Brightline bag configuration tips?

[dkkim73]

Hello all, 

I recently bought a Brightline B7 bag (from Gallagher Aviation, @OSUAV8TER, great selection of various things and communication). I'm moving stuff over from my big prior bag, trying to pare down what I take with (I still carry some charts), and just wondering if anyone had any slick tips on configuration. The bag is insanely versatile, so although I have already come up with some placements I'm sure there are ways to optimize. 

I usually fly solo for work, so I'm thinking it will slip nicely over the RH seat with the strap keeping it from falling forward. Facing the 3 pouches (9 compartments, or is it 27, or 81? ;)) forward. 

Any advice appreciated, 
David
 

[Max Clark]

Warning: Thread Drift

As I started typing a response I realized that I've been through a lot of bags (my wife laughs at me). What I've learned is the "perfect" single bag doesn't exist, but there's different perfect bags depending on the mission. Not exactly what you're asking, but here's my evolution of bags and PIREPs below. 

I started with a version of the ASA AirClassics Flight Bag when I started flight training. I had to carry everything with me (headset, fuel cup, flashlight, sectional, E6B, ruler, pencils, FAR/AIM, etc...) and this bag made the most sense. It was easy to have everything in one place as I moved between home and the field and back. Ergonomically I never loved the bag and always felt like I was having trouble figuring out what to put where. When the bag was sitting in the back seat of the plane it was hard to reach over and find what you were looking for.

I remember when Brightline first came out. I was super excited and ended up with something similar to the B4 SWIFT Business Travel Bag configuration. Everything had a specific place, was easy to find (in theory although I always opened the wrong compartment first). The dual padded pocket configuration was great. Headset on one side and kneeboard on the other. Nice pocket in the back for sectionals. And the bag fit great behind the front seat making it easy to keep in reach, but out of the way and reasonably secure at the same time. The negative with this bag is it's size and weight. It's just heavy. After getting my PPL I realized that I didn't actually need to carry that much on me anymore and my kit cut down to headset, sectional, glasses, and kneeboard (with pencils).

Fast forward a few years (gap in flying) and when I got back in the seat I was looking for something smaller to carry and that would make sense with an iPad mini as a EFB. This brought me to version 1.0 of the Flight Outfitters Lift 2.0 Flight Bag. Without a doubt this is one of my favorite bags. Manages to carry everything you need at a very small form factor and weight. Small caveat, if you have a portable COM radio you're not getting a water bottle at the same time on the outside, but the center pocket works to store the radio, extra batteries, glasses case, etc... so I would shove everything in there. Seriously, I love this bag and highly recommend if you're looking for a simple kit try to find and buy the old version.

I'd also recommend a hard look at Sporty's Flight Gear iPad Bag especially if you're flying with larger headsets (Lightspeed) or using a larger iPad than a mini. Sporty's did a good job with this bag, I just found the Lift to be better for me.

Fast forward again and I find myself doing XC to check off the IFR requirements and my kit requirements change. Now I'm also taking more water, snacks, pullover, hat, etc.. as well as a Sentry ADS-B with me. I'm carrying my flight bag plus reusable grocery tote bags to and fro and want to consolidate into a single bag, like the idea of a top loading tote but don't want to give up on organization.

I can't even guess how many hours I waste trying to find my unicorn when I finally stumble across my current bag the Tom Bihn Truck. The larger center compartment holds my Bose A30 (in it's case), the Sentry (in it's case), my iPad mini in a MoKo 7-8 Inch Tablet Sleeve Bag that ends up in a yoke ram mount, my portable COM, and a Tom Bihn Clear 3D Organizer Cube with spare battery brick and AA batteries. Side pockets hold glasses in their case, foggles, USB sticks, puke bags, and anything else I need to shove in for the day. And there's small pockets on either side that hold QRef cards or whatever else smallish you need. I love this bag, and it has been perfect for me for the last year while I was doing my IFR.

I bought my Ovation this summer and with my IFR and Cirrus days behind me my needs have changed again. Why? Because now I get to keep things in my plane! I'm expecting I'll keep my headset in the plane, spare headsets stay in the hangar, sentry doesn't get removed from the wing, etc... I'm probably going to switch to a different iPad mini sleeve with an external zipper pocket soon. Something that I can also securely keep 2x USB thumb drives in for avionics upgrades and that's all I'll be carrying to and from the field now (although I am eyeballing the Lift 2.0 bag just to always have my headset with me).

Hopefully this helps you in some way.

[Rick Junkin]

@dkkim73 Bottom line up front: I'm a Brightline fanboy. My daily configuration is the 2" center section with the pocket front cap and the flat rear cap with both the slim handle and the shoulder strap attached. For the most part I only carry what I might need during a flight or at the hangar when I get back. I either strap it into the copilot seat or I put it on the back seat with the should strap hanging down the front of the seat so I can grab it easily in flight. My headsets, handheld radio, travel johns, sick sacks etc stay in the airplane now, but I used to carry them and a few other items in a 4" center section when I was flying multiple airplanes.

The top pocket set on the front panel holds the items I use routinely or I may need quickly - the main top pocket holds pulse oximeter, CO detector, small bottle of Afrin, and a large Flight Gear power bank with charging cable. The half-zip back pocket holds my SD card case and usb drives and adapters. The front zip pocket holds my check book.

The middle pocket set holds my head lamp and luggage scale in the main pocket,  AA batteries in the back pocket, and miscellaneous clips (headset cord, document clamp clips) in the front pocket.

The bottom pocket set holds my wall charger brick and a small Flight Gear magnetic power bank specifically for my iPhone in the main pocket,  AAA batteries for my oximeter in the back pocket, and assorted charging cords in the front pocket.

I carry a MacBook Air and an iPad pro in the main 2" compartment along with any paper products I need, and an iPad mini is the flat back pocket. The two pen pockets on the sides hold a pen and a Smith & Wesson stick LED red/white flashlight.

I bought a B4 preconfigured bag in 2012 for business travel and have since purchased and used every center section and side pocket for specific missions. When using the larger center sections now (for toilet kit and change of underwear in the event of wx/mx issues on day trips, or even all of my clothing needs for a short trip) I find the FLEX Array panels really useful for organizing small items. For instance I have one FLEX array panel pre-loaded with survival items.

As @Max Clark pointed out the Brightline bags can get heavy in a hurry, depending on configuration and what "because I can" items you load into them. But if you keep to just what you need and arrange everything logically I think it's a great system. My previous favorite flight bag was a mid size Cencal bag, which to my wife's chagrin I still have. Along with an embroidered Sporty's bag, an embroidered FlyBoys crew bag, and other things I can't bring myself to get rid of. But I digress.

Cheers,
Junkman

 

[Marc_B]

5 hours ago, Rick Junkin said:

My previous favorite flight bag was a mid size Cencal bag

+1. That was my first flight bag and still my fav but unfortunately padding finally crumbling due to age. Perfect size and setup for me!