$14,500 flashlight

Oh the irony of camouflaging a searchlight...

So much for the people complaining about laser lights shining in the cabin. How would you like that one blasting you in the face on short final? Forget a bright speckly light, that will take paint off the wings.
 
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fgcason said:
Oh the irony of camouflaging a searchlight...

So much for the people complaining about laser lights shining in the cabin. How would you like that one blasting you in the face on short final? Forget a bright speckly light, that will take paint off the wings.
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Camo makes sense... when being towed to its destination during the day in unfriendly territory, its less likely to have a bomb dropped on it.
 
Boy could I cause trouble at home with that thing. But, I don't think it would fit in my driveway. There, I just saved $14,500. :D
 
Interesting. The web page said that the searchlight originally cost $125,000. That's over twice what a P-51 went for....wonder if the web page is an order of magnitude or so off.

Ron Wanttaja
 
MachFly said:
I want one
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Yea, so do I. I will mount it on the front of my motorhome as the primary headlight and to heck with crazies on the road. If they don't want to be blinded and have their windshield melted they can stay off the road.
 
nddons said:
Daddy likey:

http://www.armyjeeps.net/search/1942_carbon_arc_searchlight.htm

OK, so it's 800 million candlepower, but it might help me find my tent at AirVenture!
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There used to be a lot of surplus searchlights around - used whenever someone wanted to attract the public to an event. I doubt that there are many remaining in operating condition after nearly 70 years - thus the price on this one.

Years ago I knew a guy who had an old airway rotating beacon in his front yard. It definitely got the neighbors attention when he demonstrated it for us.

Dave
 
cessna182b said:
Years ago I knew a guy who had an old airway rotating beacon in his front yard. It definitely got the neighbors attention when he demonstrated it for us.

Dave
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Not to mention the attention when a lost pilot came buzzing by. :yikes:
 
I was all set to bid on that (I need a tool to mount on my truck for all those #&!@ drivers who do not understand that high beams are a touch blinding to oncoming vehicles).

However, I found this other military-surplus auction for an Illumination Tool no longer being used in their aircraft - I think it will provide much better satisfaction once placed in use:
 

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When I was a kid in the 50s every movie theater had one to announce the new releases. Ditto for car lots, war surplus stores, etc. There was a regular business of renting the searchlights and crew out.

Paul
N1431A
N83803
2AZ1
 
Anybody know the diameter? On our (WW II Vintage) ship in the Navy we had two carbon-arc 36" searchlights that took so much power the Electrician's Mates had to hold the circuit breakers in while they were in use. Bright? Yessir!

Generally speaking we didn't use them. We did a lot of medium range (up to about 10 miles) communications using smaller, incandescent-lamp signal lights. Yes, Morse Code flashing light.

Close range (refuelling) the signal men yakked between ships using semaphore with their hands, not flags.

-Skip
 
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