Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Finally! A Small Flight Bag With Lots Of Storage

Back when I was a student pilot, I quickly realized that there were LOTS of items that I had to carry out to my aircraft for every flight. You know: headset, fuel tester, navigation charts, kneeboard, flashlights, checklists, sunglasses, logbook, pens, and extra batteries. And then there were several items that would be nice to have along as well; flight computer, extra charts, hand-held radio, Leatherman-type multi-tool, extra pens & markers, and a place for really small stuff like cotter pins, coins, business cards, and other miscellaneous stuff. Not to mention my need to carry my cell phone, wallet, car keys, and pocket stuff.

I clearly needed to go buy a bag. Ideally, I wanted the smallest bag possible that would carry all this stuff. Initially, when I went looking for a bag, I was greatly encouraged because at first glance, there are a MILLION different pilot flight bags available everywhere. It seemed like I'd be able to find a bag that would suit my needs without a problem. In very short order, the surprise and disappointment began to set in.

I couldn't believe it, but not only was I unable to find the bag I was hoping for, but I wasn't even finding anything CLOSE. Every bag I looked at was going to cause me to dump my stuff into one or two main pockets and then go rooting through all that stuff to find what I needed.

I wasn't ready to accept this fate yet, so I broadened by search. I started looking at other bags that were meant for other uses. I was SURE that I would find some bag SOMEWHERE that would do what I wanted.
But, alas, my searches were always fruitless. I ended up having to make do, like everyone else, with a bag that sort-of worked. I had no choice but to endure the annoying battle with my semi-functional bag every time I flew.

So partly out of frustration, and partly for fun, I started to design my own flight bag. I decided to see if I could design a bag that would be like the one I would want.

I spent a lot of time at my computer building 3D models of all the items that need to be carried. I showed the resulting CAD model to some of my pilot friends and instructors and they all said they thought it was great. And so Bright Line Bags was born. Bright Line Bags provides Flight Bag, Aviation Bag, Tactical Flight Bag and Military Bag.

This bag is the perfect size.

  •     It's exactly the height of the charts. No more folded or protruding charts.
  •     It's tall enough to hold European A4-sized paper. (It's 12.5 inches tall inside.)
  •     It fits things like manila folders and many small laptops - 13 inch or smaller. (Remember, it's not actually designed to be a laptop bag.)
  •     It fits the Apple iPad perfectly (with its cover) inside either the Front bag, or the Rear bag, and also in the flat covered pocket on the Rear cover.
  •     It stands on its own and fits into a lot more places inside the aircraft than any other bag. Especially if you zip the bag apart into two smaller halves.
  •     13" tall x 10" wide x 9" deep

This bag is versatile.
  •     It holds one, or two headsets. You can fit 2 LightSpeed Zulu headsets, 2 Bose headsets, 2 David   Clark headsets. 2 of any kind.
  •     It quickly separates into two bags so you decide how much stuff you want to carry today.

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