AlexGT
(AlexGT)
June 21, 2018, 9:15am
2063
hazG:
elrcpilot:
I am wondering how people are using the BLF GT. I have been testing it in some dark areas. The other day a friend and I went out at night to a dark area. A policeman stopped to see what we were doing. He was in awe of the flashlight. I have been having a hard time finding a long distance to test the light without shining it in peoples homes or other areas that are not good to shine the light.
I used it the other day when the power went out. One can really see it well without streetlights. I tight narrow beam that shines a long distance. I did not need it ramped up more than 1/4 of full power.
It is quite a light and solidly made.
Eric
Hi Eric,
You’ll find a diverse group of people here that own the GT. You can have those who possess elementary knowledge to the advance individual who has knowledge about electronics and optical design. Those who really don’t have the interest in getting into the modification aspects are driven by owning a flashlight that can deliver outstanding performance. They might even have a collection of different lights and are satisfied by just owning them versus putting them to any daily use. Then you have the light enthusiast who likes to shine a beam of light just to see how far it will reach. This person will more than likely will Vlog their experience on YouTube in the attempt of educating their viewers and possibly add some cents to their bank account.
There might even be some people who get caught up in hype that is going on here in the forum and buy one to only later sell it as a result of suffering from consumer dissonance. Last but not least you have the individual who has an entrepreneurial mindset and will be involved for producing a profit with the added benefit of showcasing their profound knowledge in providing a finished product that is unique. This individual might even provide solutions to increase the output of the light for a moderate profit. You can be one or a combination of the above examples that I listed but the common fiber that links us together is the willingness to be part of something and to share, if for only a moment, our individual light adventure . Personally, I’m a pilot who has been in situations where runway lights have gone out on final approach and a good torch, like the GT, can make the difference between a great landing or one where no one walks away from. To me, I find the longevity equally as important as the throw. The GT is not an easy carry flashlight for it’s size and the extreme weight. You would be hard pressed to carry this light in one hand for more than 10 minutes. There are other and better alternatives for longtime carry.
(Here’s how it looks with the GT saving the day landing with no runway lights )
The problem in shinning a beam onto remote things is that it will draw attention and Law Enforcement will investigate. There are ordinances that prohibit shining lights into peoples homes etc. Even if you are at public park, they usually have curfews restricting access so, if you are caught, you are at risk of getting a citation or being harassed. Remember, it takes only one person to file a complaint that they were blinded by your light that could put you in some serious legal hot water and even cause the confiscation of the light.
The GT is a great light and one has to apply great responsibility in using it. If not, irresponsibility is what people will use to put unreasonable laws in place to prevent the use and possibly the sale of these great lights.
Happy Lighting!
Cool story bro…!!!
Here is a pic of the same field with no lights…
I knew it was a picture of a flight simulator. Those clouds in the sky look like procedurally generated. IMHO clouds still look very artificial in flight simulations whereas ground and water textures look extremely detailled meanwhile.
I wonder how one could manage to hold a BLF GT outside the window all the way through the landing procedure, though. Or did you mod your airplane and have a “auxilliary BLF GT retractable landing light”. What type of plane is it? I assume it’s not a B747.
djozz
(djozz)
June 21, 2018, 9:53am
2065
Yourrid a few months mentioned having used a flashlight held outside the window of his cockpit while landing. So it did happen at least once!
hazG
(hazG)
June 21, 2018, 6:17pm
2066
As I had said in picture caption, "(Here’s how it looks with the GT saving the day landing with no runway lights )"
This was a simulation of what occurred to me back in the late 1980s. My light at the time was a 6 D cell Maglight and I placed the light on the dash of the instrument gauge. One cannot hold a flashlight out of any aircraft or attach it to any part of the plane. LOL. The plane at that time was a Beechcraft B60 "Duke".
Ye of little faith
Here's the post that I made 2 months ago on April 19, 2018: Post 1309367
hazG:
Here's how I can see one way in using the Giga Thrower .
Being a pilot, I fly day and/or night. One night I was on final approach into a county airport and while on descent someone turned off the runway and taxiway lights. The airport was basically blacked out. Being experienced and prepared, I grabbed my 6 D cell Maglite, (it being incandescent) which was the cats meow back then, out of my flight bag and shined it out the cockpit to light the runway. My altitude was 400 feet and dropping fast and my light caught 3 deer on the runway. As soon as they saw the light hit the runway from my Maglite, they b-lined into the trees. I didn't have to abort the landing and was able to see the landing strip and land without any incidence. While the Maglite did ok in getting me down, the GT would have really been the light to have if it had existed back then.
You can rest assured that the Giga Thrower will always be in my flight bag.
PS. The reason that the landing runway lights went out was due to the local police shutting them off because they thought that my plane was smuggling in contraband/drugs. I filed a a complaint against them and those involved were dismissed from the police force for reckless endangerment of life.
But I will say that the police thought they had something when I basically landed a twin engine with an incandescent flashlight. The officer commented to me that he never saw anything like it.
I have other uses for the GT that I will post here but let's hear from you too.
JasonWW
(JasonWW)
June 22, 2018, 1:02pm
2067
TA, have you heard anything from Neal lately about the replacement lights and replacement parts?
Has he mentioned if all the things on the Outstanding Issues survey have been taken care of?
This thread has been pretty quiet lately. I don’t know if people have gotten their stuff fixed and not said anything or if they are still patiently waiting.
Texas_Ace
(Texas_Ace)
June 22, 2018, 2:46pm
2068
JasonWW:
TA, have you heard anything from Neal lately about the replacement lights and replacement parts?
Has he mentioned if all the things on the Outstanding Issues survey have been taken care of?
This thread has been pretty quiet lately. I don’t know if people have gotten their stuff fixed and not said anything or if they are still patiently waiting.
Last I heard he had gotten all the missing items shipped out a few weeks ago except for a replacement reflector for one member. That was supposed to be taken care of last week IIRC.
Tejasandre
(Tejasandre)
June 22, 2018, 3:43pm
2069
Final batch folks all get their accessories?
Yup I did a month ago, no flashlight though.
Edit: Day 1 accessory order.
Nope. Not yet. Not even the GT has come yet.
JasonWW
(JasonWW)
June 23, 2018, 12:49am
2072
Blitzlinger and Maverick1947, have you contacted Neal about getting tracking numbers?
I did, but he hasn’t responded about a tracking number.
I last contacted on May 9th, June 15th, and now yesterday and no acknowledgement about it besides repeatedly requesting details from me.
Tejasandre
(Tejasandre)
June 23, 2018, 2:17am
2074
I got lights but no bag, covers. Guess a little more patience is in order.
sp5it
(sp5it)
June 23, 2018, 2:14pm
2075
Mine is not fixed, but I’m waiting for replacement parts. Texas_Ace told me that pasts were sent, but I do not have any information nor tracking nr.
Mike
JasonWW
(JasonWW)
June 23, 2018, 2:25pm
2076
Have you sent Neal a PM asking for this info? It can’t hurt to ask him. Hopefully it will show up soon.
JasonWW
(JasonWW)
June 23, 2018, 2:31pm
2077
Yeah, for US customers it’s typically a 2 to 3 week wait. I think mine was 4 weeks total, because it got delayed being sent out. Once it was in the mail, it was 2 weeks delivery time like a lot of things shipped to me from China.
Other countries could take longer in the mail. You just have to be patient.
sp5it
(sp5it)
June 23, 2018, 4:05pm
2078
I did. In March he told me to contact Leo @ lumintop, second message not answered since 3 days. Leo also is not answering my emails.
I have my GT since 4 months and I can not use it because of shipping damage.
Mike
Tejasandre
(Tejasandre)
June 23, 2018, 5:01pm
2079
JasonWW:
Yeah, for US customers it’s typically a 2 to 3 week wait. I think mine was 4 weeks total, because it got delayed being sent out. Once it was in the mail, it was 2 weeks delivery time like a lot of things shipped to me from China.
Other countries could take longer in the mail. You just have to be patient.
Lol. That actually made me feel worse. Purchased may 5. What’s that 7 weeks? (Insert name calling & panic here) I kid I kid. Ok, on standby.
I purchased my bag & cap on April 19th and I’m still waiting.
JasonWW
(JasonWW)
June 23, 2018, 10:24pm
2081
I know Leo was tracking the lost packages, but I’m not sure he has anything to do with resending replace parts. I could be wrong, though.
So the message you sent 3 days ago was to Leo or Neal? I would send a second message to the other person as well.
JasonWW
(JasonWW)
June 23, 2018, 10:30pm
2082
Tejasandre and morning_wood, that is such a long time to be waiting for the bag. I don’t know if Neal has tracking on these items or not, but I would definitely PM him to find out.
The faster we can complete this GB the better. All these delays are not cool. Lol.