Zulu and Flashlights
As you may know, I wrote about my recent purchase of the Lightspeed Zulu headset back in February. Since then I've spent a few hours with them in the plane and can confirm my initial impressions hold. They're light, much slimmer than the 30-3G I used before and I do enjoy the Bluetooth connectivity. I used that just last night while taxiing to the tie-down to call my wife after landing. (She likes to know I've landed where I intended to land.) I'm liking the purchase decision so far.
I also put to use another gadget I bought for the cockpit. I am apparently in good company with my collection of flashlights. Like many pilots, I seem to be on a never-ending quest to find The Perfect Flashlight for the plane. One that's lightweight, bright and points where I want it without using my hands. (Making coffee is optional - especially since I don't drink the stuff.)
Anyway, I was perusing the flashlight aisle at my local Wal-Mart over the weekend and saw an intriguing little light that clips to the bill of a ballcap. I picked up two: one white and one green. The green one is marketed toward hunters, but I thought it would be good for a dark cockpit and I got a chance to use it last night. (The one I found in the store doesn't appear to be online, but it's similar to this one.) I clipped it onto my hat before taking off with the anticipation it would be handy. It was.
There's a slight obstruction of field of view since the model I bought clips under the bill (as opposed to over the bill as the one linked above does), but not enough to really matter at night or in the clouds. The light was bright and lit the entire six-pack of instruments comfortably without moving my head and it provided plenty of light to read the chart on my kneeboard without any extra head motion on my part. It was also quite helpful during the pushback and tying down of the plane after landing. (No need to hold a flashlight in my teeth while putting on the plane cover.)
The only down side I see is the battery type: two lithium watch batteries. While not a deal-breaker, it does mean my normal collection of AA batteries does me no good for that light at night.
OK, maybe another downside is the reliance on a ball cap, but I guess somewhere upward of 80% of my flights are with a ballcap under my headset. (I bought an Energizer headlamp for the other 20%, but I'll have to report on the "geek light" after trying it on another flight.)
Still, it was inexpensive and not a bad addition to the flight bag. At just a couple ounces for the two of them, both the white and green ones will be in my night flight bag.