G-reg R22/44s night-lights
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Recently did some night flying training (in a G-reg R44) and went over all the applicable night flight related rules with an instructor (don't know what he was reading from) However, I'm only speaking in regards to flying privately; not commercial.
On a side note, for those holding both EASA and FAA licenses, the "in-built" night flying privilege of the FAA license doesn’t work in UK as the UK FAA exemption includes the wording “DAY VFR only” – that I have directly from the CAA
On a side note, for those holding both EASA and FAA licenses, the "in-built" night flying privilege of the FAA license doesn’t work in UK as the UK FAA exemption includes the wording “DAY VFR only” – that I have directly from the CAA
Last edited by RMK; 25th Jan 2018 at 15:44.
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Recently did some night flying training (in a G-reg R44) and went over all the applicable night flight related rules with an instructor (don't know what he was reading from) However, I'm only speaking in regards to flying privately; not commercial.
On a side note, for those holding both EASA and FAA licenses, the "in-built" night flying privilege of the FAA license doesn’t work in UK as the UK FAA exemption includes the wording “DAY VFR only” – that I have directly from the CAA
On a side note, for those holding both EASA and FAA licenses, the "in-built" night flying privilege of the FAA license doesn’t work in UK as the UK FAA exemption includes the wording “DAY VFR only” – that I have directly from the CAA
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Huh, so even with 350 hours of night in the R22 they'd say, sorry Yank, you ain't goin' nowheres 'till the Sun comes up?
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In the air, extra lights are useless. I switch off the landing light pretty quickly on climb. Off-airport landings at night are not allowed anyway where I fly. And on an airport, there is usually sufficient lighting. So for normal operations, there is no need for an extra pair of lights. They just create additional drag.
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I designed the R22/R44 emergency lights many years ago. Properly set up they work really well and complied with the strict CAA requirements at the time of certification. Conducted the certification test flying with Nigel Talbot, the then CAA Test pilot rotorcraft. Before the light modification we were not able to show the student the reality of an engine off/autorotation to the ground as we were not able to fire off the schermuly frare without prior approval, except in an emergency.
Keep your RPM in the green. D
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In the air, extra lights are useless. I switch off the landing light pretty quickly on climb. Off-airport landings at night are not allowed anyway where I fly. And on an airport, there is usually sufficient lighting. So for normal operations, there is no need for an extra pair of lights. They just create additional drag.
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I spoke further with an instructor over the weekend. In brief, it’s a technical “grey area” for the R44, but stated clearly for the R66. Upon the EASA certification of the R66, it is explicitly stated it is OK for night VFR in normal production form.
https://www.easa.europa.eu/system/fi...6_Issue_02.pdf
This being done for the R66, it was apparently implied that the same applies to the R44 (I don’t know of anything specifically written though). The result is that many R44 owners have subsequently removed their “night kits” to get back the weight/drag they incurred.
https://www.easa.europa.eu/system/fi...6_Issue_02.pdf
This being done for the R66, it was apparently implied that the same applies to the R44 (I don’t know of anything specifically written though). The result is that many R44 owners have subsequently removed their “night kits” to get back the weight/drag they incurred.