Has anyone tried hovering at 1000ft on goggles?
Yes, in the lovely dark countryside of NI.
As long as you can see references, pretty much the same as hovering at 1000' without.
I would suggest it would come down to practise and familiarisation, however if you find yourself in a location where you need to be on goggs in the first place, why hover when an orbit would suffice?
Noise, fuel burn, etc.
As for eyestrain and bad necks! What is the military rate of occurence of these injuries directly related to NVG use?
How can we reduce any associated injuries?
Eyestrain, proper focussing by operator.
Bad neck, more time in the gym!!
(I'll get some stick for that one!)
Interesting to note crabs point on the fine line between pax and crew!!
From 612
Flight Crew - Definition
....All other persons on board the aircraft, including the
police observer, are regarded as passengers.
CAA-Agreed Passenger - Definition
a) Police Officer;
yet later in Sect5 Ch11;
A qualified crewmember assigned to a NVIS flight (e.g. a police air observer).
The minimum crew is to be stated in the PAOM Part 2, but must not be less than one pilot and one crewmember both NVIS qualified.
Also, what stage would each unit apply for or indeed be able to maintain
If a unit only had Stage1 yet needed to operate to Stage2 levels, could they, in certain circumstances, do so?
SS