On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 21:48:49 GMT, Mitty wrote:

On 12/27/04 9:03 AM, Ron Natalie wrote the following:
Stan Gosnell wrote:


The Jepp charts are very readable under green light, not so good under
red. Blue ink under red light washes out, but under green it appears
black. I haven't found a color except for green that isn't very visible
using green light.


The major key to map visibility and not ruining your night vision isn't
so much color as DIM. Oddly, the best and handiest source I've found
for reading charts at night is to use the backlight from my portable GPS
as the map light. It makes a large area, dim illumination that doesn't
mess up the colors.

Here is a pretty good flashlight for reading charts where you want white light:

http://members.cox.net/rigelsys/rigelsys.html

I have the red/white "Skylight" version and it is completely dim-able down to
zero light. It is not as bright as you might want for outdoor walking path
lighting, but either color is bright enough for anything you might need to do in
the cockpit.

I have a little "RayOVac" (TM) blue, single LED flashlight. Although
it looks bulky, it's very light and comes with a clip that works on
the bill of a cap. It runs off three AAA batteries with an advertised
life of 200 hours.

I've worn it on IFR night flights of nearly 3 hours and it was always
comfortable.

Cheap too. As I recall it ran around $14 or $17 dollars.

Of course with the lighting in the Deb (and most old planes) that is
the primary lighting while a good flashlight can be the secondary.
I typically carry two with one being a 2 cell "mag light" and one
being a 3 cell "Mag Light". Not much good for cockpit lighting, but
it sure works around the airport. If it didn't reflect so much inside
the darn thing would make a good landing light. :-))

When all else fails you can use one of the big lights by putting your
hand over the lens and letting the light leak through your fingers.
It's dim and it's red. Just don't let the white light shine through
or you really will be on instruments until your night vision comes
back.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
Sporty's sells it too.