Originally Posted by
Brad2523
Seeing that picture is exactly the sort of sight that makes me think of training for it.
OK, if you liked that one, here is the whole photo series then, so you can make up your mind
Evening sightseeing flight - Budapest - Diamond Katana DA-20 NVFR
Just like you, I also fly for pleasure and I wasn't sure if I should get this rating either.
I knew a lot of people, who got it and did nothing with it. I don't have money to waste, so I definitely didn't want to go down the same route. So before I decided on it, I wanted to have a clear picture for my own sake: how am I going to use my night priviledges on a regular basis?
The first investigation I did was very disappointing. The place where I rented my aircraft basically turned me down. They could train me for NVFR on a 4-seater at a far-away airfield, because our base has no lighting due to owner/financial investor not interested, the operator is reluctant to give out their aircraft for night flying due to their insurance (safety pilot is required anyway). So I gave up and just watched others on Youtube
One day my little daugher came in to the study room, she doesn't like flying, yet she looked at one of those nice night scenes on the computer screen, and she said: "Dad, I would love to go on a flight like this, this is beautiful!".
So I re-started searching and found another company which offered NVFR training on an even more far-far airfield, 2 hours drive from my home, 1.5 hours drive from my workplace. But they could teach me on a 2-seater, they have no limitation on night rental, their base have lighting at reasonable costs. So I decided to go for it. After a full day work, I had to drive on the highway 1.5 hours, eat and sleep a bit at a petrol station, and then start the flight training at sunset well into the night, 1.5 hours, and then drive back home late in the night. Next morning I had to be fresh at work. But I knew I made the right decision when both instructors I flew with, spontaneously pointed at the nearby city and said "You know, THIS beautiful view NEVER gets old!" These are people with more than 1000-2000 hours experience, so if they say so, who am I to argue?
In the evenings, the air calms down, no turbulence, silk-smooth flying. The traffic in the headset is quieter. The instruments are dimly lit. The stars are bright above you, the Earth shows her different face, the Moon reflects from lakes and rivers between great areas of pitch black fields or dangerous forests. The villages and cities shine like treasure boxes filled with jewelry. The airfields are tiny and more welcoming than ever, giving you the only chance to land safely. It's an entirely different world, really.
Within two weeks of receiving my night rating in my license, an NVFR-capable 2-seater was re-positioned to a nearby airfield, which didn't have runway lighting, so we took off right before sunset with my daughter, flew around the outskirts of the capital city in uncontrolled airspace, and then went for a 30 minutes cross-country flight to an airfield, which had lighting and accomodation arranged for us. Next morning we came back in the morning hours.
As for the future, I am planning to do another NVFR flight in coming October to a place, which is open 1 hour beyond sunset on Saturday evenings. Then another place in January. Unfortunately, overnight accomodation is an issue, but it is still cheaper to stay over in a rural city, than coming back to land at the international airport (landing fee = 1 hour flying for me). But that's the inconvenience I pay for the night landings, I knew this from the beginning.
I hope this story helps you to do your reseach and homework on this topic