MDinana, it is an iPhone. I plan on taking my wife's much smaller phone out one weekend to see how bright it is.

ireckon, other than in Boy Scouts a few years ago (ok, 3 decades ago) I've not actually done it. However, I've done it dozens and dozens of times -- in my mind. I learned mental practice from a youth football coach. He had the boys sit, close their eyes, then imagine themselves executing a play. His reasoning (which he learned from his college football coach) was that if your mind has done whatever it is over and over, it's almost as good as actually doing it over and over. I'm sure there's some fancypants term for it.

I've taken that lesson and applied it to many things. I mentally practiced the technique while reading threads on this forum and following links to videos.

As I wrote, I was able to see the flash hitting the tree trunk next to me so I was pretty sure I was hitting the mark. The text message from my son confirmed it. Of course, in a rescue situation, the text message won't be coming. I had the benefit of hitting a stationary target. Having high confidence in hitting a moving target -- such as an airplane -- would be difficult.