Night flying
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Just curious why you are being taught how to file IFR Flight Plans for a VFR qualification?
Re currency: IF the passenger to be flown is in possession of a valid pilot's licence for the machine and type of flying to be flown, any pilot, even if non current, can take such a pilot with him flying as a passenger.
The background to the currency rule, at least from a german point of view, is to allow passengers some sort of certainty about the abilities of the pilot and the risks involved in flying. A PPL licence holder can judge these risks for himself.
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After around 600+ hours at night flying single engine aircraft in very inhospitable places around the planet I really do not see what the attraction is, with two engines yes a little more safety agreed but night VFR 
Re currency: IF the passenger to be flown is in possession of a valid pilot's licence for the machine and type of flying to be flown, any pilot, even if non current, can take such a pilot with him flying as a passenger.
I don't think the UK CAA's interpretation is so lax, and the LBA also has a track record of adopting the most onerous interpretation of the rules.
Anyone who can't be designated as 'crew' is a passenger, and therefore the pilot is subject to the currency rule.
MJ
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Re currency: IF the passenger to be flown is in possession of a valid pilot's licence for the machine and type of flying to be flown, any pilot, even if non current, can take such a pilot with him flying as a passenger.
Do you have that in writing from the LBA?
Do you have that in writing from the LBA?
Anyone who can't be designated as 'crew' is a passenger, and therefore the pilot is subject to the currency rule.
MJ
Their thinking is that someone who hasn't flown - well, taken off and landed 3 times - in the preceding 90 days could be a serious risk, for himself and his passengers. A pilot can assess those risks, but a non pilot can't.......
So, even if a Pilot with valid licence / rating sat in the back of an aircraft and flew with a non current PPL, the flight would still be legal. The issue is less of the non flying pilot being able to step in if things went pear shape, more that the non flying pilot can better evaluate the risks.......
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Just curious why you are being taught how to file IFR Flight Plans for a VFR qualification?
Very simple, FIS INFORMATION commonly closes around SS+30 in these countries allowing NVFR and you will be handled by RADAR during night. RADAR is used to handle IFR & Airliners, so you are on one frequency with heavy metal - and you will be treated equal, Hosiannah! FPL is mandatory für NVFR (almost?) everywhere it is allowed and the instruction for FPL@18 RMK/N VFR-NIGHT states a reporting point compliant with standard routing every 30 minutes. If you try to use VFR waypoints, FPL may pass i.e. Eurocontrol, but you will find out on the second call, that the controller does not know VFR and guides you through IFR waypoints. You could insist you are VFR-NIGHT, but will confuse controller and after a short while, you give up and follow the IFR-light behavior.
Very simple, FIS INFORMATION commonly closes around SS+30 in these countries allowing NVFR and you will be handled by RADAR during night. RADAR is used to handle IFR & Airliners, so you are on one frequency with heavy metal - and you will be treated equal, Hosiannah! FPL is mandatory für NVFR (almost?) everywhere it is allowed and the instruction for FPL@18 RMK/N VFR-NIGHT states a reporting point compliant with standard routing every 30 minutes. If you try to use VFR waypoints, FPL may pass i.e. Eurocontrol, but you will find out on the second call, that the controller does not know VFR and guides you through IFR waypoints. You could insist you are VFR-NIGHT, but will confuse controller and after a short while, you give up and follow the IFR-light behavior.
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flying a GLIDER at night? call that VFR?
Cumulus rider, amazing film of Guy Westgate flying over Lasham with fireworks strapped to his wings! from a 4,000' airtow, I suspect...loops.all the way down to his landing!
Once upon a time at twilight I took up a youngster on his 21st birthday....from WAP, over High Wycombe. Those of us who fly gliders know that cities simply OOOOOZE warm air in the evenings....and warm air rises, and so did we, until well after dark! I was quite happy to do so, having just secured my UK night rating...and my plan B, if I couldn't see the ground on the gliding side of operations, figured I would plonk down on the power runway, which was nicely lit. And as it came to pass, the ambient lights reflected from the overcast and made the loom of the grass on the glider side Ok, landing no problem at all, even without cars lined up with their lights on!
The wierdest thing and I never noticed it before, was that the instruments (not exactly the latest) in the K13 ..... glowed in the dark!
Once upon a time at twilight I took up a youngster on his 21st birthday....from WAP, over High Wycombe. Those of us who fly gliders know that cities simply OOOOOZE warm air in the evenings....and warm air rises, and so did we, until well after dark! I was quite happy to do so, having just secured my UK night rating...and my plan B, if I couldn't see the ground on the gliding side of operations, figured I would plonk down on the power runway, which was nicely lit. And as it came to pass, the ambient lights reflected from the overcast and made the loom of the grass on the glider side Ok, landing no problem at all, even without cars lined up with their lights on!
The wierdest thing and I never noticed it before, was that the instruments (not exactly the latest) in the K13 ..... glowed in the dark!
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Guy westgates display was done at dusk, so not "night" under the legal definition. Lasham did some proper night flying last december in a Bocian. It is the only glider as far as we know that is approved for night flying and is fitted with nav lights.. The runway was lit with £250 worth of lights and batteries from Poundland.
Lasham members Gordon MacDonald, Colin Watt & Patrick Naegeli all took to the skies in their specially prepared Bocian E glider.
Their thinking is that someone who hasn't flown - well, taken off and landed 3 times - in the preceding 90 days could be a serious risk, for himself and his passengers. A pilot can assess those risks, but a non pilot can't.......
MJ
Avoid imitations
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Lasham did some proper night flying last december in a Bocian. It is the only glider as far as we know that is approved for night flying and is fitted with nav lights. The runway was lit with £250 worth of lights and batteries from Poundland.
Presumably, glider pilots using "conventional" navigation lights will take this into consideration, especially so because these nights(!), gliders are so seldom encountered.
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Night is defined as being half an hour after sunset in the UK.....
A rigid bureacratic definition for a condition in these latitudes that is variable, to say the least! In December, the sun sneaks around the sky at very low level. In June it hardly disappears at all. If the weather is crap, night comes quickly. Several times, when retrieving a glider from an outlanding, while slowly increasing height to keep the glider stable on the long aerotow, it comes as rather a shock to realise that it is getting awfully dark down there! Did anyone happen to find out what time was sunset today? errr.....umm... seem to have overlooked that detail.
Gliders that are pushing the boundaries of night flying from their local airfield will stay local....thermals are scarce after dark. On one occasion the neighbouring helicopter operation, not receiving any answer from their radio call (training gliders seldom carry radios), proceeded boldly straight across the gliding field and caused consternation to the gliders in the circuit. Apologies all around.
Also possible that a glider could be sliding in late and low from a field retrieve. Best to keep well clear.
A rigid bureacratic definition for a condition in these latitudes that is variable, to say the least! In December, the sun sneaks around the sky at very low level. In June it hardly disappears at all. If the weather is crap, night comes quickly. Several times, when retrieving a glider from an outlanding, while slowly increasing height to keep the glider stable on the long aerotow, it comes as rather a shock to realise that it is getting awfully dark down there! Did anyone happen to find out what time was sunset today? errr.....umm... seem to have overlooked that detail.
Gliders that are pushing the boundaries of night flying from their local airfield will stay local....thermals are scarce after dark. On one occasion the neighbouring helicopter operation, not receiving any answer from their radio call (training gliders seldom carry radios), proceeded boldly straight across the gliding field and caused consternation to the gliders in the circuit. Apologies all around.
Also possible that a glider could be sliding in late and low from a field retrieve. Best to keep well clear.
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Just curious why you are being taught how to file IFR Flight Plans for a VFR qualification?
the controller does not know VFR and guides you through IFR waypoints. You could insist you are VFR-NIGHT, but will confuse controller and after a short while, you give up and follow the IFR-light behavior.
Learning how to file VFR Flight Plans acceptable for VFR flight at night in your local area (Country) is not the same as being taught how to file IFR Flight Plans.
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@LA: VFR-Night is not allowed where I live now, so my experience may be outdated, but from the time flying night in Europe I remember quite many occasions, where the controller gave a **** on what I filed. They usual case was picking up knowing my destination and then route me where they think it may fit - I don't remember any night flight flown as filed. During night routine they always treated me flying NVFR exactly same as any other IFR flight, so my past experience is that NVFR is better told dark IFR-light.
Thing:
Maybe because people who have been working there all day might want to go home?
:
Why would your airports close just because it's night?
Why would your airports close just because it's night?
Maybe because people who have been working there all day might want to go home?
Here in New Zealand, like the US and Oz, so long as the airport is equipped with runway lights that are operative you are good to go for night ops. For private ops day or night there is no requirement for any ground based personnel.
