Flying a Flag at night when camping

[dkottum]

As a side note we use John's (sandpaper) flag holder. It is extremely well designed and crafted, 3 poles or 5 poles. It is done so well Airstream should offer it as an accessory. Choose the 5 pole holder, and fly as many as you wish.

doug k

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by dkottum

As a side note we use John's (sandpaper) flag holder. It is extremely well designed and crafted, 3 poles or 5 poles. It is done so well Airstream should offer it as an accessory. Choose the 5 pole holder, and fly as many as you wish.

doug k

I recognize the US flag in your avatar.

What are the others?

Ken

[FreshAir]

I usually take it down for the night. Since I fly 3 flags at a time from a collection of 3 dozen or so. I take the flags in at night so I can quickly put 3 new ones in the morning. If I don't take my US flag down in the eve I don't worry about it....after all wasn't the anthem written about our flag 'still being there in the dawn's early light'.

Neil

[dkottum]

Ken, my wife and I are both Navy retired. In this photo are First (and current) Navy Jack, Minnesota, U.S., Ohio (her birthplace), and Navy flag. I suppose the Navy Jack should be at the stern of our "ship" while in port, but John doesn't have a flagpole holder for that.

doug k

[noreen&sal]

With all due respect, does anybody know who wrote the rules? Was it George Washington? Moses? J.C.? What does The British Navy do with old flags. Just wondering. Sal

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Happycampers

We have a solar lite that fits the top of the poles...

Originally Posted by Scott J-24

This is EXACTLY what I have been looking for. Who makes it, where can I find one, and will it fit on the top of my Camco flag pole?

Originally Posted by tiger

I have tried a couple different solar lights but they don't last the night.
Does yours?
If so, I would love to know more about it.

I plan to give this a try.... (shop around though). Not sure we have enough light to keep it lit all night at some of the sites we frequent.

Our pole telescopes, I have been collapsing the pole and rolling the flags around it at night.

Bob

[sandlapper]

Doug, I have given thought to adding a single, "auxiliary" holder to the front of the holder, similiar to the type used on the front porch at home. It could be pop riveted on, one of the reasons I wanted the front of the holder to be flat. The flat front gives the option of installing a light, or a single additional holder, decal, name/numbers, etc.

The $5 light I use from Lowes works great but at 5 bucks, not sure just yet it's the one I want to install permantely. I am hesitant to drill those holes just yet. I did use some blue electrical tape to add a blue stripe at the top and bottom of the holder to mimic the blue stripe on my trailer.

Pictures later today.

John

[polarlyse]

Hey, if your solar powered light doesn't last all night that's OK by me. I probably will not be awake to notice !!!

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by dkottum

Ken, my wife and I are both Navy retired. In this photo are First (and current) Navy Jack, Minnesota, U.S., Ohio (her birthplace), and Navy flag. I suppose the Navy Jack should be at the stern of our "ship" while in port, but John doesn't have a flagpole holder for that.

doug k

Man, I'm way out of touch. I discovered this after a little googling to decipher your post. I did not know that they changed the jack.

In regard to where to fly it, you may have to rethink what is bow and stern on an airstream. In port, which I guess is the state a trailer is in when camping, the jack should be flown from the jack staff on the bow and, the Us flag should be flow from the flagstaff on the stern. When you leave the campground and blow your bosun's whistle, you will have to shift the colors to the TV antenna on the roof. I'm not supposed to know all this ship stuff anyway. I was in the brown shoe navy. (At least that's what we called it back in the old days). However I did spend 14 weeks on destroyers while going to college.

Ken

[mapley3]

I agree that I'd rather see the flags flying than not. When I fly mine, I leave them up 24/7 unless of inclement weather that would damage the flags. The "rules" are protocol ( every country has it's own flag protocol ) established by the US Congress. So, while these are not laws in the normal sense, they are made by the lawmakers. If you are going to fly your flags, why wouldn't you want to know if there is a right or wrong way to do so? We held many rallies in Canada and it was well known that we had to have one adjustable flag pole so that our three flags would be flown level as required in Canada. Keep flying those flags, keep the flags in good condition, take pride in your flags and; take extra pride in knowing that you are displaying the flags properly.

[lsmith]

I have an Uncommon USA telescoping pole that we fly, our American Flag, State Flag and a unit officers flag. I have a cheap dusk to dawn spotlight that I mounted to the base and it works very well with a short extension to the outside outlet

[dkottum]

Here's one for you guys that's only somewhat off topic.

We would like to fly Norway, Great Britain, Germany, and lreland flags as well as the U.S. flag on our 5-pole holder to reflect our heritage at times.

Etiquette says all flags would be straight and equal height, but our holder is an arc giving a curved array. How might we do it properly, and where would the U.S. flag be positioned?

doug k

[SteveH]

Doug, I'm not sure of the height question because of the arch, but when in the US, I believe the US flag should be flown on the Left, as viewed (meaning as you would view it from the front of the trailer) when flown with other countries flags.

But, when flown with state, unit and other flags, the US flag is flown in the middle.

[azflycaster]

When all the flags are level in height, the US flag would be on the left end as you look at the front of the trailer. If the flags are of unequal height, the US flag would be in the center and stand higher then the others.

[jm2]

doug,

I'm not sure there's a correct answer, per se, for your question.

to my knowledge, this document is the reference on Flag Etiquette - The United States Flag: Federal Law Relating to Display and Associated Questions

page 4 states that -

(c) No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if on the same level, to the right of the flag of the United States of America, except during church services conducted by naval chaplains at sea, when the church pennant may be flown above the flag during church services for the personnel of the Navy. No person shall display the flag of the United Nations or any other national or international flag equal, above, or in a position of superior prominence or honor to or in place of the flag of the United States or any Territory or possession thereof: Provided, That nothing in this section shall make unlawful the continuance of the practice heretofore followed of displaying the flag of the United Nations in a position of superior prominence or honor, and other national flags in positions of equal prominence or honor, with that of the flag of the United States at the headquarters of the United Nations.

and goes on to say -

(e) The flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs.

and then -

(g) When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size. International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace.

if you're not able to adjust the 3 center poles, or the fasteners on the poles to make the otherwise curved & angled array hang at the same height,

I would then simply place the US flag in the center position, and apologize to anyone who chooses to be offended by a reasonable and sincere effort at a display of your pride in all your countries of ancestry....

best,

[cameront120]

Is the light pollution at night ever a bother to neighbouring campers?

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by cameront120

Is the light pollution at night ever a bother to neighbouring campers?

I have seen big moho's with 110v floodlights illuminating the flag and everything nearby, meeting the letter of the law but little consideration for anything else.

doug k

[Frank's Trailer Works]

I take my flags down at night because I don't like them rocking the trailer. Now that I know there is a rule against it, I will leave the American one up all night even in a storm.

[cameront120]

I thought it was normal to fly the flag during daylight hours and flying it at night was optional.

[sandlapper]

Here are some pics of what is working well for me. It is a $5 light from Lowe's, it is 12 volt and wires easily to existing 12 volt at the jack post. I made the light mount out of wood, which i turned on a wood lathe. It is very simple to "put on" and "take off" , just takes a little creativity to mount to the camper.

A slight modification to the light stem, a short piece of pvc conduit and some black paint. I also used 1/4" wire loom to "pretty" up the job.