DD flashlight at night rule?

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

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Dave Taylor
I figure with the proliferation of much better torches these days, that rule has probably been long rescinded but I haven’t gone digging.
 
DD flashlight or equivalent.

I have not carried a DD flashlight for years, even when flying pt 135.
 
Still there for 135/121/91F. “Or the equivalent” provides enough leeway that it’ll probably never change, although nobody seems to know what “the equivalent” is.
 
Zeldman said:
DD flashlight or equivalent.

I have not carried a DD flashlight for years, even when flying pt 135.
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It only applies to large aircraft anyway, being under subpart F. For the little bugsmashers most of us fly, I think a AAA flashlight is acceptable.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Still there for 135/121/91F. “Or the equivalent” provides enough leeway that it’ll probably never change, although nobody seems to know what “the equivalent” is.
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You are right, it still says DD. Or equivalent. For Pt91.

I’m going to have up my ramp-arguing game in case it happens, “My tiny, Li-batt LED is 10x brighter, lasts 3x longer than your DD - is that equivalent enough for ya?”
 
Hay, while we are looking at that section I see it refers to needing to carry Let-Down charts.
I have not heard that term in decades, and a quick search fails to show it in FAA documents I looked at.
Anyone seen it lately, or does that need a re-write too?
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
You are right, it still says DD. Or equivalent. For Pt91.

I’m going to have up my ramp-arguing game in case it happens, “My tiny, Li-batt LED is 10x brighter, lasts 3x longer than your DD - is that equivalent enough for ya?”
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If you’re in an airplane that requires two D cells or the equivalent, your company will probably dictate what you have.
 
Most of us are carrying phones in our pockets that have a built-in LED flashlight too.
 
The rule at my former place of employment was it had t be bright enough to illuminate all of the surfaces of the airframe. The top of the rudder was 70 feet up.
 
The two D cell flashlights aren’t necessarily weak. While the reg was written during incandescent days, I bought a DD cell LED for work. As bright as any flashlights at home.
 
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Let'sgoflying! said:
You are right, it still says DD. Or equivalent. For Pt91.

I’m going to have up my ramp-arguing game in case it happens, “My tiny, Li-batt LED is 10x brighter, lasts 3x longer than your DD - is that equivalent enough for ya?”
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Not Part 91. Part 91, Subpart F. Are you flying a Subpart F aircraft?

“large airplanes of U.S. registry, turbojet-powered multiengine civil airplanes of U.S. registry, and fractional ownership program aircraft of U.S. registry that are operating under subpart K of this part in operations not involving common carriage…”​
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Hay, while we are looking at that section I see it refers to needing to carry Let-Down charts.
I have not heard that term in decades, and a quick search fails to show it in FAA documents I looked at.
Anyone seen it lately, or does that need a re-write too?
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Try the word "letdown" without the word chart. You'll find about a half dozen references in the FAR. It's dated, but it's really just a general term referring to the process of descending from the enroute structure to the runway. 91.175(a) now says:

Unless otherwise authorized by the FAA, when it is necessary to use an instrument approach to a civil airport...​

but until 2007, it said:

Unless otherwise authorized by the Administrator, when an instrument letdown to a civil airport...​

The FAA actually said it was "replacing the term 'instrument letdown' with the term 'instrument approach' because “letdown” is outdated terminology."

They didn't catch everything and it still appears (somewhat redundantly) in the Subpart F (and other regulated aircraft) requirement to have aeronautical charts, a requirement which doesn't appear in plain vanilla Part 91.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Still there for 135/121/91F. “Or the equivalent” provides enough leeway that it’ll probably never change, although nobody seems to know what “the equivalent” is.
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Yes, in .503, which applies to large and multi engine turbojets.
 
DD seems to be an anachronism from the days of conventional bulbs that generate more heat than light. Or for people who need a flashlight that can serve double duty as a non-edged melee weapon. With LED bulbs you can get the same amount of light in a compact flashlight having smaller batteries. And the bulbs are more durable.
 
MRC01 said:
DD seems to be an anachronism from the days of conventional bulbs that generate more heat than light. Or for people who need a flashlight that can serve double duty as a non-edged melee weapon. With LED bulbs you can get the same amount of light in a compact flashlight having smaller batteries. And the bulbs are more durable.
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Gotta have a way to control the copilot in airplanes without a crash axe.
 
MRC01 said:
DD seems to be an anachronism from the days of conventional bulbs that generate more heat than light. Or for people who need a flashlight that can serve double duty as a non-edged melee weapon.
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That's the problem with modern electronics. They've gotten so small and so light that they can no longer double as bludgeons!
 
Oh man, the DD Maglite… I still have one from my 135 check hauling days! It‘s only 32-ish years old, still works fine. Currently taking up space in a closet; anyone want it for cost of shipping? :p

For my current B737 gig, a small rechargeable LuxPro LED from Lowe’s works just fine.
 
MRC01 said:
DD seems to be an anachronism from the days of conventional bulbs that generate more heat than light. Or for people who need a flashlight that can serve double duty as a non-edged melee weapon. With LED bulbs you can get the same amount of light in a compact flashlight having smaller batteries. And the bulbs are more durable.
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We couldn’t expect the FAA to specify light output, throw distance or any other values that have been used to rate flashlights for the past 20 years. They probably still think that Ray-O-Vac is the leading manufacturer of flashlights.
 
FORANE said:
DD is overrated.
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I dunno - depends on the frame. ;)

I've found that larger flashlights get too much attention from airport security folks overseas, so I'm back to a small but bright LED model.
 
2-Bit Speed said:
That's the problem with modern electronics. They've gotten so small and so light that they can no longer double as bludgeons!
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Well, true, but modern flashlight tech can now come with copilot ready stun guns...

www.thehomesecuritysuperstore.com

Stun Gun Flashlight & Self-Defense Flashlight | The Home Security Superstore

A stun gun flashlight allows for protection and peace of mind. Order the self-defense flashlight; it's the best stun gun flashlight on the market. Same-Day Shipping!
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PSZAPLE_1-4.jpg


Or stay defiant and old school with the 7D Maglite truncheon and exceed the regs.

found-this-maglite-in-my-grandfathers-garage-overkill-much-v0-grv70jb3t7ab1.jpg
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
now all you have to worry about is that 2 lb projectile flying about in a crash.
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Just over a pound and it’s sits in a cargo net behind the pilots seat. If it becomes a projectile, then I’ve become a projectile. Unfortunately, until a CC letter comes out on what’s the “equivalent” it’s required equipment at night.
 
I was checking out in a new variant at FSI/KPBI back around the turn of the century. The first thing that caught my eye when I stepped in the sim was flashlights latched in charging brackets between the pedals. Each seat had its light. About the size of a CC. Was told that it was "equivalent."
 
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MauleSkinner said:
Still there for 135/121/91F. “Or the equivalent” provides enough leeway that it’ll probably never change, although nobody seems to know what “the equivalent” is.
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I would guess that "or equivalent" would mean similar or better brightness and battery life.
 
ateamer said:
We couldn’t expect the FAA to specify light output, throw distance or any other values that have been used to rate flashlights for the past 20 years. They probably still think that Ray-O-Vac is the leading manufacturer of flashlights.
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My guess is that they don't think about it at all.
 
kayoh190 said:
I dunno - depends on the frame. ;)

I've found that larger flashlights get too much attention from airport security folks overseas, so I'm back to a small but bright LED model.
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What's their problem with large flashlights? Too much like a weapon?
 
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