C

CNEJR

Well Known Member
Just been informed that I would be starting my 3 hour night flying training requirement for my PPL very soon. Uh oh, never even been in a lite plane in the dark.... Is this going to be fun?? Harrowing?? or What?

Any tips? It will be in Class D. Never really thought about flying at night. Have done well under the hood, but Help..........
 
It's different! but lots of fun. I think it's the best part of flying. There is alot more risk involved especially in deserted areas where there aren't many lights.

Enjoy it!
 
Just aim for the dark spot!

Most class D or C airports seem to have a lot of lights around the airport and the airport will seem like a dark spot.
 
Get yourself a headlamp

When I was training for my PPL not so long ago, my CFI suggested getting myself a headlamp like this:

http://www.google.com/products/cata...log_result&ct=image&resnum=4&ved=0CC0Q8gIwAw#

He told just to make sure it has a red only mode. I got one from local store and it worked great. No problem with which instrument is lit or not or if aircraft's lighting was working (I was training in '65 Cherokee - the instruments lighting was in terrible condition). Very, very big help.
 
I ended up taking a couple small maglights that we got from tradeshows and put red brake light tape on the lens. It worked out well and 2nd for the head light... it impressed my instructor when i showed him.

I think most auto stores sell the red brake light tape. You can never have too many flashlights... and spare batteries.. :D
 
I just took a 5 hour night flight in a Cirrus SR-20 from Aurora (UAO) to Eugene (EUG), Olympia (OLM), Paine Field (PAE), and back to UAO. The Boeing Dreamlifter (modified 747) and 2 787's were out on the ramp! I really enjoy flying at night. The city lights of Portland and Seattle are very nice from up high. Enjoy your 3 hours of night training. My students are always apprehensive at first but quickly realize how much fun and different it is than flying during the day. Just be sure to take the proper precautions and constantly say to yourself "what would I do and where would I go if the engine quit right now". I typically fly 1-2K feet higher at night for an added safety margin and stay relatively close to major roads just in case.

Enjoy it, you'll have a blast!
 
RV at night

I love to fly at night.
Here on the NC coast there is a carnival like look to the beach strands at night.
Everything is just a wash of color. Very cool, but watch for traffic, other pilots love to join you, and some are looking at the ground!!
The air is as smooth as a ribbon, nothing compares.
Moonbeam follows you across the smooth ocean...memorizing, and so beautiful.
The cool night air in the summertime is really nice
The first time I flew my RV on a dark night and saw all of the stars through the canopy, it just stunned me. Reminds me of a planetarium.
As for caution, I would advise close attention to airspeed and obstacles. You will have a sense of being higher than you actually are, so be aware of your altitude. Practice flight planning for night XC, and try to imagine what you will see if it were dark. Those yellow areas on the sectional are the shape of the lighted towns, and are a representation of what you will see at night. Check your weather and plan carefully, if the view of your horizon changes at all, be suspicious. Visualize and think about aircraft lighting patterns and how they will look to you in relation to their heading. Try not to focus on one moonlit object on the ground for too long, like a lake or stream, and don't stare at the moon. It induces vertigo in me, and others I have talked to have experienced it as well. If that occurs, all I have to do is focus on my panel and it will be gone in a few seconds.
Be aware that night flying carries more risk, and requires more attention in every phase of flight. Your options are limited if you have an engine out. That's one reason I like night ops at the beach, lots of places to land in an emergency, and they might even be lit as good as a runway!!
You are about to train for one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole aviation experience. I urge you to fully embrace it, and stay proficient and current.

Best regards,
Chris
 
CNEJR said:
Just been informed that I would be starting my 3 hour night flying training requirement for my PPL very soon. Uh oh, never even been in a lite plane in the dark.... Is this going to be fun?? Harrowing?? or What?

Any tips? It will be in Class D. Never really thought about flying at night. Have done well under the hood, but Help..........
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Hey Chuck, every pilot here has been where you are. Night training is part of the game, you will like it and do just fine. Night air is usually very calm and that makes it more enjoyable yet.

Howard Hughs flew at night with his girl friends, it always impressed them and his milk did not spill. :)
 
I did mine in Feb. and had a full moon. The stillness and calm is almost a religous experience. It is really beautiful up there on a clear night. I enjoyed every minute of it even though I don't fly at night now for safety reasons. The thing it taught me most was you will touch down sooner than you expect. I was taught to not try to hit the numbers and make the flare more gentle and take your time feeling for the runway using a little power. The first time surprised me a little as I thought I was still five or ten feet off the ground when the wheels touched.
 
That's kinda what I'm worried.........

rv9aviator said:
The thing it taught me most was you will touch down sooner than you expect. I was taught to not try to hit the numbers and make the flare more gentle and take your time feeling for the runway using a little power. The first time surprised me a little as I thought I was still five or ten feet off the ground when the wheels touched.
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about. The sight picture (or lack of). I willl be doing this in my 6 and try very hard to mate the RW & wheels at the right time. Being a very low time pilot (just SOLO last week), I am concerned at what it will look like. I guess I need to continue to trust in my instructor, he's always been on so far. If he can teach me to fly in a 6, I guess he could teach a "drunk monkey to fly".

He is the "best of the best". I'll let you know how it all works out.
 
There's nothing better than flying at night, Chuck... If I had two engines, I'd probably do it more often. But it's a great experience and I promise you'll love it!

You should spend your night hours getting into different airports. When we did my night flying, we decided at the last minute to tour around and practice getting to the pattern and on the ground at strange airports. We did Hooks, Conroe, Huntsville, and a few others.

I'd talk to your CFI and see if he'll be up for it. The experience was great and that's an evening I'll always remember.

Phil
 
Chuck,

You just replied seconds before me. Don't worry about the sight picture... Don't.

If you do, then you'll let it bother you and it shouldn't.

Just fly the airplane and everything will work out. Landing at night isn't any different than daytime.

The only thing you should really be concerned with are:

1) The black hole off the end of the runway. You'll subconciously try and sink into it. Don't fall into that trap. Know your horizons and attitude, then fly the plane to the runway.

2) Watch pigs and deer once on the runway and have a plan to avoid them. This isn't much of a problem at CXO now that it's fenced in, but back in the day it was pig hunters paradise!
 
Howard Hughs flew at night with his girl friends, it always impressed them and his milk did not spill. :)[/QUOTE]

That's cuz he wanted to spill it later.
 
Transition from day to night, Chuck...

...by getting flying about 20 minutes or so, before full dark and continue doing touch-and-goes as darkness falls. Your eyes will transition more easily that way, rather than simply showing up on one dark night from scratch.

I agree with night vision letting you touch down before you think you should. More than one retract has had nosewheels collapse by flying into the ground before the flare.

Best,
 
pierre smith said:
...by getting flying about 20 minutes or so, before full dark and continue doing touch-and-goes as darkness falls. Your eyes will transition more easily that way, rather than simply showing up on one dark night from scratch.

I agree with night vision letting you touch down before you think you should. More than one retract has had nosewheels collapse by flying into the ground before the flare.

Best,
Click to expand...

That is the best advice I have seen. I did mine flying from Savannah to St. Simon's Island over the dark marshes and ocean in the winter. Nothing but black!
 
Before flying my -8 for the first time, I took 10 hours with Kent Gorton at Mallard's Landing near Atlanta in his -6. At my request, we flew a couple of hours at night. We even flew right over ATL runways which was a great experience in class B airspace. I had never landed a taildragger at night and wanted to find out what it would be like.
1) It is much more difficult to control the plane (taildraggers) during rollout due to fewer visual cues...you have to really concentrate.
2) NEVER fly below the VASI glideslope at night...you might get lucky and survive, or maybe not. Kent caught me slipping below the glideslope one time and made a point of taking me back to the same airport the next morning and showed me what was reaching up and trying to grab me while I was down low...a point that I will never forget. Having said this, you must be prepared to SAFELY land at an airport with no VASI lights just in case. On my recent night flying practice at DYB, 24 had lights and 06 did not. I flew the lights on 24 until I was in the groove, then switched the pattern and flew 06 without the lights until I felt good.

Pierre gave some great advice about flying from sunset into night...it is a great help. I would suggest that your first excursions into night flight occur with a full moon. After you have it down with the moon, work your way into a no moon night...be prepared to fly instruments, because this is what it is all about if you are out in the sticks or over water.

My first night training was on a moonless night on the SC coast. My instructor, and old B-29 pilot, had me take her a bit off the coast just long enough to see what it was like to fly with no horizon. It was so calm that the ocean looked like the sky. It didn't take long before I had to stay on instruments in order to keep things level.

I love night ops, but I have to admit that my fear factor is cranked up a few notches while doing so...
 
Not a big deal, have fun!

It's been a while but if I remember correctly we practiced night landings by transitioning like Pierre suggested until I was comfortable and then later we did the 2 or three hours of night flying at about 2:00 in the morning. Landing at more than one airport is very good practice. There is nothing to be concerned about, Your instructor will be right there if you need him.
 
I went through this about two years ago, I had apprehension about my first night flight so thats understandable. But really, night landings werent as hard as I thought they would be, even with the landing light off. Its also kind of like a video game with the runway all lit up on approach, very cool! You'll be fine, enjoy the experience.
 
With respect to LED headlights I would caution against carrying a headlamp in your flight bag if it is one of the more common units that uses a pushbutton switch to turn it on. I have several of this style of LED headlamp and they're great, until you look in your flight back and see it glowing 'cuz the darned headlamp has been turned on without your knowledge.

Rayovac sells a good headlamp that has a white LED, a red LED and an incandescent bulb that's quite well suited to illuminating the extremities of the airplane during pre-flight inspection. And the biggest bonus is that it uses a rotary switch to select the different lighting modes. One of these permanently hangs from the passenger headset cradle in my airplane.

When I go flying and it's likely I will operate in low light conditions I have the headlamp hanging within arms reach, a mini-Mag light on a clip in my pocket and a couple of cheapo LED lights clipped to various parts of the interior panels of the airplane (purchased in the Oshkosh FlyMarket for a buck a pop - they mount with a plastic alligator clip that allows them to swivel - good deal, and even better when you clip them to your hat as they shine the light were you need it!). Plus there's a mini-Maglight in the passenger seat back pocket and another one with an LED bulb in the purpose-made pocket of my flight bag.

Some say I've got a bit of a flashlight fetish, but the reality is that many years ago while I was "safety pilot" for a fella doing his commercial ticket I learned my lesson the hard way. We came home in a C152 on a very dark night with no interior lights whatsoever. His flashlight, with its incandescent bulb, killed its big D-cell batteries within a few minutes of the interior lights failing, and my flashlight (an early mini-Maglight) suffered a bulb failure as soon as I turned it on. In the dark I couldn't see enough to install the spare bulb held in the tailcup of the mini-Maglight. I tried to swap it out but the spare bulb ended up on the cockpit floor somewhere. Needless to say it was an "interesting" flight home, and you can bet that we carried lots of speed on final and floated a looooong way down the runway since we couldn't see the airspeed indicator. Getting the radio tuned to the right frequency for the pilot-controlled airport lighting was real treat, too! ;-)
 
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