Night Qualification as a "get you home"

[PompeyPaul]

Quite a few people have said that with a PPL and Night Qualification you should only use the night priviledge to get you home. I.e. if you have been waiting around for fuel or some other reason.

My instructor still warns me not to knowingly fly at night. What I was wondering though is, if you don't regularly practice night flying then isn't it more dangerous to use it as a "get me home" ? It's also illegal if you are carrying passengers with you, if you've not performed a take off and landing in the last 90 days.

Shouldn't you still aim to knowingly and regularly, fly at night ? Even if it's just a brief circuit or brimble out of the circuit, to a known area and then a circuit rejoin ?

[Duchess_Driver]

Flying at Night...

Go for it... night flying is no more dangerous under normal circumstances than flying during the day. Does the aeroplane know it is dark?

Yep, get one. Yep, practice - regularly.

Easier to fly at night - the radio is less busy, people give you a better service as a result. It's usually much calmer and smoother. Navigation is different but no harder.

What is a shame here in the U.K. is that there aren't more places open at night - those that are a expensive to land at.

Pilot controlled lighting anyone?

[Blinkz]

Personally I think you need to be a little more careful flying at night in a GA aircraft. Whilst yes the aircraft doesn't know that it is night there are other things to be wary off. If you DO have an engine failure then conducting a PFL is going to be more luck then skill depending on where you happen to be (I know you can argue that in the daytime but in the day you can see where your going!) also night makes weather and more specifically cloud avoidance much harder. You can be into a cloud before you even know it and if you don't have any instrument qualifications then this could be a problem. If you have an electrical failure then this can be a much harder problem to manage since you will now not have any light in the cockpit apart from torch. Basically all of the normal problems that we have trained to deal with all become just a little bit more interesting should they happen at night.

This is not trying to put you off, but just to make sure you give it the respect that it deserves!

[Shunter]

Flying at night is a risk assessment, simple as that. If you feel the risk of an engine failure at night and the associated issues are sufficiently negligable that you're comfortable to go flying, then go flying. I simply fly as high as the weather and airspace will allow when it's dark.

Are these "quite a few people" the same ones who say the IMC rating is a get-you-home by any chance? No doubt they'd be mortified to hear about someone flying at night, in IMC, over water.

[BackPacker]

I have to agree with the posters above. Flying at night is fantastic but should be approached with due care and preparation. So don't use it "just" as a way to get home after the bowser appeared too late with your fuel. If it seems that due to circumstances your flight will be a (partial) night flight, then do a complete replan of your flight or abandon it altogether.

Things to consider night vs. day:

• ALL plane lights have to be in perfect working order and the Minimum Equipment List (from the POH) for Night VFR flying should be checked.
• Spare torch within reach or better yet, a headlamp (I have a Petzl Tactikka which is perfect for this sort of thing.)
• NO clouds expected at any altitude you intend to fly at. Clouds are virtually invisible at night until you're in them. (Also consider the icing level in case you inadvertently do get into cloud.)
• You have to check your destination and alternates for opening times, lighting, expected weather, landing fees and such. A lot of GA airfields are closed at night, or have something else that prevents them from being used as alternate.
• You have to reconsider the way you perform your navigation. Landmarks that are easily visible by day might be impossible to spot by night and vice versa. Highways are great to follow, but rivers, rail lines, power lines etc. are not a good idea. Obviously radio nav works both night and day.

All this apart from the night currency requirements, which you already mentioned.

[Deano777]

It may be worth considering an IMC rating first if you intend to fly alot at night for the very reasons stated above.

Remember there is no such thing as VFR at night as also stated above, you are IFR at night in VMC. (you hope)

Night flying is personal to everyone, by this I mean nobody should be chastised just because they think it isn't worth risking, do your own risk assessment, those telling you to just go and do it are treading dangerously, conversely and contradictory there is no reason why you shouldn't enjoy night flying as long as you take precautions.
Personally I love night flying, but I won't go up for long, and I won't take up my loved ones, and the comment above about the aircraft not knowing it is night is the reason why, an engine failure at night is going to ruin your day. I enjoy the views now from 30,000ft.

D777

p.s. PLEASE no jokes regarding switching off the Landing light, you all know which one I mean

[IO540]

Personally, I avoid flying extensively at night because one has no options in the event of an engine failure.

One certainly should be instrument capable (aircraft control and navigation) for night flight, because of the at best misleading visual cues. The legal ability to fly at night without an instrument qualification is a peculiar hangover from the old days when everything was allowed.

As an FAA licensed pilot I have to do three night takeoffs and landings to carry passengers, not just one.

[Blinkz]

Hi, I believe that certainly the Anti-Collision light and Nav lights are a min requirement for legal night flight? Is a working landing light required? It certainly makes taxying that much harder without it.

If the landing light is required, is my flying club acting illegally knowingly letting me take the aircraft for night circuits with a u/s landing light? (obviously by that reasoning, I too would be acting illegally).

Can it be u/s for a day time flight. If i report the landing light to be u/s will that effectively ground the aircraft?

Thanks

Check the MEL

[Cusco]

Backpacker mentioned:

Spare torch within reach or better yet, a headlamp (I have a Petzl Tactikka which is perfect for this sort of thing.)

Is that the PETZL with the standard bulb? or is it LED: and what do you use for a red filter so your night vision doesn't get clobbered by bright white light?

Cusco

[Julian]

I absolutely love flying at night and have never been told not to by an instructor, nor would I expect to be. Maybe your instructor has had a bad experience that has put him off.

Yes night flying, as pointed out, does carry a certain amount of extra risk but if you are current and you are properly equipped (your flight bag will be slightly different from your day VFR, such as torches, etc) and you have made sure your aircraft is A1, then go for it!!!!

J.

[RatherBeFlying]

There's lots of little gotchas that surface at night:

Yep, it sure is easy to fly into a cloud. The earlier remark about freezing level deserves to be taken seriously, but the last time I did that the OAT was inop. Fortunately the ceiling was just 500' below. In the US, you can check in with center for flight following and fly on airways; so, have assured terrain clearance as it's just as easy to fly into something harder than a cloud

I use the AH for the first 500' of climb, again to make sure I'm in a proper climb. Do not fiddle with rheostat instrument light dimmers such as found in certain Cessna products in this phase as it's not good when the lights go completely out. Hint: practice how to flick on the dome light while looking straight ahead.

Some radios do not switch on with the volume knob; sometimes there is an unlit concentric switch

Birds are unlit, but if the landing light shows what looks like a snowball, it's time to stuff your head under the panel

[BackPacker]

Is that the PETZL with the standard bulb? or is it LED: and what do you use for a red filter so your night vision doesn't get clobbered by bright white light?

3 AAA batteries last +/- 100 hours
4 LEDs with adjustable brightness (3 levels + flashing setting)
Integrated red filter which you flick in front
Lightweight; adjustable angle; elastic headband.
Approx. 30 euros.

Perfect.

http://en.petzl.com/petzl/LampesProduits?Produit=482

[scooter boy]

"Pilot controlled lighting anyone?"

Yup, I have a PCL for my helipad which I regularly use at night in the Winter, Autumn and Spring.
Cost me $700 US or so and works a treat with about 2 miles range.

Although I try to avoid night flight when I can I have no problem with it if the conditions are clear and there is "adequate celestial illumination".
Sometimes the moonlight on a clear night gives viz as good as it is on a hazy day.

Night flying is mainly a state of mind. The machine has to be prepared and you have to be in the right frame of mind. Also you need to pay special attention to the weather and alternates as most will not be available in the UK. My biggest question is will I be able to return if things are not going well or if not where else can I go?

Also where are the powerlines?
Most GPS databases do not include this vital detail for helicopters.

Fixed wing single-engine at night I also try to avoid but if the weather window falls at night for departure or arrival then that is when I go.

IMC at night can be unnerving as any turbulence can be far more disorientating as visual references are limited

Crash survivability in any aircraft is almost certainly diminished on all but the most moonlit of nights.

It is a wonderful time to fly though and although daytime is safer I love looking down on all the twinkling lights.

SB

[BackPacker]

Remember there is no such thing as VFR at night as also stated above, you are IFR at night in VMC. (you hope)

That is just the case in the UK, where flying at night is by definition done under IFR. But in the UK (and in the UK alone) you can fly IFR outside of controlled airspace on just a PPL without IR or IMC, providing that you stay in legal VMC.

In the rest of the world, you need an IR to fly IFR, and flying at night is under VFR rules and regulations. Although some countries, including the Netherlands forbid NVFR altogether.

[Lasiorhinus]

Small light aircraft are not usually equipped with Minimum Equipment Lists. The minimim things to have on board when flying night vfr would most likely be found in your legislation.

In Australia, and I cant imagine it being TOO different for you over in the antipodes, you dont need any lights at all for flight under the VFR by day, but by night, you need navigation lights and an anti-collision light.

If you're flying RPT or charter, you need TWO landing lights, Private or Aerial Work only needs one.

If your instructor is sending you out at night in an aircraft with no landing light, bring it to their attention that the light is U/S. Either endorse the maintenence release yourself, or ask the instructor to do so, but I would not accept the aircraft if it didn't meet the requirements. Ask for a different aircraft, or confine your flying to Day VFR until the light is repaired.

[Final 3 Greens]

Hi Pompey Paul

A night rating is very useful for legally sneaking back into the field when it is officially night, but in reality there is enough light to see whats what and so I can understand where your instructor is coming from, if he is making his statement in this context only. In this respect it is different to an IMC rating.

Beyond that, night flying requires the appropriate level of preparation and currency and in this respect it is similar to using an IMC rating, since planning to fly into an environment which is more challenging than daytime VFR demands comensurate respect.

Personally, I don't like the risk profile of taking a light single away from the circuit, but as others have said it is a personal decision and there can be no argument that a flight on a clear starry night is a stunningly beautiful experience.

[Lasiorhinus]

Originally Posted by Final 3 Greens

Personally, I don't like the risk profile of taking a light single away from the circuit,

Egad, good sir, do you mean to tell me you would have happily remained in the circuit area for your entire flying career until gaining a multi engine endorsement?

[Blinkz]

all of the GA aircraft I have flown have had MELs? They are either in the POF or in the school ops manual.

[Final 3 Greens]

At night.

How's the CDS treatment (context deficiency syndrome) coming along?

[Genghis the Engineer]

I think that there's too much mystique put about about night flying. Yes it's a skill that needs to be learned before you use it - which is what a night qualification is for. Yes, you really should try and stay current but...

... in my experience if you are current anyway, then doing a night flight and landing isn't a big deal, although I'd not argue with the legal inclusion of the 90 day rule for night pax carriage.

Also, most nights you can land on an unlit airfield without lights - it's not ideal, and some nights you can't (so you divert); again I'd not plan for it, but on a moonlit night having gone late a little, I've landed on a grass strip that I could see clearly and at no point felt that I was putting the aircraft in danger. (That said, if at any point I felt that I couldn't see it clearly, then I had a diversion plan and I'd have used it).

Night take-offs without runway lights are different, and I'd not attempt that. For that reason, and more routine ability to perform night landings, I'd love to see pilot controlled lighting at far more (any?) UK airports - it would make a huge different to our ability to use GA aircraft for transport, particularly in the winter.

G