When I did my night rating, I asked my instructor what I should o if the enine topped. 'Aim for the dark bits', said he.
That a PPL night rating exists at all suggests that the CAA finds the risk acceptable. And so do I.
The one I heard was that on a dark night if the engine stopped to glide towards a dark area.
As you come closer to the ground put on the landing lights !!! If you like what you see leave them on! If you don't like what you see turn them back off again
Having a few engine problems albeit I must admit in twins i cannot say I have a massive confidence in piston engines.
I really do like to approach anything I do with outs a plan B another door if one closes. To do something risky with no other get out doors is Russian roulette.
If you know that accept it and still take the risk then that risk is acceptable to you! But do we hav ethe right to accept risk for others especially our Kids.
i have flown piston singles at night over long stretches of water over fog banks or solid cloud with very low cloud bases but it makes me uncomfortable to do so because I know if the engine quits I have no outs and am in the lap of the Gods
Now give me a Cirrus and I might change that view because the chute gives me the lacking out
As for the CAA regulations a lot is steeped in history and there is no ryme or reason to some of the legislation!
Apart from the engine failure scenario on a dark night it made no sense to me why the night rating was not rolled into the IMCR or the IMCR a requirement for a night rating CAA madness ???
Pace