In Oz & the US you don't need anyone at the field to be able or allowed to use it. PAL/PCL or HN lights are usually available. Also don't need ATC (or FISO if approved as an alternative by the CAA) at the airfield for instrument approaches.

I think the main issue here is noise what with not being able to fly for more than a minute in any direction without being over some town or vilage.

All you people have luxury problems... In The Netherlands night VFR is simply not allowed. We have to be home before dark :(

... or land at your friendly airfield with a Flugleiter across the border. :)

Is NVFR going to remain banned in NL after SERA becomes effective (which would be tomorrow, as a matter of fact)?

I've heard of several changes, but NVFR was not one of them. The AIC also makes no mention of it: http://www.aopa.nl/wp-content/upload...-2014-07-A.pdf

Nl & UK are in EASA land? so when the UK changed the rules for night from IFR to VFR to allow everyone to carry on as before, why didn't it happen for all those covered by EASA or are we just claiming an exemption?

Aren't there more exceptions than rules in EASA?

It has probably something to do with all the big mountains here in NL, the government doesn't want to risk us flying into them...

Lysanders used to do it a lot but I do think that runway illumination of some sort is a distinct advantage.

You need a number of men in black leather coats carrying flaming torches and a heroine carrying a torch with a red/green piece of gelatine.

North of Scotland is a wonderful place for night flying (training and just for the pleasure of it). Inverness (Dalcross) with access to lots of uncontrolled airspace and uncomplaining neighbours and, frequently, unrestricted visibility under spectacular starlit skies. Oh, and it gets dark early too!

We're lucky if we get a car with its hazard lights on.

Funny you post winter is best time to fly at night.


I would like to fly nights but the geography were I live is not good for that. Airport (PAJN) is open 24 hours controlled 6:00am to 10:00pm with runway lights that are turned on by radio.


Airport is at sea level and mountains rise to 4 to 10 thousand feet all the way down the coast. South East Alaska has unforgiving terrain. No real place to ditch if you have to, rocky shore lines, and steep mountain's.


Summer on a full moon is best here. Daylight 18+ hours, Winter OK with full moon, but it rains/snows so much that there is normally a cloud layer that hangs close to mountain's.


Enjoy your night flying it is few and far between were I live.:)

B19 Sport 1974

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there no such thing as a night rating? Isn't it a night qualification?


Pedantry aside, as part of "operation get my SEP rating back" (which starts with an instructor at 1400 this afternoon) I intend to do some night flying. Even though it isn't a rating in that I have to renew it, I haven't flown at night for nearly 10 years so I want to spend a few hours with an instructor before I fly by myself at night again...

It used to be a rating, then it was a qualification, now it's a rating again:)

Well it depends where you live.

In Australia it's a Night VFR rating. To qualify you have to do a cross-country flight test at night and -- Australia being what it is -- that usually means flying over plenty of dark landscapes.

You also have to demonstrate proficiency with navaids (for track keeping) and my NVFR is endorsed NDB and VOR. There was no GPS in those days.

No doubt some of the requirements may have changed since I did mine many years ago. At the moment I'm not current for night flying but I used to find it most enjoyable.

I believe that once upon a time a NVFR rating was known as a Class 4 instrument rating. I have no idea what was meant by Class 1, 2, 3....

What areas of training are involved in the "night qualification" is it half assed instrument training or just "large dark object creeping up your line of vision and obscuring the lights = bad, large dark object falling away revealing more lights on the ground = good" ?

In my (new) EASA licence, it's actually entered as a rating so yes, it is a rating and not a qualification, as far as EASA goes.

With regards training, I think every flight school will do it slightly differently, when I did mine, we first spent an hour on ground school, discussed things such as human factors as it pertains to eyesight, especially the impact of fixing your sight on a stationary point, loss of night vision due to hypoxia or sudden bright lights (Pax taking flash pictures), legal requirements for a night flight, filing IFR flight plans, the black hole phenomena - in particular when flying to NVFR airfield with nominal lighting - and so forth.

Then the obligatory circuit training - 5 with the instructor, 5 solo (always full stop, no touch and go) followed by night navigation which basically covered VOR radials and the like (no NDBs cos there weren't any in the area) and a 3 hour cross country flight.

Was good fun and I'm hoping New Year's Eve will be a good night for flying, the moon will be nearly full and I'm planning to fly above the Ruhr Valley, videoing the fireworks going off below.....

When I got my license almost 20 years ago it was simply 1 hour flight time, 3 full stop landings and some ground instruction. To remain current you do 3 full stop landings every 90 days. Sounds like the rules are a little more lax in the U.S. vs. Europe.


Have fun:)

"To remain current you do 3 full stop landings every 90 days. Sounds like the rules are a little more lax in the U.S. vs. Europe."

For keeping the rating current, EASA is more lenient than the FAA.
For EASA you need 3 full stop landings, ONE of them must be at night.
FCL.060(b)(2)(i)
Or NONE at all if holding an IR rating: FCL.060(b)(2)(ii)

FAA: ALL of the three take-off and landings must be at night, and no credit for IR.

And to be even more clear: That only applies for carrying passengers.
Flying solo at night has NO currency requirements (FAA or EASA).

Just curious why you are being taught how to file IFR Flight Plans for a VFR qualification?

Wow, thought the U.S. was more lenient. As I stated on an earlier post we don't fly to much at night around here unless the conditions a real good. When I lived in the lower 48 I flew nights and really enjoyed it. We once took pictures of fireworks in Chicago along Lake Michigan on New Years. Flying in South Dakota at night was fun. No GPS in those days just VOR and ADM, and a map of course. Landing light burned out one time, that was interesting.


Have a good one
:)