what flashlight for airline pilot.....?

[portezbie]

fenix l2d-ce, or if you want something cheaper the rommisen rc-n3

 

[LukeA]

A2 aviator/Kroma.

Way to read the post, dude.

 

[cv3po]

Alot of folks must not have read the OP, A2's and CR123's abound

Anyhoo, I agree with the Fenix L2D CE https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_69_71&products_id=195

along with the red filter available for $6 https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_38&products_id=338

You're looking at about 75-80 shipped and the light will fill every need and last a long time! Good luck!

EDIT: sorry, I didn't mean to say Q5, the link is for the original P4 cree version

 

[jzmtl]

Any of the aa fenix with red filter is good, like some other posts said. Although personally I'd get a cheap older version with P4 cree, not Q5, since you want low brightness.

Photon proton pro is good too, I'm not sure which Sydney are you in but if it's the one in north, you can get it for $50 shipped.

 

[Gunner12]

A Fenix L1T/L2T V2.o or L1D/L2D-CE(Q5 if you want) with red filter might do. 8% off coupon at Fenix Store is "CPF8".

The Photon Pro is also a good choice along with the Nitecore and Jetbeam IBS, but programming might be confusing(for the Jetbeam and maybe the Nitecore).

Two lights might also work. One small one for low and another larger one for higher output. Maybe both on the same attachment ring.

 

[Wattnot]

Do it with TWO lights.

Right off the bat you killed the most obvious choice (the A2). But you could always go to Sportsman's Warehouse or REI and get him a Photon Freedom in red or green or yellow, whatever, for 10 bucks. You could even use white because it has a "dim up" feature from nothing that shouldn't kill night vision (unless you screw up and it comes on full !). It's the size of a quarter and will clip to his keychain. That will take care of his low light needs.

That would free you up to follow the many fine suggestions above and below this post for other lights. Don't knock yourself out trying to get it all in one light if you're not going to go for the A2. Your choices are going to be limited especially with your battery requirement.

BTW, some Sportsman's Warehouses still have A2's left for $97. I sold my white version and bought a red version a few weeks ago.

So for a non-flashahoic pilot who's NOT getting an A2, go for the photon freedom in red or green and the Fenix L2T or L2D. Be sure to set him up with some nimh batteries and charger (Eneloops would be my first choice). In a pinch, alkalines will work too. You should be able to get the Photon, Fenix, Eneloops and charger all for under 80 bucks.

:wave:

 

[Zeige]

If you can get over the AA thing, and just purchase batteries in advance. The Novatac 85P is $99.00. I would think its close to your budget w/shipping. Perfect light imho.

 

[FliGuyRyan]

Get him the Fenix L1D light with the L2D body tube and then get him the red filter adaptor.

And then recommend him buying quite a few Energizer Lithium AA's...

 

[oldblazer]

I think you really need to consider two lights.

If your brother flies into places like Goroka, Port Moresby, or the Outback where there are absolutely no CR123s readily available, a AA-powered light should handle duties for preflight checks, including being able to shine a decent amount of useful light three stories up to the tip of the 737 tail. There are plenty of good lights out there in the 3-watt range; check out all the advice in this thread alone, but at the very least the light should have adequate heat sinking so that the LED not get too hot and become dim with continual use.

I have several 1-watt and 3-watt LED torches and have found that most LEDs (even the good "throwers") will not provide the same amount of light as an incandescent torch, but that is another story. Our aircraft are mostly single-engine Cessna types where even a 1-watt light is adequate for a pre-dawn preflight, but the incans really shine (pun intended) when peering inside the cowling during the day.

In addition to a preflight torch I believe you should consider a keychain light for reading checklists and charts. While both CASA and Boeing designed cockpit lighting into their equipment, in the real world lamps do burn out and electrical systems go mad at the worst possible time. A keychain light such as a Photon, Inova, or those sold by County Comm are very handy tools. These lights come with single 5mm LEDs which are great for providing enough light to see inside the cockpit without losing night vision, and the LEDs draw little power allowing the tiny batteries to last a long time. One of our pilots lost the interior lights one night and was able to safely complete the flight by holding a Photon microlight in his teeth in order to see the instrument panel. Another of our pilots always clips a Photon to the headliner (and turns it on for the entire duration of the flight) as a backup when flying at night.

Less than 2 weeks ago I bought 10 of the County Comm SO-LED clip-on lights and 4 each of the red and blue Simple Pocket Lights. I haven't dunked them in water, I haven't thrown them against the wall, I haven't given them to a 5-year old or stepped on them, but the one I carry on a keychain in my pocket has worked great for lighting the walkway to my garden shed or for lighting the lock on my car door so I can find the key slot. The SO-LED are only available in white at this time, but the clip is easily transferable to any other color of Pocket Light. The price is reeeeaaaalllly hard to beat at $1 USD per Pocket Light and $1.50 USD per SO-LED.

 

[Brigadier]

And that runs on AA's and fits in the OP's budget?

Just cuz the OP wants something that doesn't exist.......... :candle:

 

[L.E.D.]

+1 for the Proton Pro.

 

[enLIGHTenment]

The flashlight must be low enough to able him to read flight precheck lists and maps but also bright enough for airplane body precheck for night flight.

You're not going to find a single light that can do both jobs well.

Depending on the model of 737 your brother flies, the tip of the fin will be between 11.1 and 12.6 meters above the ground. A light with enough power and a narrow enough beam to illuminate the top of the fin for preflight will be far too powerful to use inside the cockpit.

Multi-level lights won't help much as most of them cycle through all brightness levels at turn-on or turn-off. A low low enough to read charts or plates at night isn't useful if the user is forced to cycle through a night-vision destroying full power mode whenever the light is turned on or off. Even a multimode light that allows the use of low without cycling through high would suffer from beam distribution problems as a narrow enough beam for exterior preflight use would be to narrow for close range reading while a beam wide enough for reading would be too wide for exterior preflight use.

Using red light for reading charts is a very bad idea as red (or close to red) printing will be unreadable. If the charts in your area use red printing for things that are important--for instance minimum safe altitudes or the boundaries of controlled air space--then reading charts in red light is unsafe.


You'll need to get two lights to fit your requirements, or reduce your requirements and get a light that's good for either map reading or exterior preflight. A bright light for exterior preflight would probably be more useful in the long run as most aircraft should have interior map lights for reading charts.

If you want to get a map reading light, however, then look for a high quality 5mm LED cluster light such as:

http://www.peakledsolutions.net/Products/Fujiyama_HA_3LED.html
http://www.peakledsolutions.net/Products/Matterhorn_HA_3LED.html
http://www.photonlight.com/Proton-AA-Handheld-LED-Flashlights-Headlamps-p/pr-aa-led-flashlight.htm

I'm not sure what to suggest for an AA powered exterior preflight light. Useful illumination of a target 12m away viewed at a shallow angle in the presence of ambient airport lighting requires both high power and a fairly large reflector. The current crop of AA powered lights have plenty of power but generally use small reflectors. You might have to go to the CR123A formfactor to get something with a large enough reflector.

 

[momonbubu]

thanks for the input everyone.
My bro has used the obvious (non-flashholic) minim@g incan for reading maps and charts in the past 10 years. I think he is comfortable with that brightness level.
Im agree that my brother might need two different torchs for different jobs, and i will consider all the possibility.
But i do like the photonlight for the night reading and maybe little thrower for usual preflight bodycheck. Maybe jetbeam jet 1 pro?



Giandi

 

[Fooboy]

You really need to get a CR123 light. AA batteries suck. Just buy him a 12 pack of good CR123s - it will probably last him a long time.

Couple minutes on high doing pre-flight, and then very long stretches on super low setting (<1 lumen). Thats not going to put a dent in a CR123 light.

I agree that Novatac 85P would be ideal here.

 

[Marduke]

You really need to get a CR123 light. AA batteries suck.

How so? A L92 packs more energy than a CR123, has 50% longer shelf life, and can be bought locally for a fraction of the price. A NiMH packs more power than a RCR123. There are no restrictions on most AA chemistries, and no matter what small part of the world you are in you will ALWAYS be able to find more AA's if you need them.

 

[Stereodude]

My bro has used the obvious (non-flashholic) minim@g incan for reading maps and charts in the past 10 years. I think he is comfortable with that brightness level.

A 2AA minimag is in the 5 lumen range on fresh cells. The previously suggested Olight T25 has a low level of 6 lumen, so that might be low enough for your brother. The light doesn't start on the lowest level though. It starts on the last level used, which could cause problems if he doesn't cycle back to low mode after using it outside on the plane.

 

[Buckeye]

On low the L1D CE and L2D CE, P4, are rated at 9 lumens. The Q5 versions on low are 12 lumens. The difference is noticeable when you compare them side-by-side. I have the L2D RB100 which is also 12 lumens on low. I would recommend the textured reflector if he is going to use the light to read up close. The Cree dark ring is noticeable up close on the smooth reflector. Hope this helps.

 

[Brigadier]

If you can get over the AA thing, and just purchase batteries in advance. The Novatac 85P is $99.00. I would think its close to your budget w/shipping. Perfect light imho.

+1

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

The SureFire A2 Aviator is the best choice hands down.

 

[cdosrun]

If you do go down the route of having two lights for the different purposes, what about the Zebralight for map reading/cockpit duty? They do a AA version, it has a nice floody beam for reading maps and it could be clipped to something or used as a headtorch where required. 45$ US shipped for the P4 version.

The ultimate output and throw would let it down for use outside the plane though.

Andrew