Having spent all my military life on SH ops using NVG's I can say that night flying without them is barking mad. Yes there are lights sources available to be used with them, lip lights cockpit lighting night sun and dragon lights. All have their pros and cons. The major problem with NVG is back and in particular neck strain. The current widely used goggles fit above the eye line on a mount. This tips the moment for neck movement way above the norm ergo acute neck strain at best, bulging disks at worst. It is a known problem and is being closely looked at by the military (only after several court cases). There is a cheap and effective solution on the US market and that is a prismatic cats eyes system that allows the user to use white and black light at the flick of a switch. The UK company specialising in NVG is STS solutions run by an ex RAF SH crewman. I can provide contact details. The guy has 1000's of hours on NVG and will explain all, for a cost obviously.
IMHO, you’re barking mad to even contemplate low-level ops without NVG or FLIR in fact have both! They have saved my backside on many an occasions, they do however, lull one into a false sense of security at times.
PS Check out what the decent opticians have to say about them , one shudders.
The best simulator I ever came across was an old large fridge in NI, on the door it said" Put on NVG , have a cold shower, climb in and shut the door. Cold, Wet and can't see a bloody thing? Welcome to the world of NI NVG Ops !"
Any one got an jobs for an experienced rotary crewman come observer please get in touch time to leave Betty Windsor's flying circus!