Different binoculars fulfill different purposes. I was just wondering what kind of flying would warrant what style/size/type of binocular. What regular classic binoculars do you use ? What new image stabilized or night vision binoculars do you use ?

I don't own any image stabilized binoculars, but was wondering if anyone here has ever used them for back country flying.




My neighbor loves gadgets and has a pair of Generation 3.5 night vision binoculars. It is amazing what they can see in almost complete darkness. I pointed them at the sky and there were stars just everywhere. Has anyone ever found these useful for private back country flying ?



I have an ancient pair of 7x35 ultra wide-angle Tasco binoculars that I like. I am sure there are better options, Plus I am just puttering around Virginia and Pennsylvania, hardly back country at all.

When I was a cop I did the fixed wing flying for my department. The Narc guys used the gyro stabilized binocs. They worked great, but they also made most guys airsick in a few minutes.

Gump

I use the canon 10x42L IS they are excellent for spotting from the plane, plus they are weather proof so you can use them for hunting, boating,exc. they are the best I've found, we tried the big Zeiss ones but they are to much magnification and to cumbersome, and they broke, and they are hideous expensive! They are unbelievable good at what they do but that's not riding in a cub.

I had the little canons like in your pic first and really liked them, until I got the 10x42, you know how that goes.

Spot with the naked eye then use the binocs to check out things you see, like gump said if you search through them you will spew!

Whatever you do, buy waterproof ones.......you're gonna soak them in puke.

MTV

I've used image stabilized binocs while boating--not mine, but BIL's, who can afford them. Once locked onto something, they're pretty impressive, but it's still problem finding what you're wanting to look at in a moving/bouncing boat. I would think the same would be true while flying, and I certainly can't imagine looking and doing the flying. Maybe as a passenger, but certainly not as the pilot.

Cary

I use a monocular, with a zoom feature. Small enough to keep handy and less then $100.00. Smooth air it works fine, rough air not so good. I like to check when possible on where the cheapest mo gas in a strange town is, no kidding. It'd be easier if they made those numbers larger. That is also going to be the freshest gas as they will do a higher volume, plus it's the cheapest and I have never been able to tell any difference in mo gas, so cheaper is better.

mtv wrote:Whatever you do, buy waterproof ones.......you're gonna soak them in puke.

MTV

Oh my God, I can't stop laughing... LOL

I know a fella who tried the NVG's like you are talking about for civilian night flying. He said it worked OK, depth perception was very distorted. He found it to work better with 2 pilots, the guy doing the flying wearing the glasses and then a guy without keeping track of things inside. He found a whole new respect for our military guys who do it for real, and that it must take some very specialized training.

We had a few pair of image stabilized binos we tried to use to see trigger men on ieds we found. They worked really nice in the high vibe cockpits but the technique wasn't worth the effort.

As far as NVGs, tell your friend to wear them a little higher on his head. The trick is to set them up so you can look down underneath them to see gauges and kneeboards.

Wow I thought the binocular puke thing was just me! Im glad to hear it's a thing.
I once had a maule ride when I was much younger in that excuse for a 5th seat in my dads Maule. That seat is enough to make a guy puke let alone the half hour I spent looking through binoculars. I think I was sick the rest of the day and puked all over the back seat.

I don't use any binoculars for flying. Doesn't sound like fun.

I carry the Canon binocs.... work just fine. Don't stare through them too long.
For brief stabilized views during searches... they are a real asset.