There are a couple of LED flashlights I got at Harbor Freight tools, nine bucks or so, last forever, aluminum...and work as well as my expensive flashlights. I've carried them often on flights.
My main light is a small twelve dollar headlight from Walmart. Energizer makes it, I believe. It has a single red LED and two white ones, and is more than bright enough in the cockpit or for preflight. I keep a bunch of them in my bags and my toolbox, and they're wonderful for working places where you need your hands free...like the cockpit.
Fifty hours on a three triple A batteries, and they're cheap. The head swivels down, they're comfortable with a foam backing (don't get jet A on it...it leaves a square black tattoo on your forhead for the next six months, every time you wear it. Trust me). If you're flying something you're fueling yourself, the sealed LED is wonderful to put on your forehead and shine down into the filler hole. They're great for poking your head into gear wells, working under the panel, or any place that you really need two hands, and want the light going where your head goes. I keep a couple in the car for emergencies at night, and use them regularly when stopping to help stranded motorists.
No snazzy name brand recognition, no glamor, but they work, they're affordable, and you can keep a passle of them handy all over the place for when they're needed most.
My main light is a small twelve dollar headlight from Walmart. Energizer makes it, I believe. It has a single red LED and two white ones, and is more than bright enough in the cockpit or for preflight. I keep a bunch of them in my bags and my toolbox, and they're wonderful for working places where you need your hands free...like the cockpit.
Fifty hours on a three triple A batteries, and they're cheap. The head swivels down, they're comfortable with a foam backing (don't get jet A on it...it leaves a square black tattoo on your forhead for the next six months, every time you wear it. Trust me). If you're flying something you're fueling yourself, the sealed LED is wonderful to put on your forehead and shine down into the filler hole. They're great for poking your head into gear wells, working under the panel, or any place that you really need two hands, and want the light going where your head goes. I keep a couple in the car for emergencies at night, and use them regularly when stopping to help stranded motorists.
No snazzy name brand recognition, no glamor, but they work, they're affordable, and you can keep a passle of them handy all over the place for when they're needed most.
