IFR night current....
 

Im currently flying charter in NW Aus. I finished flight training with a MECIR but not a NVFR rating. This is becoming a bit of a problem as i have to stay IF current to be able to do NVFR. Does anyone know the requirements from CIR to NVFR. And what about PIFR? Could this help remain current in any way?
Cheers

How are you conducting night landings without a night rating?

Probably about to show my considerable ignorance here but, .....

1) If you hold a current IR who says you need some sort of night rating to fly at night? My understanding is that to carry pax at night you need to have done 3 x night TO and landings in the previous 90 days.

2) Why can't you just keep your IR current? Smoke is a good substitute for cloud in that part of the world.

Dr :8

Absolutely you can fly at night under the without an NVFR rating - it is one of the privileges of the CIR (CAO 40.2.1 Sect 14) providing you have the required currency for night landings.

So long as you meet all the requirements for the issue of a NVFR rating and your IR is current, you should be able to apply to CASA for the issue of a NVFR rating. Similarly, the holder of a CIR can apply for a PIFR rating which allows them to fly under the IFR without the currency requirements.

It costs you for each rating of course, but a couple of guys I know got their PIFR and additional Navaids and M/E added to their NVFR after CIR was completed.

When you say you have to remain "IF current", do you mean have a current rating, or you mean current to fly under the IFR? If you mean you are not remaining current to fly IFR (despite a current rating), then a NVFR rating won't do you any good because if it's IMC then you're stuffed anyway! You are still fine to fly NVFR as long as your rating is current, even if you haven't flown in IMC for months. Make sure you meet the requirements of Sect 14 for charter ops!!!

If you mean that you have to keep the rating - if it's charter work, won't your employer want you to have the rating anyway??

CASA will not issue an NVFR to someone with an MECIR and meeting the requirements of a Night Rating without sitting the test with an Authorised Testing Officer or a CASA Delegate - the test is a requirement for the issue of that rating.

You can however fly at night under the VFR category if you have a current CIR/ME and meet the requirements, if you intend to do this please read the CAO and understand what you can and can't do...

http://www.casa.gov.au/download/orders/cao40/400201.pdf

...page 15, it does vary depending on whether you are flying under the charter or aerial work category.

They will however issue a PIFR if you have a current CIR/ME that is valid for two years since your last renewal. The PIFR does not allow you to fly at Night under the VFR category that is a privilege of the CIR and Copilot IR only. It allows you to fly at night under the IFR while opearting an aircraft in the private category (ie aerial work and charter are not allowed).

night with an approved person also within the preceding 6 months.

Dr :8

Why not just fly IFR?:rolleyes:

Then three take-offs and landings in the preceeding 90 days will suffice...;)

.... and either a night cross-country flight (of at least 100 nautical miles or 1 hour duration) within the preceding 6 months

Which is why you should try to do it regularly!

Dr :8

PS: Oh, and don't forget to fly at night occassionally!

This thread, and many like it, just illustrates how successful Cretins Against Safe Aviation have been in making the Regs as tortuous and complex as possible.

It seems a long time ago that a CPL could reasonably know and recall the Regs under which they conducted their day-to-day activities.

Dr :8

Where does it state that 3 takeoffs and landings in the preceeding 90 days at night are required before carrying passengers IFR at night?

My understanding is that day and night are treated the same when operating IFR. If you are IFR recent then you can fly at night, no night recency requirements!

The only stipulation for night recency is when flying at night VFR!

CAO 40.2.1
8.3(e) states

The aeronautical experience of an applicant for the issue of a command instrument rating shall include
e: except for those persons whose licence is restricted to day only operations, 10 hours night flight of which not less than 5 hours shall be as pilot in command on the category of aircraft for which the rating is sought.

Since henli states that he got his MECIR without having a NVFR rating that implies that at the time of gaining his instrument rating his license was "restricted to day only operations".

If the issue of a CIR gives one the right to blast off into the night without any night training, why the distinction here.

This sub paragraph says to me that since you will not be flying at night with your command instrument rating, because you are restricted to day only operations, there is no need to have the night aeronautical experience.

Can anyone really believe that a person WITH a NVFR rating has to meet night flight requirements for the issue of a CIR yet a pilot without a NVFR rating does not, and both are permitted to fly IFR at night?

Section 14 in my opinion is simply setting out the terms under which a pilot qualified to fly at night may choose to operate IFR or under slightly less restrictive NVFR rules.

I don't see section 14 as giving approval for a pilot restricted to daytime flying only, approval to fly at night.

I may be wrong of course but I'd love to hear some more opinions from well qualified individuals.

Maybe this sort of thing wasn't an issue back when a lot more experience was required to gain employment. Pilots tended to have time to pick up things like Class 4 ratings well before they were deemed employable and needed a Class 1.

Recency Requirements

CAR 5.82 (PPL)
CAR 5.109 (CPL)
CAR 5.170 (ATPL)

Thanks Scrambler you beat me to it!
Twas ever thus, except of course for the period of time that the department decreed that we only needed one every six months...:ooh:

Peter Fanelli, I too do not have a NVFR, but I do however meet the requirements to hold one! This was checked when I did my initial instrument rating all those years ago! Ergo I can fly at night, I hope...;)

Oh my lord, I hope the CASA are reading this. Perhaps they might have a go at explaining it all in clear English rather than, "cover my arse law jargon".:bored:

All that will happen is the will bury themselves further in 'legal jargon', so that the collective CASA arses are covered...:rolleyes:

Disagree - No such implication can be drawn. Henli didn't say that he doesn't have any night flight time, just that he doesn't have a NVFR rating. Where I work, if the student doesn't have a NVFR rating, we do part of the CIR at night to cover this exact situation.

Ok so it's beginning to sound like rules have changed and the holder of a CIR can fly at night under NVFR procedures provided that the recent experience requirements are met as per CAO 40.2.1 sect 14.

Can the pilot fly IFR at night?

And once again I ponder the wisdom of the removal of the requirement to hold a Night VFR ( Class 4 Instrument rating or Night VMC as it was known back then) before taking the flight test for the CPL.:hmm:

When this happened I am unsure but it certainly was required when I did my CPL in 1985.

Of course they can.

No limitation there.

BTW, S.14 sets out two separate requirements for Flight by Night Under NVFR Procedures - The rules for NVFR Charter are different for NVFR Private and Aerial Work. Importantly, NVFR Charter cannot be done with just a NVFR rating, it requires a CIR holder operating to NVFR procedures.

So I understand the situation in henli's case is that he/she got the CIR without an NVFR rating, but the CIR is not restricted to day operations.

Presumably all of his/her night command time (min 5 hours) was conducted in the circuit under supervision??? Can you send someone solo cross country at night without a rating???

Also - my apologies on earlier post and a small correction. The friends I referred to got their PIFR rating after completing the CIR, but did not get the additional nav aids on their NVFR rating. Thanks to kalavo for clearing up the requirements there.