Understood crab, you are the more accurate and I agree. Again, I think we concentrate on limiting NVG to weather minimums but really, they are limited by in-flight viz which is also affected by moisture, dust, obscurants, illumination, cultural lighting and upper level cloud. For example, some nights you can have nil cloud below 10,000 ft agl and viz reported at 10km plus, yet still have insufficient illumination to fly NVG.
marc,
There is sufficient detail there for you to contact the people mentioned, but I dont have their email.
Two points in response to your reply:
night unaided experience is very valuable for NVG, and a good instrument scan is essential. In the months between now and aquisition of NVG, I suggest you encourage night training and experience, and increase instrument scan practice and profficiency. Get a good PC based sim for the instrument stuff too.
Secondly, your comment on the crew positions. Two up the front is essential for military flight profiles for the lookout, and low level workload. For civilian operations, we need to move out of the military profiles, and I suggest that if you currently fly NVFR unaided in that crew config, then continue to do so NVG. When you are flying at NB 500ft AGL with sufficient in-flight viz on NVG, there is no requirement to have two crew members on NVG, however, should you conduct an approach to land/winch to an unlit area or non permanent helipad, then there should always be two crew on opposite sides. The reason that I dont believe we should stipulate that they be in the front or back is due to horses for courses. Some operators (law enforcement in particular) have two front seat crew, and that is a good combo. Others operate with a rear crewman, who after opening the door, has a superior view of the side of the aircraft over the front seater. Therefore both solutions are acceptable.
If you have an aircraft in which there is no way for the other crewmember to take up the scan on the non pilot side, then I suggest that it is innapropriate for you to be conducting night confined area operations anyway, unaided or with NVG (as per your current restriction for NVFR). NVG does not resolve this limitation IMHO.