Headband headlamp

Matthew

Matthew

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Matthew
I might get one of those strap-on-your-head-flashlight-headlamp things for something other than flying, but wondered how many of you actually use one in the cockpit. Maybe I can double-dip with it.

Are they really practical with a headset? Red LEDs? Green LEDs? Any other thoughts?
 
I have one and have used it, maybe once or twice. They work under a headset. It's just a standard bulb though, not a LED.
 
I don't use mine in the cockpit but I use it allot iin maintenance.
 
I have three of these. One in the 150, one in the 172 and one in my flight bag:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003F88740

The 150 doesn't have any illumination, so it's a requirement. The 172 lights work great, but it's nice to have as a backup.

Granted, this isn't a strap light, but I always wear a ball cap when I'm flying. Added bonus, the clip works great in the headband of my headset when not wearing a hat. Sits off to the side, but still works great.

One annoyance is that while the red LEDs come on first, to shut the unit off, you have to pass through low white and bright white settings before you reach off. That kills your night vision unless you remember to close your eyes first.
 
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I was looking around yesterday at headband lights. PrincetonTec has several with a red light option.
 
I live much of my winter life wearing a headlamp. I prefer the PrincetonTec EOS but it doesn't have a red light option. I have a Petzl Tactical that does. Personally I don't like them in airplanes. I have Streamlight flex neck LED lights for that. Light what you want to light and allow yourself to look away. Can't do that with a headlamp. The Streamlight comes with a holder. http://www.amazon.com/Streamlight-6...sim_469_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=120CY6EXTNMJXSR681QY
 
For night flying I usually keep a couple small flashlights on a lanyard around my neck, and I have a small clip-on with a short gooseneck that I can attach to my kneeboard.

I do a couple of BBQ contests each year and the late-night cook duties are usually done by flashlight and lantern. I'm thinking of getting a headlamp to help out, but wondered about using it in a plane. The hat-clip kind are pretty cheap, but I don't usually wear a hat while flying, and not at night while cooking.
 
I have one by Petzl, use it every time I fly at night. My plane doesn't have good panel lighting though, just the Piper single red overhead light. Might be different if I had good panel lighting, but its still handy to wear and have at the ready just in case.
 
I have a Petzl MYO that I use to preflight the AH-64D as well as the Arrow. In the cockpit I use a lip light or finger light. I have a liplight on my IHADSS and my Bose A20s. I love them.
 
I have a Xtar H1, it's a bit heavy and awkward, but takes a single AA so I don't need to carry spare AAAs like I did for my old lamp. White and red LEDs. Also takes a Li-Ion 14500 battery instead of a normal AA for really really really bright light when needed(but normal Alkaline or NiMH AA work fine too, but without the brightest setting). Only problem is that it's a bit of a spot light so it has to be fairly well aimed.
 
I have a nice one with red, white (two levels), and a hunting blue (meant to find blood). Get an LED one, brighter and much easier on batteries. Can run it continuously for many hours.

Mine fits great; but try to put the straps over your ears so they don't get under the ear seals. Less noise that way.

I use it every single night flight. White is great for preflight inspections (but bright), red is VERY useful for in the cockpit. Even with the G1000 a lot of things are dark (fuel selector, autopilot panel, flap handle, circuit breakers, etc.) so it's very useful for a lot of things. I haven't pulled out my actual handheld flashlight in about 2 years (though keep it charged as a backup).
 
cgrab said:
I don't use mine in the cockpit but I use it allot iin maintenance.
Click to expand...

Me too. I use the Eveready headlamps.

energizer-advanced-7-led-headlight.jpg


Leaves your hands free and the light is always shining right where you're looking. A set of AAA's lasts me a week or more of average use. I seldom bother with worklights anymore.
 
About the only time I use mine is walking to and from the woods during hunting season. Fits well under my hat, should be ok with a headset.
 
I use the Petzl Tactikka - great little lamp with a flip up red filter that is nice because I don't have to cycle through the white LEDs to get to red. Changing between red and white is instant. I think there may be some on the market where you can go directly to red but I haven't really looked.

EDIT: It looks like Petzl changed the design of the TacTikka from a flippable red filter to an RGB setup. I haven't tried that but it isn't the same design as the ones I own and have used for probably 10 years. Not sure how I would like that.

In general, though, I love headlamps for cockpit use - and for any other task lighting where I want hands free. They make the most sense of any cockpit lighting solution, plus they're great when preflighting too - even in the day time when looking into dark areas in the cowl or at the gear wells, or checking the hydraulic fluid on my airplane.
 
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Matthew said:
I might get one of those strap-on-your-head-flashlight-headlamp things for something other than flying, but wondered how many of you actually use one in the cockpit. Maybe I can double-dip with it.

Are they really practical with a headset? Red LEDs? Green LEDs? Any other thoughts?
Click to expand...

Red LED, works great.
 
A headlamp is one of those devices that after you use it for the first time you then wonder how you ever got along without it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
jimmyjack said:
I have three of these. One in the 150, one in the 172 and one in my flight bag:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003F88740

The 150 doesn't have any illumination, so it's a requirement. The 172 lights work great, but it's nice to have as a backup.

Granted, this isn't a strap light, but I always wear a ball cap when I'm flying. Added bonus, the clip works great in the headband of my headset when not wearing a hat. Sits off to the side, but still works great.

One annoyance is that while the red LEDs come on first, to shut the unit off, you have to pass through low white and bright white settings before you reach off. That kills your night vision unless you remember to close your eyes first.
Click to expand...

I keep the strap light version of this that I picked up at Academy in my flight bag. I keep it nearby for night flying but have only used it once for real. It's been used for loading the airplane more often.

My biggest gripe is needing to cover it when cycling modes for on/off as the white modes really kill the night vision.
 
I've seen that a lot of the cheaper brands/models do cycle through red and white and for about $30+ you get more flexibility.
 
I've got a few that I bought at Home Depot. They are awesome for night time pre flights. I use them in the cockpit but don't wear the headband--instead I keep it loose and use it as a flashlight. For whatever reason, I don't like wearing it under my headset.
 
I found the type that clips onto the brim of a baseball cap in the Fly Market at Oshkosh. Four bright LEDs, you can turn one, two, or four on at once.

Four bucks ($4) apiece. I bought two, and use them all the time at the hotel, if I have to work under the buldings, or in an attic. They work great!
 
Matthew said:
I might get one of those strap-on-your-head-flashlight-headlamp things for something other than flying, but wondered how many of you actually use one in the cockpit. Maybe I can double-dip with it.

Are they really practical with a headset? Red LEDs? Green LEDs? Any other thoughts?
Click to expand...


They are golden!

I use the petzl with the red filter, it prevents you from accidentally flashing the whole place with zillion candle power white LEDs. It's something I keep in the plane just incase, they make a flashlight look useless for flying with no panel lights.
 
Sporty's has one that has two switches, one for white and one for red so that you do not have to cycle through white to get to red. I have it and I like it.
 
Dan Thomas said:
Me too. I use the Eveready headlamps.

energizer-advanced-7-led-headlight.jpg


Leaves your hands free and the light is always shining right where you're looking. A set of AAA's lasts me a week or more of average use. I seldom bother with worklights anymore.
Click to expand...

Good choice, moderately priced. Now if you're using one to mountain bike in the dark, there are better options, but for cockpit use or for training a light into the dark corner where you're working, the Eveready is great.
 
I found a headlamp at Walmart for under $15 that has dual switches for white/red. Works great.
 
Another vote for Petzl. Have one that auto adjusts the white light to not be blinding and also has a red LED. Keep a couple of cheapies that use AAA around in case the rechargeable Petzl conks out.
 
I always wear a cap when flying, so I went to Home Depot, bought some caps with 4 built in LEDs then swapped 2 of the White LEDs with Red LEDs, (from SuperBright) so I can click the switch from red only to white only and both. The batteries last for hours.
 
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I ended up getting this:

http://www.princetontec.com/quad-tactical

The advantage I see: the red filter (also comes with swap-out blue and green filters), slides up and down so there is no fiddling with button presses to switch between white and filtered (might be handy if I use it when flying). It's also waterproof down to 1m for 30 minutes. I'm not intending to swim with it, but I plan to use this for things other than flying, and it will get used pretty hard, sometimes in the rain, and sometimes with some pretty sloppy hands that will require it to be hosed down (BBQ at 3am is hard on gear). And it was $23 with free shipping on Amazon Prime.
 
Mine is a discontinued model but it works great. Has one intensity red, and high and low intensity white. LEDs. I use it in the cockpit, for backup while hiking, and for stargazing. In the cockpit after dark, I wouldn't be without it. Long ago I used a flashlight and will never go back willingly.
 
I got one - and it wasn't really practical in the cockpit. The buttons were hard to push and you have to cycle through the lights, so you're getting a flash of white. Didn't stay on my head well. All you really need it for is map reading and maybe to find the right switch once or twice.

I had the Energizer one with three colors, white, red and green. Of course you want green because magenta areas on the map disappear under red light and white is right out. Green worked well, but as a headlamp, it was cumbersome. I last used it at Oshkosh while walking back from the movie. Before that, it was several months earlier for looking into the car engine.

Now I use a mini-mag with a circle of green plastic inserted over the lens. It's actually far handier than the headlamp. I don't remember where the green plastic came from.
 
I used a red LED headlamp regularly when I used to fly at night. My old 182 had poor lighting, so the red LED lamp was perfect. I felt very comfortable using it in the cockpit.
 
Matthew said:
I might get one of those strap-on-your-head-flashlight-headlamp things for something other than flying, but wondered how many of you actually use one in the cockpit. Maybe I can double-dip with it.

Are they really practical with a headset? Red LEDs? Green LEDs? Any other thoughts?
Click to expand...

I have one that I use when its dark out in the cockpit. It's great, except when I want to wear a headset plus a view limiting device. It's fine with just the headset. But with my particular view limiting device, it gets a little crowded on my forehead. It has a fairly wide band, at least an inch, maybe one and a half inches, so it's comfortable.

It is dimmable, and does both red and white. When on red, it stays red even when you turn it off and back on, so you don't accidently turn it on white and destroy your night vision. I bought it from REI outfitters. It's almost perfect for flying. The only thing I could possible want that it doesn't do is both red and green light to permit me to read a VFR map and see the red markings. But, otherwise, it's perfect.
 
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PPC1052 said:
I have one that I use when its dark out in the cockpit. It's great, except when I want to wear a headset plus a view limiting device. It's fine with just the headset. But with my particular view limiting device, it gets a little crowded on my forehead. It has a fairly wide band, at least an inch, maybe one and a half inches, so it's comfortable.

It is dimmable, and does both red and white. When on red, it stays red even when you turn it off and back on, so you don't accidently turn it on white and destroy your night vision. I bought it from REI outfitters. It's almost perfect for flying. The only thing I could possible want that it doesn't do is both red and green light to permit me to read a VFR map and see the red markings. But, otherwise, it's perfect.
Click to expand...

Which one is this?
 
Stewartb said:
I do keep a few of these around. In the airplane glove box, survival gear, truck glove box. Pretty handy and selectable red or white light is standard.
http://www.petzl.com/EN/Sport/CLASSIC-headlamps/ePLUSLITE?l=INT#.VfguQ8Q76rU
Click to expand...

I have that one as well. I keep it on the co-pilot yoke so it's handy in case of an electrical failure, and nobody has ever complained about it being in the way there. I don't often use it inside the plane, but often use it when pre-flighting or putting the plane away at night. Having both red and white lights is great and the retracting headband is awesome.

Also note that this one has a rotary knob for turning selecting the lights, and it has an off position on both ends of the dial so you can leave it on the red side to avoid having to cycle past the white light to turn it to red.
 
I have a cheapo led headlamp. I wear it at night and don't really notice it.

It was to have when the panel went dark during turn to base one night. Just flipped it on, turned final and landed. Made it much less of an issue.

I will have to investigate some of these nicer red/white ones.
 
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