Originally Posted by
poteroo
It was called a Class 4 Instrument rating back in the 70s, and there was a requirement for the pilot to demonstrate good instrument flying skills. Each navaid had to be passed separately.... the usual was ADF or VOR.
I recall getting my Class 4 back a 100 years ago when I was not so wise. The examiner on the night of my test flight (a DOT guy) said it's the most dangerous rating you can acquire, he was right about that, it's a very high risk activity with minimal training required to get the ticket, worse than IMC in some ways when in the outback! No horizon & a moonless night with total cloud cover was bloody scary! After a few flights a long time ago at night where I was concentrating so much I didn't enjoy it I never did it again under those conditions. It's one of the skills where it needs to be practised a lot.