What has 3000' got to do with with being VFR?
What about the "3,000 feet". Is all airspace above 3,000 controlled?
Sorry Mstram - I thought my post was clear enough, but obviously not, so I'll try to make it as clear as I can.
At night, in the UK, you must be IFR, even if you are flying "visually" (except in control zones where you may be Special VFR).
Understand that both VFR and IFR are a set of rules. That's what the 'R' stands for. So when you are forced, by the UK's strange prohibition on flying VFR at night, to fly IFR, there are a couple of differences in the rules you must obey.
Outside controlled airspace, VFR is defined by Rule 26 of the ANO. Rule 26 defines the in-flight visibility and clearance from cloud which is required to comply with VFR.
When you are IFR, Rule 26 no longer applies, but you are still bound by rules attached to your license to remain clear of cloud and in sight of the surface (in other words, VMC). But Rule 29 and Rule 30 apply instead, since these make up IFR outside controlled airspace.
Rule 29 is the IFR "Minimum Height" rule, but it doesn't apply if you are below 3000', clear of cloud and in sight of the surface. Since you will already be clear of cloud and in sight of the surface (your license says you must be), if you are below 3000' you can ignore rule 29.
Rule 30 is the Quadrantal and Semi Circular rule. This doesn't apply if you are below 3000' or the transition altitude, whichever is higher. So, once again, you can ignore it if you are below 3000'.
That's why I said, in my earlier post:
If you stay below 3000' and within the privileges of your PPL, neither of these apply to you, and there is no practical difference between IFR and VFR
Mstram - the discussion is actually (despite Worldpilot's repeated use of the word "VFR") about visual flight. This can (in the UK) be either VFR or IFR during the day, but must be IFR at night. You asked:
What about the "3,000 feet". Is all airspace above 3,000 controlled?
So if flying IFR at night in VMC, do you need to be talking to ATC / flying a flightplan / ?
No, airspace above 3000' is not controlled, it's just that Rule 29, and possibly Rule 30, apply. Because it's not controlled, there is no requirement to talk to ATC, nor to file a flightplan if you don't meet any other requirements for filing a flight plan. (The subject of flight plans and IFR flights in the UK is relevant here, but is a completely different subject and I don't want to go off on a tangent!)
Hope that clears up the rather strange UK night-flying rules?
Toadpool, what service are you thinking of? Outside controlled airspace, ATC will not offer you any separation whether you are VFR or IFR, unless you ask for a RAS (in which case they will assume you are IFR). So it makes no difference to them which flight rules you are following. The only possible exception I can think of - and I'm not sure about this one - is whether there is a requirement for ATC at a Class G airport to separate IFR departures (and hence, at night, all departures) from each other?
However, if you really wanted to pick on IO540's statement that "nobody really cares whether you are under VFR or under IFR, at night. Everybody sort of assumes it is VFR", then you could point out that, inside a control zone, ATC will give you a Special VFR clearance, and that this involves different treatment to the VFR clearance you would receive during the day because Special VFR flights must receive separation whilst inside the control zone.
FFF
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