Batteries

[AdamZ]

I have been considering getting a new miners style headlamp flashlight for my flight bag. I currently have one ( I acutally have a few flashlights in my bag but am considerging a new headlamp, one with LEDs.

A majority of the newer lights work on AAA batteries or sometimes specailty batteries. All of my other equipment,handheld GPS, Transciever, E6B, including other all my current flashlights use AA batteries. I am thinking that if I can keep all equipment using the same size battery It would be safer and easier than having equipment with differnt size batteries. If I have to pop the batteries out of my ANR headsets to put in a flashlight I can if they are both AA.

What are your thoughts. Do you take this into consideration in buying equipment?

 

[Iceman]

I think it is a great idea to use a headlamp for aviation. I do a lot of backpacking and have found under normal usage the batteries last ~10 hours giving off a strong beam and another 50-80 hours giving off ok light. It depends on how much night flying you do but you might be able to replace the batteries once a year and be all set...especially if you have backup flashlights (you need larger ones to be legal anyways). I have two Petzl Tikka headlamps and one Princeton Tec Aurora and they all work great.

 

[fgcason]

I wouldn't worry about the battery type issue in this case. As long as you keep good batteries in the LED headlamp, you should be good to go. Changing them out should be a non issue as long as you keep good batteries in it.

I have a headlamp that uses 3 AAA's. It has three light settings: 1 led, 3 led's, regular bulb. LED's are the white high intensity version. One LED mode is more than adequate for flying if the plane's lights go out. Three LED's will blast your night vision. I typically use rechargeable AAA's in it and recharge them about once every 3-6 months depending on how much I use it.

As for redundancy and having to replace the headlamp batteries, I conducted an experiment when I got mine (YMMV): Freshly charged rechargeable batteries then deliberately left it running in 1 led mode. THREE (3) days later I gave up on it dying on me. I quit before it did. It wasn't as bright as it was on day one but it was more than useable in a dark environment. That was good enough in my book.

IMO:
LED lights are near indestructable (bulb changes are non issues - ever try to change a typical maglight bulb at night in the dark?)
As long as you keep a good set of batteries in the headlamp and use LED's instead of incandescent bulbs, the plane's fuel supply has absolutely no chance at all of outlasting the headlamp. It's just not going to happen.
Zero hassle hands free is a good thing.

I personally prefer headlamps that have the third strap over the top of my head. It'll fit over or under my DC headset hardware and will not move around or wrap itself under my nose during a 2g turn.

Out of habit I also keep a small 1 AAA maglight on a lanyard around my neck under my shirt so it doesn't bust me in the nose in turbulence.
My normal AA maglight has a headband that holds the light on the side of my head (it'll go over the headset with very good results)

 

[poadeleted3]

Everything in my flight bag except for my electronic E6B uses AAs, for much the same reason. All I have to do is reach into the pocket that holds the batteries and grap a couple if I need to change them out. I don't have to fiddle around with different battery types, or bother looking at them. I don't care about the electronic E6B, because I don't use it in flight.