Thought I might chime in on this one fellas since I have some "time up" in this department.
NVG/NVD offers an increased capability below LSALT at night and that is gold, however as I have shown to many a trainee, this is a double edged sword. Yes you can see the cloud banks and manouvre to avoid them but you can also find yourself thinking that what you are seeing is not too bad or improving and then suddenly without too much warning you are in IMC without too much trouble. Now some of you may think, no probs If I get into too much touble I will simply land cancel SAR and wait for the wx to pass. Doesn't really work in an over water SAR or High and rugged mountainous terrain where there are few LZ ' or LP's. The trick is in all flying sequences is to have a plan and arm yourself with a CIR and a robust IF currency regime.
To launch into marginal VMC wx thinking you can see and avoid the fluffy stuff simply because you are aided (NVG equipped)without an escape route or access to an instrument recovery (notamed as serv) is a recipe for disaster and plain stupid.
Careful what you wish for when it comes to NVG's. They are an excellent tool and enhance SA and capability but like most things, You don't get something for nothing.
IMHO
Give it some.
