto
 
Benhuntn said:
Streamlite.com there are several there that are as bright as 40,000 candle power and they are rechargeable.
Click to expand...

Get yourself a Streamlight Strion. 12,000 CP, bright white light, and rechargeable. Also, you can keep it out of the cradle for months and it'll still work fine.
 
HoursHore said:
I use a Brinkman From Walmart. Its a surefire Knockoff with the Lithium BAtts. Very Bright.

http://www.brinkmann.net/Shop/Detail.aspx?category=Flashlights+%26+Spotlights&subcategory=Flashlights&sku=820-1025-0&seriesname=Lithium-Xenon&seriessku=FLA-2000-4&id=138
Click to expand...

Instead of using WalMart and all the socio politcal baggage that comes with is...check out these great Costco deals...

http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?Ne=4000000&N=4000389&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=1612&whse=BC&topnav=
 
HoursHore said:
I use a Brinkman From Walmart. Its a surefire Knockoff with the Lithium BAtts. Very Bright.

http://www.brinkmann.net/Shop/Detail.aspx?category=Flashlights+%26+Spotlights&subcategory=Flashlights&sku=820-1025-0&seriesname=Lithium-Xenon&seriessku=FLA-2000-4&id=138
Click to expand...

I use this same light. About $17 from either walmart or target. It's brighter than a 3-D cell maglight, and fits easily in your overcoat pocket or flightbag. I've dropped it, ran over it with a tug by accident, and used it in extreme weather conditions (as cold as -40C).

The only downside is that it uses lithium camera batteries that are expensive to replace, but they last a long time...
 
Handsdown, the INOVA T2 flashlight. About the size of a mini maglite. It is like having a light sabre. I don't even bother with the deice light as the flash light is much better. Comes with a red lens that flips up/down. However, it is expensive and takes some weird size battery. This is the one you might have seen that they were giving away if you purchased a Bose headset.
 
I got the inova T2 for free when i bought my bose. I originally thought becuase of the small size, there was no way that this thing could do anything. I was DEAD WRONG! This thing is awesome. It shoots like a batlight in the dark. I can read charts at night without loosing my night vision too. It also came with like a red flip on/off cover so that if i wanted to further maintain my night vision, i cuold use it. It's awesome! Good price too. Awesome battery life. I think it's a 5 hour regulated battery life.
 
Lear Wanna Be said:
Handsdown, the INOVA T2 flashlight. About the size of a mini maglite. It is like having a light sabre. I don't even bother with the deice light as the flash light is much better. Comes with a red lens that flips up/down. However, it is expensive and takes some weird size battery. This is the one you might have seen that they were giving away if you purchased a Bose headset.
Click to expand...

Wierd size battery? It's only a CR123 size battery. All of your more higher end lights are going to use those since that battery packs a big punch in a small package. You can get them online for like $1 each which comes out cheaper than certain alkalines. Plus they've got a 10 year shelf life. You really can't go wrong. Go online to places like batterystation.com or surefire.com or anywhere else like that and get like $10 worth. It will last you a while and they'll never go bad.
 
Flashlight idea

squall line said:
Any others out there that you might suggest?SL
Click to expand...

I carry one that doubles as a defensive weapon in the event things go bad when I'm in the back.

The plastic-case units don't have enough mass to be effective in striking someone and rendering them dead or unconcious. IMO, the 3 cell Maglite works very well. It can be safely modified with a strap so that if used as a weapon it will remain secured to the user. It also has a bright halogen bulb for when being used as a light.

I stick with the heavier disposable batteries as the lighter rechargable units reduce the overall mass of the flashlight, but that's just personal preference. In the event I use it to strike someone I like it to be slightly heavier.

Times have changed. Think dual-use.
 
I have a big maglite too. Keep it in the back pocket of the seat. That way I comply with the reg to have a "D" cell battery or equivelant light (or whatever it is). The best use I find for the maglite is knocking of the ice when I land. I am sure it would do just as well knocking someone out. For light, I use INOVA T2 as stated above.
 
Don't go too expensive. Remember, the probability of losing the flashlight increase in direct proportion to its expense.
 
ultrarunner said:
I carry one that doubles as a defensive weapon in the event things go bad when I'm in the back.

The plastic-case units don't have enough mass to be effective in striking someone and rendering them dead or unconcious. IMO, the 3 cell Maglite works very well. It can be safely modified with a strap so that if used as a weapon it will remain secured to the user. It also has a bright halogen bulb for when being used as a light.

I stick with the heavier disposable batteries as the lighter rechargable units reduce the overall mass of the flashlight, but that's just personal preference. In the event I use it to strike someone I like it to be slightly heavier.

Times have changed. Think dual-use.
Click to expand...

Just whatever you do with that, be very careful. You dont want to get sued.
 
I picked up a Streamlight Scorpion at Bass Pro for about 30 bucks. It is super compact & light, takes up next to no space in the flight bag, and very bright. It was also too good to be true because the company's FOM states we must have a C or D cell flashlight...so I picked up a 2-C Maglight for its (relative) lightness & compact size and the Scorpion has been relegated to car/defense duty.
 
semperfido said:
best flashlights in the world

http://www.streamlight.com/
Click to expand...

I have one of their stingers. Great flashlight, basically indestructable, very bright. Little on the pricy side though. Just do us mechs a favor and don't use it on your walkaround, you might see something ;)

Oh yeah, put it on the charger once in a while.
 
Annie said:
Any thoughts about the Aviator from Surefire?
Click to expand...

Yeh, it's the best flashlight known to man kind..

It's so bright, it like has a sound that you can hear when you turn it on.. Sorta like Luke or Yoda's sabers..
 

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