While actually in flight? Or just to have with you after you land?
I used to fly Army observation helicopters. Trying to use even moderately-powerful binoculars in flight was an exercise in frustration, as the slightest "bounce" in the airframe resulted is wild swings in the optics... It was a recipe for intense headaches! The solution (thanks to Uncle Sam's $$$) was a gyro-stabilized monocular that held itself pretty steady even as the helicopter bounced around all over the place. But those were not remotely "compact" and were quite heavy to boot... We used a bungee cord connected to the overhead "helmet hooks" to help support some of the weight. And they required a power supply because the motor that ran the gyro was quite power-hungry!
I've got a pair of Leupold Marksman 10x42 binoculars that are waterproof, reasonably light, reasonably powerful, and work pretty well in low-light conditions. In fairness, I have NOT tried to use them in flight, but have taken them with me on every backcountry flight, just to have them once on the ground. IIRC, I purchased them at Cabelas around Christmas time a few years ago, when they were on sale for about 1/2 price.
I've also have a smaller, lighter pair of Samsung 8x21 binoculars that I used for years, but no longer enjoy using after seeing how much better the Leupolds really are. The 8x21s are "pocket-able" but I never even considered taking them with me anywhere... Nothing wrong them, really - it's just so much easier to acquire the target, and the field of view is so much bigger with the Leupolds that I just don't like using the Samsungs anymore. Plus, I wear glasses, and the Leupolds work well with them, whereas the Samsungs don't allow for that longer eye relief.