My Aviatrix has arrived!

[MacTech]

It's been a miserable day here in southern coastal Maine, we've got a storm system saturating us with non-stop rain, *everything* is soggy, it's a dreary, gray day, the kind of day that makes you want to stay indoors and sleep all day.....

which is what i was doing anyway (note to self, stop "experimenting" with your Sims DNA, it keeps you up well into the wee hours of the morning.....)

Anyway, I recieved a totally unexpected package this afternoon, yes, that's right, my Aviatrix (AC, i thought i asked you to ship it to my work address rather than home....ahh no worries, it worked out better this way anyway)

So, i wasted no time in opening the package and swapping the stock SF ring for the Aviatrix, bolted the A2 back together and fired it up......

If you have an A2 without the Aviatrix, stop reading this review right now, go and order one from Atomic Chicken, and then come back to finish reading, if you're going to be buying an A2, go order an Aviatrix, *then* go buy your A2, do it now, right away, you can thank me later....

I purchased the standard Red/White 2-stage Aviatrix ring, it illuminated in High mode for the first power-up, the first thing i noticed was how white the white LED's are, much cleaner, purer white than the stock overdriven Nichias, not a hint of Angry Blue to be found, on "high", there is a noticeable red spot in the middle of the flood, it's not horribly bright, but it is noticeable, it does tend to slightly wash out blue objects though, it also changes the shape of the flood to a more oblong shape

the single red Low LED is actually throwier than i expected, it throws a tight square image of the die with a fainter red ring surrounding it, the square spot is quite smooth, and it's very similar in size to the square spotbeam thrown by my L1 Lumamax, in fact, it's the *same* size, the Aviatrix Low is obviously lower than the L1 Low, especially given that it's red, i'd say that it appears about half as visually bright as the L1 on low

when the incan beam is used with just the low red, the incan beam actually appears slightly *whiter* than when the high red/white is running, it's probably psychosomatic, but when the stock LED ring is used, or the high red/white mode is on on the Aviatrix, the incan beam appears to take on a slightly cooler tint, perhaps due to the bluish tint of the white LED's

it seems that when running the Aviatrix in Low, the red frequencies produced aren't powerful enough to affect the color balance of the incan bulb, wheras the white LEDs are just powerful enough to add some of their tint to the mix

the "extra" modes (strobe, locator, SOS) are a fun addition to the mix, but easily ignored if you don't want them, on a two-stage Aviatrix, the low LED stays lit continuously, and the high LEDs perform the special effects

the Aviatrix is an incredible upgrade for the A2, and IMHO, should be a standard part of *EVERY* A2, quite simply, if you have an A2, you *NEED* an Aviatrix, period, stop, end of sentence

That said, there are some minor tweaks i'd like to see implemented in the next revision of Aviatrixes (Aviatrii?)

have the option to turn the low LED *off* when in High Beam LED, High would be the two main LED's low would be off

have a model that would permit independent selection of each LED, and have each LED a different color, for example, Red/White/Blue (perfect for the Fourth of July ), Red/Green/White, Red/Yellow-green/White, UV/White/Red, the possibilities are endless

for the UV LED's i'd like to see the possibility of some stronger UV frequencies (370-ish or below), maybe a 3 different frequency LED model with each LED selectable, great for forensics.....

so, to sum up, the Aviatrix is a great addition to an already great light, it brings the A2, which is almost perfect to begin with, even closer to perfection

Bravo, Atomic Chicken, the Aviatrix is a BRILLIANT (pun intended) piece of engineering that every A2 owner *should* own

9.5 out of 10, highly reccomended

 

[Well-Lit]

MacTech: Congratulations on your Aviatrix! I've had my all white for the past 3 days now and have completely ignored all of my other lights! Just having too much fun with it. Have you tried or are going to try running recharegables in it?

 

[TORCH_BOY]

Congrat's its a nice light

 

[George M]

Nice writeup MacTech, thanks. I'm going to order one as soon as I can decide between red/white and white/white. Did you get the Red or Deep Red? Since I don't know how bright an L1 on low is, in your opinion is the red Aviatrix beam bright enough to read by with dark adapted vision?

 

[ScooterBug]

i can't wait for mine to get here. nice write up, BTW.

 

[MacTech]

Nice writeup MacTech, thanks. I'm going to order one as soon as I can decide between red/white and white/white. Did you get the Red or Deep Red? Since I don't know how bright an L1 on low is, in your opinion is the red Aviatrix beam bright enough to read by with dark adapted vision?

I got whatever the standard red is, and yes, with dark adapted eyes, it is possible to read by the light of the low red LED, whether in ceiling bounce mode or directly shining on the book

an L1 on low puts out 1.1 lumens, enough for navigation without too badly affecting your dark adaptation (using an F04 Beamshaper diffuser makes the L1's throwy beam far more useful indoors), the red low LED is about half as bright (visually) as the L1's 1.1 lumen low

hmm, wonder how long the runtime would be for the low red LED, the stock white LED ring is good for about 20 hours, and roughly speaking, red LEDs are about 8 times as efficient as a white LED, in theory the red LED should net a runtime of 160 hours, easily outperforming the L1's 90 hour low runtime....

 

[Minjin]

I gotta admit that I chuckle at the idea of the Aviatrix. Time and time again, people like js and AC have championed the intuitive and simple UI of the A2. They put down the multi-click UIs and say that they are too complicated and cumbersome. And now they've gone and added in that complicated UI and made the end result twice as complex as either system. :laughing:

(and yes I own an A2 and am considering buying an Aviatrix)

 

[Atomic_Chicken]

Greetings!

MacTech - thanks for the great review!

I gotta admit that I chuckle at the idea of the Aviatrix. Time and time again, people like js and AC have championed the intuitive and simple UI of the A2. They put down the multi-click UIs and say that they are too complicated and cumbersome. And now they've gone and added in that complicated UI and made the end result twice as complex as either system. :laughing:
(and yes I own an A2 and am considering buying an Aviatrix)

Minjin - first off, I need to take exception to the statement that I've put down the multi-click UIs, I don't recall ever doing such a thing... although I am of the opinion that simpler is better when it comes to flashlight controls.

Second, I need to clarify something with regard to the Aviatrix UI - it was designed to be just as simple to use as a stock A2, and operate almost identically. During normal operation, you just turn on the LEDs or LEDs+Incandescent just like a stock Aviator. to switch "modes", you give it a quick (< 1 Sec.) click - then after that it STAYS in that mode and operates just like a stock A2, remembering which mode it is in even if you change batteries. I've tried so far as possible to make the Aviatrix as transparent to the end-user as possible - without using all sorts of fancy button press sequences, etc. I've even made the special flashing modes hard to get into - so you won't even encounter them during normal flashlight operation. Basically, for 99%+ of Aviatrix use, you just turn on the flashlight like normal, or press harder to add the bright incandescent beam.

Best wishes,
Bawko

 

[batman]

it's still an easier tool to operate than an AK-47.

 

[Atomic_Chicken]

Greetings!

it's still an easier tool to operate than an AK-47.

I'm not so sure about that... I've owned three AK-47 copies (2 Egyptian Maadi variants and a Yugoslavian AKM) and found them to be UTTERLY simple to operate - probably easier to run than most modern flashlights!

Best wishes,
Bawko

 

[George M]

I've owned three AK-47 copies (2 Egyptian Maadi variants and a Yugoslavian AKM) and found them to be UTTERLY simple to operate

LOL, point & click interface?

 

[js]

I gotta admit that I chuckle at the idea of the Aviatrix. Time and time again, people like js and AC have championed the intuitive and simple UI of the A2. They put down the multi-click UIs and say that they are too complicated and cumbersome. And now they've gone and added in that complicated UI and made the end result twice as complex as either system. :laughing:

(and yes I own an A2 and am considering buying an Aviatrix)

Minjin,

I too, take exception to this statement. I never "put down" multi-click UI's (although I did put down the SL TT-2L switching). I was thrilled about the Arc4 way back when it was only an idea, and wasn't even called the "Arc4". This was back when I first joined. I enjoyed playing with Mr. Bulk's Li-ion heart back when Bill Waites lent it to me for a while. I don't have anything *bad* to say about uC UI's.

I do however, have something GOOD to say about the stock A2 switching. People can read my A2 thread to hear more about it, but essentially, I love the instant access to two levels of light.

That's still my position, in fact. And it's why, as I type this right now, I have one of Atomic_Chicken's LED-only rings in my A2. And it's why in my my own Aviatrix review I put an equal emphasis on the LED-only rings that Bawko sells--an emphasis not warranted by Bawko's own threads and advertising and preferences.

I'm pretty much nothing if not consistent, Minjin. You should know that, I think. Are you mad at me or something? You didn't respond to my explanation of why the A2 incan beam needs to be oval for best throw, either--a question you asked.

But, just because *I'm* not a huge fan of uC click interfaces doesn't mean everyone isn't. Most people ARE in fact.

Hence my high praise of the Aviatrix rings.

And if you think about it, if you buy a standard all white aviatrix ring, all that uC stuff is just a small extra on top of the normal switching that I love so much. So you're in the 1 LED mode? So what? Not so much different than the 3 LED mode. And it's something you can give attention to if and when it matters, but not need to give attention to when it doesn't.

Plus, ALL of the Aviatrices support Li-ion rechargeable 123's unless you specifically have Bawko configure your ring for primary 123's only.

For me, that's one of the biggest pluses to this whole thing. That and the ability to try out different color A2's without having to buy or borrow or trade around a bunch of different A2's. Now all you need to do is buy the LED-only rings you are interested in from Bawko. Or, if you perfer uC controlled stuff and more options, get the standard Aviatrix ring.

And, as I indicated in my review, the Aviatrix is pretty good at staying in the mode you want it in, so almost all the time, it's transparent to the normal switching mode that I love so much.

Does this make sense to you, Minjin? Do you now understand where I am coming from?

 

[MacTech]

After my first night playing with the Aviatrix, i love it even more, the low red is absoluptely perfect for nighttime dark-adaptation, and the high white seems to be a nice clean white,, i can detect no angry blue when i cover up the red LED,, the white LEDs are just that, white

I'm already planning what my next Aviatrix orders (yes, orderS, plural) will be, and while i'm thinking, i'm also brainstorming ideas i'd like to see implemented on Aviatrix Rev. 2....

first, some form of quick-change system to allow rapid swapping of the LED rings would be nice...

maybe something as simple as a set of three posts that screw into the screw holes, basically guideposts, swapping a LED ring would be as simple as removing the head, the incan bulb, and inverting the head of the A2, allowing gravity to pull the ring out

maybe some thin Neodymium magnets with a corresponding spot on the LED ring, put a small pull-tab on the ring to allow removal

or maybe install a set of posts on the ring itself, posts that are thin enough to slip inside the screw holes, the ring itself would be self-guiding and self-aligning

second, as i've stated in my OP, it'd be nice to be able to have the low LED turn off when the high LEDs are running, so as not to add it's color cast to the high LEDs

thirdly, have all LED's flash in the special modes, not just the high

as far as the next Aviatrixes i'm thinking about, at least one of them would be a UV ring, it'd be nice if more powerful UV LED's were an option, maybe a 395Nm "low" driven at full power, and a pair of 370's also driven at full power, as far as a "normal" Aviatrix ring goes, i'm thinking along the lines of perhaps a 1Y/G-2WH, 1G/2WH, 1UV(100% drive)-2Wh, or if the next rev model allows each LED to be selected independently, maybe 1 MJLED Wh/YG/UV, or WH/RD/GN, and just for the fun of it, R/G/B

Hmm, maybe i should start putting some of my lesser used lights up on B/S/T so i can fund a few more A2 aquisitions.... CURSE YOU, BAWKO

 

[MacTech]

As promised, here are some beamshots of my Aviatrix in action....

first up, my standard hallway test, with one minor modification, i closed the first door, as the Aviatrix can't really throw all the way to the end of the hallway, with the door closed, distance to camera was approx. 15 feet

first, the baseline image with flash;

Low red;

High white/red;

bear in mind that these are time exposures, the actual brightness is about half what you see here

some pics down the staircase, 20 feet or so to the landing;

baseline;

Low red;

High white/red;

as before, these are time exposures, the actual brightness is about half what you see here....

 

[greenLED]

That's what I was looking for! Gimme beamshots!!
:kewlpics:

 

[Codeman]

Great beamshots! :thumbsup:

Is your Aviatrix a standard, or primary only version?

 

[Bravo25]

Has anyone tried the green, and red combo on these?

 

[luigi]

The "low" red really seems to throw well, should be great for night navigation around the house do you agree?

I kindof like the pink hotspot of the white beamshot, curious but will probably work for me.

What happens with the incandescent on? Any red tint noticeable?

Luigi

 

[Lmtfi]

Good post and beamshots! I look forward to mine.

 

[fod]

Nice review...I purchased an A2 (green LEDs) shortly after AC announced the product, and I have been wavering on which colors to choose. How annoying do you find the red to read by? I want a GP camping light and the same combo you have makes a lot of sense.
but...
OTOH tho, I was pleasently surprised at the stock green LEDs and how easy on the eyes they are when reading, as well as the reasonable color rendition. The only problems are that 3 greens are too bright for reading and it does kill night vision, but not too badly...perhaps one green would work, or even the yellow-green with two whites, but would one green or y/g be bright enough to read by? :shrug: oh heck I don't know...

anyway, thanks for the review, friend...I need to make up my mind and get in line!