because I want to do a night rating so I don't hae to worry about arrivng home a little after official night
That's exactly why I did my NR all those years ago and it has saved me on a couple of occasions.
It's amazing how many visual references are there for about 20 mins after official nightfall.
IO
BTW the FAA rating is an IR period .... its the same one that 747 pilots hold and the argument is why not have an accessible IR full stop - the present JARs do not seem to facilitate this, from the PPL POV.