I got this a few years ago and have done some of the most enjoyable and satisfying flying with it. It also has the advantage of not requiring revalidation – only the 90-day rule must be observed for carrying passengers. Plus if you miss last landing at your unlit base you can at least make a legal diversion. However let’s face it – if you’ve only one engine and it breaks you’re dead unless it’s a clear night with a full moon, and even then I honestly don’t fancy my chances of landing survivably on some random dark peace of ground. This is in marked contrast to daylight SE flying where I think/hope I can cope with virtually any emergency other than a mid-air, and they’re a lot rarer than engine failures. So generally I’m only really happy on routes where you can cruise high and glide to a lit airfield for most of the journey, which is a pretty restrictive condition. Even if I had a SE turboprop I’d still be nervous over the lakes/pennines etc.
Bertie – IMHO it’s pretty sodding dark at official sunset! 15 mins later it may as well be 3 am.