A while back I did a write up about how I fly my HobbyZone SuperCub at night with keychain flashlights on the wingtips. I’ve since been asked a few follow-up questions, and thought I’d answer them all here.
First off, I’ve been asked how long the batteries last in the lights. I don’t know an exact time, but I am guessing they will last between 6 and 8 hours, which means that if you fly for around 15 minutes per flight, you can expect 25-30 flights before the batteries begin to get low. I’m basing my estimate of 6-8 hours on the following: I had several of these lights in my jacket pocket one morning when I went to work. Somehow one of them got turned on in my pocket without me realizing it. It stayed lit in my pocket the entire time I was at work (a little over 8 hours) and I discovered it was lit up when I put my jacket on at the end of the day. It was still lit, but not as bright as one that had not been on all day.
The batteries are very easy to replace. There are 4 screws to remove on the bottom of the light, and each light uses 2 CR2016 3V batteries – these are very easy to find at a local big box or electronics store, or online.
I’ve also been asked just how bright these lights really are. Earlier I created a video from an on-board camera while flying at night. Here’s a little video of what it looks like from the ground. Forgive the video quality – my little camera is not sensitive enough to pick up just how bright the plane is… it really is much brighter than it appears in the video. Enjoy!
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