Nite flight flashlight fix

Jeanie

Jeanie

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Jeanie
Red fingernail polish on the lens of a normal flashlight makes it just right for night flight... And then if you need it normal again just apply polish removal gently and poof your flashlight is back.....
 
Jeanie said:
Red fingernail polish on the lens of a normal flashlight makes it just right for night flight... And then if you need it normal again just apply polish removal gently and poof your flashlight is back.....
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Not sure I could explain that red nail polish in the plane to the wife :goofy: Wally World sells Energizer head lamps that have "red" mode on them that seem to work great for the purpose, they're inexpensive also, I keep a stack of them in the plane.

http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-LED-Headlight-Bright-Lights/dp/B000BQOVLW
 
+1 on the energizer headlamp

I have 2 of them in my flight bag in case one goes INOP in flight

Matt
 
I have one too. Works great for lots of stuff.... But just modified a little handheld flashlight too so thought I'd share my silly but functional idea.
 
Assuming it's a glass lens. Some plastic lenses will get crazed/fogged by the acetone in nail polish remover.
 
I like to buy those little dime a dozen clip on led lights at Walgreens and clip them to a visor.......ill be sure to try the Polish..found red paint to be a bit much
 
I stopped using red lenses or lights years ago, green is the best color for night vision. Red will only cancel out red writing on charts or gauges.
 
I have numerous flashlights including some generator-style that need no batteries but also carry some chemical glow sticks that kids use at parties, you bend them til they snap, the ions flow and it makes a glow that lasts hours. Toss it on the back seat for gentle, indirect cockpit lighting. I tested some and they last several hours and have a shelf life of 5 years+.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I have numerous flashlights including some generator-style that need no batteries but also carry some chemical glow sticks that kids use at parties, you bend them til they snap, the ions flow and it makes a glow that lasts hours. Toss it on the back seat for gentle, indirect cockpit lighting. I tested some and they last several hours and have a shelf life of 5 years+.
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I keep a glow-stick in my flight bag. If all else fails, I have that. I usually see them at the checkout counter at Home Depot for a dollar or so.
 
Dean said:
I stopped using red lenses or lights years ago, green is the best color for night vision. Red will only cancel out red writing on charts or gauges.
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Plus, red plays heck with NVGs. I've seen studies that subdued white or green light is actually better than red for reading charts and gauges at night. Does anybody even put red lighting in cockpits anymore.
 
I also carry two headlamps with white and red LEDs. One has a two-LED and four-LED mode in white, and two-LED mode in red. Works great. Lights up whatever I turn my head and look at.

Besides the headlamps there's two flashlights in the bag. They rarely come out anymore other than for regular checkups of their batteries.

One comment. Avoid headlamps that utilize coin cell batteries or anything non-standard. Save yourself the headache and make sure they use at least AAA sized batteries or preferrably AA since most of us carry other items that use AA. I carry a few extra batteries in the bag also, nothing more annoying than having devices that don't all use the same batteries.

Right now my headlamps use AAA as does my flight timer. The flashlights use AA. I'd like to make it an all-one-type of battery cockpit. One less set of spare batteries to carry.

In a pinch, the iPad throws a considerable amount of light on full brightness. It could also double as a backup light source when fully charged prior to departure.
 
You guys worried about night vision are a hoot -- especially those of you over 40.

:rofl:

Do you stay in an unlighted area for 30 minutes before taking off to acclimate? Do you have any backlit gauges?

The only time you really need night vision is landing on an unlit runway after total electric failure. The rest of our GA night flying is with backlit panel, a flashlight, landing lights, and ground and star/ moonlight.

So don't worry so much about red lens/ green lens unless you're flying night ops for SF team inserts.
 
I was wandering if anybody besides me saw the humor in this thread besides me. The only red lights in my plane are the ones I do not want to see on the annunciator panel. Thanks Dan!!
 
dmccormack said:
You guys worried about night vision are a hoot -- especially those of you over 40.

:rofl:

Do you stay in an unlighted area for 30 minutes before taking off to acclimate? Do you have any backlit gauges?

The only time you really need night vision is landing on an unlit runway after total electric failure. The rest of our GA night flying is with backlit panel, a flashlight, landing lights, and ground and star/ moonlight.

So don't worry so much about red lens/ green lens unless you're flying night ops for SF team inserts.
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^^^^^^^ This.

I just use a regular, white LED flashlight these days. My night vision sucks anyway.
 
ronnieh said:
I was wandering if anybody besides me saw the humor in this thread besides me. The only red lights in my plane are the ones I do not want to see on the annunciator panel. Thanks Dan!!
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My old Cherokee has an overhead light that beams is beautiful red rays at the panel. The first time I took it up at night I kinda leaned forward a little to look around and blocked the light from making it to the panel. If that bulb burns out, I'll be able to see my EGT and my Clock (The only two instruments that are backlit)
 
bartmc said:
My old Cherokee has an overhead light that beams is beautiful red rays at the panel. The first time I took it up at night I kinda leaned forward a little to look around and blocked the light from making it to the panel. If that bulb burns out, I'll be able to see my EGT and my Clock (The only two instruments that are backlit)
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So spend eleven bucks and get one of these:

tjgear_9918_122309_39616.jpg
 
AIM 8-1-6, in part: "Since red light severely distorts colors, especially on aeronautical charts, and can cause serious difficulty in focusing the eyes inside the aircraft, its use is advisable only where optimum outside vision capability is necessary. Even so, white cockpit lighting must be available when needed for map and instrument reading, especially under IFR conditions."

I find that green light works just fine without distorting chart colors.

Bob Gardner
 
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