IR, IMCR & Night

[2close]

I'm usually not too bad at dissecting the maelstrom of documentation imposed upon us by the wonderful EU and its Easan slaves but I cannot find an answer to the following conundrum...........

An applicant for an IR must have a CPL or a PPL with Night Flying privileges.

An applicant for an IMCR does not require Night Flying privileges.


Why the requirement for night flying privileges for the IR and no such requirement for the IMCR? I suspect the answer is that JAA / EASA has deemed that, in order to fly under IFR, there must be a higher level of expertise required of the IR applicant than that of the mere day flight mortal whereas the UK CAA determined that there was no such requirement for the IMCR.

If anything, I would have thought night flight under IFR in IMC (or simulated IMC) would have been a very useful part of the IR course as, speaking from experience, I have always found that SPA night flight in IMC tends to focus the concentration considerably more than by day - could be a personal thing though.

Next question - if an IR requires night flying privileges at the application stage, does this mean that an IR is only valid under any circumstances if the licence holder's night flying privileges are also current?.....or is the opposite correct, that the valid and current IR confers night flying privileges on the licence holder, regardless of whether the IR holder has carried out any TO/LDG at night in the last 90 days? Or should it be taken in its simplest context, the IR is only valid by night IF the night rating is also current?

Pointers to any legislation would be appreciated.

Thanks for the help.

[dobbin1]

I have always assumed that this requirment was just there to keep the CVD riff-raff out.

Interestingly, the proposed modular IR and the EIR do not require night ratings unless the IR is used at night. I like to think that change was made at least in part to comments from me and others about how unfair it is to exclude CVD folk from the potential safety benfits of IFR flight even during the day.

[Whopity]

Why the requirement for night flying privileges for the IR and no such requirement for the IMCR?

My immediate reaction was ICAO Annex 1 but I can't find it in that document. Safe to say most States require a night rating. The IMC however was a rating originally designed to combat a loss of fundamental PPL privileges. Originally, no rating was required to fly in cloud/IMC, only controlled airspace, the glider fraternity retained that privilege until EASA. The IMC has therefore evolved as a get around and as night was not associated with the original lost privileges it did not feature as part of the replacement qualification.

does this mean that an IR is only valid under any circumstances if the licence holder's night flying privileges are also current?

Night Currency ceased over 13 years ago, the only reference to currency is in the 90 day passenger carrying rule. The holder of a valid IR is exempt from that rule anyway so for them night currency does not exist.

[peterh337]

An applicant for an IR must have a CPL or a PPL with Night Flying privileges.

It is possible to get a daylight-only JAA IR and I know somebody who has got one.

It was always possible to get a daylight-only IMCR but even that was kept a closely guarded secret, never mentioned IME to anybody who might benefit from it.

[bookworm]

The EASA FCL.008 Opinion proposes removing the requirement for a night rating (para 2.4.2.6).

[S-Works]

It was always possible to get a daylight-only IMCR but even that was kept a closely guarded secret, never mentioned IME to anybody who might benefit from it.

It was no secret, it was never a requirement to hold a night rating in order to get an IMCr.......