Contents
Night Flight; …Night
Vertigo; …Night flight checklist;
...Flying at Night Is Not; …FAA
'Examiner Update'; ...Physiology of
night;...Night sight skills; ...Night
x-country; ...Night Taxiing; ...FAR
Night Flight Requirements; ...Night Takeoff;
...Night landings; ...Night
Instruction; ...Night Flying; ...Doing
it at night; ...Night Lights; ...Uncontrolled
Airport; ...What to do if; ...Night
illusions; …Black Hole Approaches;
…VFR Night with IFR Help; …No Light Landing at Night (Emergency);
…A 'blind' Clearance at OAK;
…Knowing Night from Day; …Civil Twilight;
Night
Flight:
The phoneme of night poses a risk for all pilots regardless
of experience but the inexperienced pilot is especially at risk.
72% of our flying information comes through the eye and the eye
is easily fooled at night. The darker the night, the absence of
a horizon and lack of recency are danger signals. The inexperienced
pilot has from 20 seconds to three minutes before losing control
after the onset of spatial disorientation.
Once the eye lacks required information, the brain seeks information
from the inner ear sensors and the proprioceptive
system of our flesh and bones. When there is nothing for the eye
to focus on it defaults to about four feet. We will not
see at a distance unless the eye is made to look into the distance.
It is possible for an aircraft to turn so slowly that the
body senses will not recognize it.
Science now has an electronic jacket that will give the body
sensory perceptions arising from our aircraft instruments. An
enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) is coming that
gives vocal warnings of what is happening and what
to do about it.
Night flying has a higher accident rate than identically day
flying. Airport weather reports are valid for five circular miles
around an airport. Everything between airports will be different
for better or worse. A PIREP is worth a dozen forecasts, especially
at night. Since night clouds can be invisible, be prepared to
go on instruments and make a 180. When your flight has made the
180 your only option your risk factor goes straight up.
Always have aircraft and flight kit prepared for unplanned night
flight. Night causes usual visual flight aids to become nonexistent.
Night visual and sensory illusions are unique to the conditions.
Do not look directly toward the area where you expect to see best.
Look slightly to one side or the other. This visual outlook applies
to the landing flare as well as every other situation. The special
skills of night flying can only be acquired and maintained by
frequent night flights. Until the past couple of years I maintained
a standard of 1/4 of my flying should be at night.
For night flying you must evaluate the relative risks of such a flight. I do not fly across the Sierras at night any more. I have several times made the flight and found the risks to be beyond my comfort level. A planned night flight is far less likely to make its planned departure time and arrival time. If schedule is going to be important, don't fly at night. Change either the flight or the schedule.
Failure to use oxygen above 5000' at night means that you accept the loss of 5% of your remaining night vision for every additional 1000 feet of altitude. An additional risk exists if the pilot fails to get an adequate weather briefing especially the one related to dew point - temperature spread. Reduce your night range so that you can refuel before dark and fly to an airport with 24-hour fueling. Two C-172s on a collusion course without anything other than navigation lights will fly over five miles in less than a minute, use your landing light.
Being lost at night is more critical than in the daytime just as will be an engine failure. Emergency landing situations at night can be improved to full-moon lighting conditions with the purchase of a night-vision monocular for about $200. Ten-times as many accidents occurring on dark nights as with moon light and nearly 30% of the fatalities and an additional 15% of the non-fatal accidents occurring at night where not quite 5% of the flying takes place the $200 spent for a night vision monocular seems to be a reasonable purchase for the pilot who chooses to fly at night.
19% of total fatale accidents occur at night because of power related forced landings. l4% occur during the day in similar power related fatal accidents. The disparity in these figures (they lie) is that only 4% of flying is at night. A high proportion of the fatal accidents were in twins while none were homebuilts or warbirds. Yes, a higher proportion of fatal accidents do occur at night. Evidence shows that in a well-maintained engine and aircraft the risk to life due to engine failure is slight.
Night
Vertigo
Enter a steady standard rate turn and have student lean forward
and look between his legs. After about 60-degrees of turn have
student make one sudden one-way head movement. Have the student
take control. Expect that incorrect inputs will give pilot weird
feelings and reactions. Repeat exercise as before but emphasize
that student should not turn head or look anywhere except at the
instruments. By holding your head erect and scanning the instruments
you can prevent vertigo
The FAA in its wisdom or lack of it depending on perspective
has three different definitions of when it is night. FAR Part
91 says that night is from sunset to sunrise as far as the operation
of position lights. Night, according to FAR Part 61 is from one
hour after sunset until one hour before sunrise for purposes of
night landing currency for carrying passengers. The official definition
is in FAR 1.1.
Go or No-Go Decision
Media weather
Weather broadcasts
PATWAS (Pilot's automatic telephone weather answering service)
TIBS (Telephone information briefing service)
No
Saying, "No, we won't go." makes you a PIC. If you really
know what you are doing you will know when to say "No!"
The strongest voice in opposition to "No!" is time.
Know your minimums and hold to them.
Just like Flying in Daytime ...
The hazards of night flying are directly related to the physiological
limitations of the human body not the aircraft. Humans do not
perform well at night. Night flying will be different. Night flight
is more stressful than day flying and very near to IFR flight
without the required training. It should be. A moderate amount
of stress will improve performance, keep the pilot awake and motivated.
However, subtle events occur at night that would be easily detectable
in daylight. The solo pilot at night is at greater risk than when
flying with an attentive passenger. Night flight requires the
pilot be very familiar with the area and have special knowledge
that can be acquired only through experience. I very much suggest
you get this experience along with a pilot who have already acquired
the experience.
Night flight is so completely different from day that it requires careful introduction. Any pilot deficiencies become magnified at night. The night horizon is less visible and more indistinct. Night flight is semi-IFR with considerable reliance on the instruments. Clouds and terrain are from difficult to impossible to see. On monocles nights, the objects seen are those which are illuminated enough to stand out. There can be a gradual loss of visual clues when flying into darker terrain. This leads to disorientation and loss of control.
Night flight adds to the risk of single-engine flying. Emergency
options are reduced. The new five-mile VFR minimums increase the
impact of weather. Mandated preparation for the flight such as
lights and flashlights make a difference. You will be much more
able to cope if you maintain radio contact with ATC and have a
readily available frequency list. I avoid night training flights
that have less than 1/4 moon. Common mistake is flying when combination
of pilot, conditions, aircraft, and preparation are not up to
making the flight. AIM recommends supplemental oxygen at 5000'
at night and at 10,000' daytime.
Flying a consistent profile is essential to safe night VFR. Be
so aware that you do not descend below 1500' AGL until you are
within engine out distance of the destination. Plan to make a
standard 45 entry so that you will reach pattern altitude when
turning downwind. If ATC gives you a straight in maintain pattern
altitude until you are on two mile final. Fly a VASI or PAPI if
available. If you know your ground speed, multiply it by five
to get a 3-degree descent path.
In 1991 the night requirements for uncontrolled airspace were essentially raised to controlled airspace requirements. Not having the instruments easily visible/readable is bothersome. A 30-degree unobserved turn can cause complete disorientation. The absence of a horizon can cause loss of control. Both situational and geographic disorientation is more likely.
Our ability to make a truthful prediction of our next night flight is of extreme value. When night flying pilots flounder in hesitancy and indecision, we find that the successful outcome of any flight depends more on pilot confidence in his competence. Confidence is a byproduct of competence.
Every night flight or breath for that matter involves a risk on some level. What we do can be evaluated and delineated as to the mathematical risk factor it presents to us. Every night flight decision we make holds consequences. Not making decisions also holds consequences. The ideal would be that we be able to have the foresight to see living and night flying in terms of future consequences. We can't, so we do what we can to face the risks.
Fact is that we do have this predictive capability if we but know HOW to use it. The chances we take in life can be measured and controlled by the way we handle future events. Mathematicians and thinkers since 1654 have provided the probability theory needed to place a degree of certainty into our uncertainty, risk taking and decision making. A pilot must accept the presence of risk and the existence of fear. Both are present and accepted as part of the process. Being afraid makes you more careful. As time fades memory, we are apt to once again approach the risk fear situation but this time you will probably have more awareness and respect for the possible negative outcomes. Your fears are instance policies
Night flight risk analysis begins with finding causes that are influenced by indirect and subtle correlative events or conditions. The relationships are usually not clearly defined but more often summarized as being present. Whenever a kind of relationship does exist we have a correlation. If night accidents are caused by darkness, then primary correlative elements would be amount of natural and man created light. Additional correlative elements of area familiarity, experience, maintenance, equipment, weather and interior lighting come immediately to mind.
The FAA, NTSB, AOPA, and insurance companies have gathered and maintained the data base of night flying statistics compared to day flying statistics. The data, through statistical inference points to causality. Modern computers can crunch the numbers to find future probability. Without this gathering of data there would be no prediction of probability. Enough samples of night flying accidents with selected correlative elements gives us probability.
The ability to make a prediction of accident probability for a given night flight resulting in an accident results in a number. The number is a percentage that gives the probability of an accident occurring. With sufficient data transposed into percentages a person is able to compare, decide, and fly at night in given conditions with some assurance of a non-accident flight. It is a gamble on the odds of event probability. A pilots decision for making any flight, day or night, has to be based upon this theory of decision making because there is no certainty as to what will happen. This is a process that every pilot partakes from for every flight, night or otherwise.
We use risk analysis to evaluate the consequences of starting the engine, taking off, flight altitude, direction, and landing. To do otherwise is to be oblivious of probability as it can and does affect all our lives. Don't say that you don't gamble, take chances, and challenge probability. You do and it makes your life more worth living because certainty will destroy incentive, interest and curiosity.
40% of all night takeoff accidents have non-instrument pilots. Of all night accidents the darkness of the night was listed as a factor in 54%. 26% were judged to be caused by spatial disorientation. Most of the takeoff accidents occurred with in 3 miles and one minute of takeoff. More often than not the pilot was unaware of his unusual attitude. The darker the night the more important is instrument flight capability.
Hundreds of pilots before you have made the risk decision in favor of taking night flight. In the proper moonlight conditions you can see well enough to see clouds, water, some terrain and many lighted areas. A flight over familiar areas at night is a thing of beauty. Other aircraft can be detected far beyond daytime sighting distances. Night landings are acts of faith. You must believe that the lighting and surface delineate the airport and a safe place to touch the earth. Oddly, taxiing at night is a very difficult process. Many aircraft lights do not light your way. Flying at night is like the risks you take with a beautiful woman. You could wind up married (buried).
FAA
'Examiner Update'
Pilot operation 9 (FAR 61.107) Pilot must have SOME night instruction
before being qualified to be eligible to take flight test. To
be fully certified for night flight a student must have at least
three hours of instruction at night with ten full-stop landings.
Night flight requires a more proficient instrument crosscheck than does day. In making maneuvers the horizon may be lost and spatial disorientation can occur. Night flight has more inherent dangers and potential problems. The obstacle you don't know about will kill you at night. More than ever, altitude at night is insurance. Your policy is an accurate altimeter set.
Read up on the physiology of night vision to better understand the operation of the eye. Over age 40, fatigue, and smoking affect visual acuity and adaptation to darkness. Do not look directly at an object at night because the optic nerve location may not let you see it. The decrease in oxygen above 4000' decreases visual efficiency. Air Force requires full oxygen from the surface at night. The light smoker is physiologically at 3000' before he gets into the plane. Above 8000' at night it is a good idea to have oxygen. Since we don't see as well as might be desired at night we must compensate using experience (brains) and technology. The human eye performs poorly at night.
Fatigue has greater influence on pilot skills at night. The retina is the first and fastest part of the body to react to reduction of blood oxygen. Cigarette smokers start out with an immediate night vision problem. Night vision can be improved by the use of oxygen. Night flying errors happen because of human lack of capability. Night vision is the key limiting factor. Without surface lights, it is hard to know your altitude above the ground, with surface lights it is difficult to locate the airport beacon. Most night accidents occur on 'dark night' flights. Fatigue makes all of the safety factors involved to be more likely misjudged. Raise you personal safety parameters at night and raise them even more when fatigued. Skillful night flying is fragile, unused night flying skills must be polished regularly or they will be lost quickly.
The eye is much like a video camera. A view is focused on the retina, converted electrically to data sent to the brain. Rods and cones make the visual to electrical conversion. Cones, near the focal center give colors, brightness and sharpness when light is good. Rods are the night-vision part of seeing. The peripheral region of the retina is rod territory. Rods make it so we can see at night but not in color. Complete night adaptation of the eye to darkness can take over 30 minutes and be destroyed in seconds.
The human eye is a dual system devoted to day vision or night
vision. The duality has inherited abilities that vary with the
individual. Some pilots just see better, day or night. Some eyes
have retinal structure and nerve elements that are visually
more efficient. Pigment and other factors such as pupil size allow
eyes to respond to weak stimulus. Age affects the pupil's
ability to change size. The wider the pupil the better the night
vision. A pilot's ability to adjust to darkness deteriorates
with age.
The rods and cones adapt to night conditions. The cones are centered in the eye but are slow to adapt and then only by a factor of x 100. Rods spread to the sides in the back of the eye. They are more sensitive at night by a factor of x 100,000. Rods take 30 minutes to recover from a bright light shock.
There is an oval shaped region of the retina known as the blind
spot. It cannot see light. Binocular vision compensates for this
in daytime. At night we often are unable to see objects if we
look directly at them. To see at night we cannot look directly
at what we want to see. Your central vision is inoperative. Looking
off center at night uses peripheral vision, which is 100,000 times
more sensitive than central vision at night. Your eyes can be
adapted to night vision by wearing red glasses, patching one eye
and using dimmed lighting. No matter how well you do this one
flash of a strobe taxiing out destroys it all. It the lighted
airports of today I prefer to work in a lighted cockpit. I like
to see my strange charts clearly with all obstacle heights known
and avoided. 90% of our orientation is visual even in the cockpit.
NASA has proven that there is less oxygen at night than during
the day. The eye is quite susceptible to oxygen deficiency so
vision at night at 9000' gives the visual acuity that you would
have at 15000' during the day.
Your visual adaptability to light/darkness is reduced 50% every
eleven years of your life. Experience and frequency of night flight
is the best compensation for this loss. Any bright light effectively
reduces night vision. You might try protecting one eye from light
until airborne. Try wearing sunglasses at dusk.
The use of colors other than red in the cockpit has become more common in the 1990's. Light-emitting diodes are more efficient than other systems and will be in all cockpits of the future. Blue lighting such as is common in military aircraft requires much more lighting than white lighting. Vitamin A is a vital element for night vision and adaptation. Vitamin A deficiency will make a significant difference in night vision. However excessive intake of Vitamin A will not give an apparent improvement.
Ample oxygen is necessary for adequate night vision more so
than day vision. Above 4000 feet supplemental oxygen will
improve night vision. There will be an initial decrease of 5%
in night vision and the deficiency is accumulative over time.
At 8000 feet the initial effect is about 15% and will become worse
with time. The most dangerous aspect of this is that
the pilot has no way of knowing that he is not seeing as well.
The wearing of sunglasses during the day is one way to improve
your night vision. Neutral gray glasses seem best in their
ability to absorb ultraviolet light. At night, red lenses will
absorb blue light and aid dark adaptation. Limit your use of bright
lights at night since even a momentary flash can destroy your
night vision.
Should blur interfere with the things you see at night, it
may be indicative of night myopia. Squinting will help some or
the
use of glasses. If the eye is unable to focus on anything at a
distance at night it may be having space myopia. Keeping
the eyes moving can help limit these effects that are made worse
by staring.
Objects are harder to see at night just because they are less
well defined around the edges. This makes things appear farther
away than they actually are. The requirement for glasses at night
is much greater than during daylight.
Night sight skills
The ability to judge distances and heights at night is difficult at night. The absence of haze or its presence can cause illusions at night. Lights will vary in intensity and cause illusion effects. A misidentified light source can cause total confusion. A single light gives no altitude information. Multiple lights may be in different geometric visual planes. Freeways become visible while country roads disappear. Aircraft and lighted towers become visible for miles. Airports have beacons. The most common illusion is a narrow runway that appears to be longer than it is. the narrow runway may make you think that you are too high. Have a set procedure; allow an extra wide downwind at night. Know the length of your destination runway. Required FAR knowledge on all flights! All illusions are made worse at night.
Preparation for night flight must be more intensive and comprehensive. Make your initial night flight preflight during the day. Check all the lights and carry a spare bulb. Visual checkpoints are much closer. Fuel reserves are doubled. Charts are marked with black felt tip pens. Frequencies are written large. Terrain altitudes are noted and crossing extra altitude added. Weather makes a big difference. At night you can't see weather unless there is a moon. We get very used to seeing weather change during the day. Weather changes much the same way at night but quicker. You must expect weather changes at night to occur suddenly simply because we cannot see the changes occurring as we can in daytime. VFR to IFR at night by non-IFR pilots is usually fatale. 100 to 200 hour pilots have most such accidents.
One flashlight is not enough. One big flashlight for preflight, a small one for reading sectional etc., and one backup. Night flying is safest when there are no clouds, a good dewpoint-spread and minimum winds. Don't fly at night into areas where you are not very familiar in daylight. Have the legally required landings and carry another more experienced pilot (instructor) for cheap insurance.
Night
x-country
Preparation
Make an an honest assessment of skill and limitations. Routes,
frequencies, weather, moon phase, airport information, terrain
heights, FAR's related to night flight, night flight checklist
PLANNING:
1. Take a blindfold test of the cockpit
2. Older pilots need more light
3. Limit night flying to familiar aircraft.
4. An organized cockpit,
5. Charts in order and folded for use, no red lines but well marked
6. Closer checkpoints selected by time between and for night visibility
7. Obstructions marked, ground routes/terrain studied
8. Higher than normal altitude for terrain clearance
9. Plan a what if...non-electronic flight possibility
10. Airport, city-lights proximity route with VASI, PAPI runways
11. Minute VFR fuel reserve required
12. Reduce range 1/3 keep track of wind direction and speeds
13. No straight-in to strange airport, make high/steep approach
14. Phone day before to an unfamiliar field for suggestions
15. Extra careful preflight checking lights and spare fuse
16. Always plan to get fuel before FBO's close for the day
17. Weather notes on temperature/dew point spread
PRE-FLIGHT
Have current sectional and area charts, flashlights, pens, radio
backup? Check all lighting..
FLIGHT:
1. Night reference to instruments takes longer than in day light.
2. Look outside more than inside
3. Set all lights at lowest intensity that can be seen without
effort.
4. White lights increase mental alertness
5. Clean windows
6. Use landing light when near airports.
7. Limit landing light use on ground due to over-heating of bulbs.
8. Run-up creep is more likely to be undetected at night
9. Use caution in proportion to darkness
10. Lighting should be limited to preserve night vision
11. Practice taxiing using navigational lights
12. Tower can use light-gun to light center line of taxiway
13. Know where you are at all times and know the nearest landing
spot.
14. If confused get assistance---CCCC
15. Moonlit waters and freeways make good checkpoints
16. Cloudy, moonless, windy nights are most difficult
17. CAVU weather with full moon is best
18. Recommend 1/4 moon as minimum unless IFR capable
19. Keep altitude 'insurance' in force at all times. Know your
terrain.
20. Check heading indicator/compass at checkpoints
21. Be prepared to go on instruments and make 180 if you fly unexpectedly
into a cloud. Major cause of night flying accidents.
22. Review causes of vertigo and disorientation
23. Try not to pass a checkpoint without being oriented to next
one
24. Report your positions with extreme accuracy
25. Night flight requires your highest level of precision and
skill.
26. Extreme levels of flying skill may be required all at once.
27. Reference the A/FD to get frequency and procedure for turning
on airport lights.
28. Black hole takeoff and landing occurs in regions of few lights
such as toward the ocean or a mountain. You must be .....instrument
competent or lucky to fly these. Call me lucky.
29. VASI or PAPI runways help you to avoid night landing illusions.
Night Flying
Be IFR rated
Trust your instruments
Coordinate your turns
Hold your head still
Don't fly alone
Lower lighting
Have flashlights
Use oxygen
Use electronic aids
Fly the airport pattern
Eat right
Night and Age
Colors are not as clear and sharp
More light is required
Recognition takes longer
Disabilities exist
Pupil size is smaller
Focus range and speed decreases
Visual accommodation may take several seconds
Night taxiing is more difficult than any taxiing other than
zero-zero conditions. Night conditions are also difficult for
the controller. the controller may not know where your are any
more than you do. Be as specific as your can as to your last known
location, your compass heading (you may not have set your HI)
and the color of the line over your nose. At night, don't do anything
except taxi and keep track of your position. The more experienced
you are the more willing you seem to be to admit a problem of
ignorance and a need for help. When in doubt, stop.
Many aircraft have inadequate taxi lights and even lighted airports
have unlighted areas. A tower signal light can be used to show
the center taxi line. As age enters the picture, night vision
fails. A year or so ago I taxied the nosewheel into the mud while
showing a student how to taxi without lights. It was a good lesson,
for the instructor. When taxiing use as much lighting as you can
and get any available assistance from ATC. Being totally lost
on your home airport is not uncommon.
I have had controllers use a light gun to show the taxiway centerlines
when I had no taxi/landing light. I have been at Sacramento Executive
so far from the tower in the dark and fog that Airport Security
had to show me to tiedown and later escort me to the active runway.
When you need help, get it.
Night ground operations are more difficult. You may be able to
follow the taxiway with a nose light while a wing-tip light makes
it difficult to see the yellow line. Be considerate of other pilots
and don't use strobes while on the ground daytime and especially
at night.
FAR Night
Flight Requirements (instructor)
Night FARs
--Night currency requires three full stop landings within past
90 days.
--Landings must take place one hour after sunset to count towards
currency.
--Navigational lights must go on at sunset.
--FAR 91.209 requires that position lights and anti-collision
lights be used from sunset to sunrise. For logging purposes, night
is the time between sunset and sunrise, for currency purposes
night is from one-hour after sunset to one-hour before sunrise.
--SVFR at night is not allowed unless IFR current for both pilot
and plane. 45-minute fuel reserve is required at night.
--Night visibility must be 3 miles except when remaining within
1/2 mile of airport while doing pattern work. Cloud clearances
are 500, 1000, and 2000 feet.
--FAR Part 1 defines official "night" so pilots can
log the conditions of flight, day or night required by FAR 61.51
(b)(3)(i). Twilight is the time of incomplete darkness after sunset
or before sunrise. FAR 6157(d) defines pilot proficiency requirement
that must be complied with before the pilot can be pilot in command
of an aircraft carrying passengers at night. This is the time
one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise. This more restrictive
"night" is designed to assure pilot proficiency. The
less restrictive requirement can be used for meeting certificate
requirements.
--Nothing in FAR Part 91 requires lights for takeoff or landing at night at either controlled or uncontrolled airports. However ATC cannot clear you to land at an unlighted runway. They can say that any landing is at your own risk. Most obstructions do not appear on ATC radar. Obstruction clearance and avoidance is a pilot responsibility and the eyeball is best supplemented by a sectional chart. ATC will not issue a clearance that does not provide standard terrain clearance. Pilot agreement to a given clearance is required only in non-tower operations. Terrain avoidance remains totally the pilot responsibility until minimum instrument altitude (MIA) is reached. ATC cannot issue a clearance requiring pilot concurrence unless the pilot says that he can maintain obstacle and terrain clearance. Pilot concurrence does not mean that the flight must be or will be flown in VFR conditions.
Taking off into dark terrain may give an illusion that causes
the pilot to make a bank or shallow descent. Dark-terrain takeoffs
should be made on instruments. Night takeoffs should rely heavily
on instruments until altitude is sufficient to allow for any monetary
disorientation that is likely to occur using visual reference.
Factors:
Weather
If you are cautious during the day, be doubly cautious at night.
If your strobes sparkle it indicates rain.
Visual illusions
Lack of lighting over final approach gives too high illusion.
Instrument competence
Greater attention to instruments at night.
Select altitude and airspeed and keep it
Abrupt power reduction gives nose down illusion. (somatogravic)
Workload
Biological clock problem
Be rested
If solo use ATC services
Anxiety
Experience and training
Don't activate lighting too early while taxiing out for takeoff
or too early when arriving for landing.
Very dangerous to takeoff into total darkness like toward the
ocean--you are IFR,
Check heading indicator to correspond to runway prior to takeoff.
Make no turns until at safe altitude.
Remember scattered lights on a mountain can be confused with stars
if there is no horizon.
1. Use your landing light.
2. Avoid turns when cockpit workload is high.
3. Don't hesitate to ask tower to turn up lights
4. Pre-select an early go-around point and use it.
5. Use a slightly longer/steeper final than normal.
6. Know how to get lights at an uncontrolled field.
7. Flare level and don't try for full stall landing.
8. Maintain constant airspeed on final with power on.
9. Remember distances can be very deceiving at night.
10. Practice landings with and without landing lights.
11. Practice landings with and without landing lights.
12. Undershooting at night is greatest cause of accidents.
13. Avoid long shallow approaches. The steeper the better.
14. Down slope lights cause high approaches and long landings.
15. Up slope lights cause low approaches and landing short of
runway.
16. If flight takes place at night with 25% of the accidents--either
fly a lot or NOT.
17.If you are insecure flying at night, consider limiting bank
angles to half of normal.
18. Straight in approaches are most dangerous unless VASI or glide
slope available, make high steep approach.
19. If moisture reflects from landing light beam do not use for
landing since it usually causes you to flare high.
You must know critical information (heights of terrain), that which can be seen Vs unseen at night, (freeways Vs country roads), situational awareness becomes vital, willingness and ability to communicate to ATC. and knowing the performance parameters of the aircraft cold (without interior lighting) is beyond the just "nice to know" requirements of daytime flight.
The descent to the airport should be planned well before the actual occurrence. Do what it takes to raise your level of mental alertness. The safe performance of night landings depends on your ability to control approach speed and altitude. If your daytime landing procedures are based upon a stabilized approach the transfer to night landings will be easier. The stabilized approach gives you a reference from which to evaluate night landing illusions. Your depth perception, visual cues, and runway perspective will change at night. The desire to remain high and fast can overcome your training. A high fast landing at night will be hard long and dangerous. Like day landings a good night landing begins with a good approach but it is not exactly the same. Avoid excess airspeed, use your instruments to confirm visual impressions, especially the altimeter and airspeed indicator. Set your configuration of power, flaps, and airspeed as though doing a soft field landing.
Once you become aware of the many illusions that often occur at night. You will see the advantage of flying a pre-selected approach pattern. Runway lighting gives you an impression of runway area. There is an illusion as to the runway length-to-width ratio. The vertical-position illusion occurs when there is no visible horizon. It makes lights and visible objects to appear higher than they actually are. The false-horizon illusion makes lights and stars appear to blend so that you cannot be certain as to where the horizon is. The foreground-occlusion illusion occurs when something ahead makes a light disappear. Climb immediately.
Keep power on during a night landing. The terrain cues needed for flight path correction are meager and undetectable at night. Look at the lights toward the far end of the runway. When these lights begin to flatten out you should enter your flare. Do not try to make a full stall landing. Your visual ability to determine altitude at night is seriously degraded. Make your flare using the runway lights at the far end of the runway. raise the nose until they are covered, but no more. Hold some power on as the plane gradually descends. You don't want to hit the nose wheel first but a relatively flat landing at night is acceptable.
You need to be an active night flyer if you expect to make consistently good night landings. I would recommend doing at least 1/4 of your flying at night to retain proficiency. With experience a pilot can become consciously aware of the visual cues that are available and use them to improve night landing accuracy.
Likely faults by those whose proficiencies are due to lack
of practice will be:
1. Approach speed too fast due to poor airspeed control.
2. Unable to detect/correct wind drift
3. Hard touchdown due to over-reactions during flare.
4. Likely to be below pattern altitude
THIS INSTRUCTOR WILL NOT AUTHORIZE STUDENT NIGHT FLIGHTS
The introductory night flight should begin at sunset and end just after total darkness. The transition from day- time visual cues to a landing to those available at dusk and in darkness is a valuable lesson. Under crosswind conditions the lesson is even more important. Future night flights should include a well lighted urban area airport, a small airport adjacent to a city, and an isolated field that is difficult to find at night. The required FAA three hours is a minimum and not really enough for proficiency.
The normal tendency to get too close on downwind at a small runway is much worse at night. It is not unusual to have a pilot confuse street lights with runway lights. Be extra careful not to get confused by nearby airports. It is not all that unusual to have a pilot communicating with one airport while landing at another.
Destination airports are difficult to find at night. Once found, it is difficult to keep the airport in sight while planning your approach to a specific runway. Use your heading indicator and get all the help you can from radar, tower, passengers, and other planes. VFR radar advisories are provided only as ATC workload allows. See and be seen applies.
If a runway has a down slope do not level off horizontally. A three-degree approaches glide will cause a one-degree upslope runway to give the ILLUSION that your approach is much too steep. The same approach at a one-degree down slope runway will give the ILLUSION of too flat approach. Find out the slope of any runway you expect to use at night. Don't fly into a marginal field at night without first having been there in daylight.
Use the landing light on every other landing to maintain proficiency in case it should burn out. Use the landing light to signal other aircraft that you see them. With light shock occurring all the time in urban areas, my preference is to use cockpit lights all the time and rely on aircraft and airport lighting. In x-country flying I reduce cockpit lighting to a minimum and try to preserve my night vision in at least one eye.
My initial night lesson begins just about sunset and continues until just before night one hour later. During this time I teach students to learn the visual transitions that are required. The reference gradually change to airport lighting references. Left and right patterns are flown. Just before official night, we make a full stop and I then go up and make my required three full stop night landings for currency.
The next night flight, probably with intervening day dual and solo flight, takes place at night where we fly to three neighboring fields and do two full-stop taxiback landings at each one. Finally, we make the required 100 mile flight at night. I have the student fly using ded reckoning. By flying only with course and time as the controlling factors, the student can learn to appreciate the inherent difficulties.
I try to fly to the darkest hole airport I can find beyond the fifty-mile range. It is important that a student learn how difficult it can be to judge airport patterns at night. Coming in with a shallow approach is to be avoided. Runway slope presents visual illusions that make go-arounds likely. With pilot controlled lighting, GPS, and radar the finding of airports is not nearly as difficult as in former days.
The factors that kill both good and poor pilots are both unpredictable and impartial. There are risks in everything we do. Flying has several added dimensions to these risks. The worst flying risk is the needless risk. The needles risk is most likely to occur when you are 'hurried' to do something.
The other night, I was taking a student on a late night cross-country. We had the flight all planned out for each leg, the course, departure and arrival procedures for five different airports. I make a practice of having my students make a full clearing turn to final and base prior to departure. Just as we were taxiing into our clearing turn before contacting tower, ATC cleared us for an immediate takeoff.
Adding to the problem was that ATC was transmitting and receiving on two frequencies at once. We were on ground frequency and cleared for takeoff. We had not heard any of the arrival traffic communications. My student had not yet had a chance to request her right 270, give the route or direction of departure. To make matters worse this was a second flight in an unfamiliar airplane. Instead of refusing the clearance
The student took the runway without being ready. The student was being hurried and made insecure by the unusual situation. As the student sorted things out for this first leg the student came to fully realize the problem was in allowing ATC to take over as PIC. It was an excellent "what not to do' lesson made all the better when the planning and procedures at the next four airports went as expected.
As PIC you must avoid any hurry to comply since they usually include a needless risk. The fact that we had made a complete cockpit briefing of what we were going to do and how it would be done, made the precipitous departure all the more transparent in its deficiencies. The differences between a prepared departure and an unprepared departure can be measures in time. Pilots must learn not to chase minutes by hurrying, because your limits of experience are being exceeded. If this should happen to you, speak up, slow down and join those pilots who stress being good over being lucky.
PTS night requirements are three hours, one total distance cross country of 100 nautical miles and ten landings. Before the FAA jumped in I nearly doubled these requirements. I included a night-mountain flight into the Sierras. One local FBO has eight of the night landings done at the home airport in one flight with the remaining two possible in a fifty mile round robin. Personally, until I became an instructor I made a point that 1/4 of all my flying took place at night. Training and proficiency at night will be what you make it.
On a recent night flight I pushed the envelope a bit far. We had planned a 100-mile review day VFR flight with a return to include the two remaining 'required' night landings. With a series of unexpected delays much of the day flight turned into night so our first night landing occurred at our destination and our second at home.
Weather was forecast to be clear but fog was coming in over the field when we departed so we could not clime to cruise altitude until our second checkpoint. All the VFR day checkpoints disappeared at the 50-mile mark and we were forced to use VOR radials and NDB bearings. Flight went well with only an initial off-course correction required early on.
Thirty miles out of CCR I could see that we had several options. We could continue and file IFR. I had my plates and had confirmed that the plane was IFR. I did not like this option mostly because several conditions. The suction gauge was zero until power was at cruise. The cockpit lighting left much to be desired. The localizer frequency CDI did not seem to respond, as it should. I was unfamiliar with the aircraft both at night and in actual conditions. I informed ATC and my student that I preferred to go it VFR.
One option was to fly over the stratus layer with tops at about 1500 and bases from 1000 to 1200 feet with wide areas of clear skies as I later discovered. This approach, had I known of the clear areas would have been the best choice. Instead, I instructed the student to ask ATC repeatedly for lower until finally ATC cleared us through Travis Class D with the only restriction to maintain VFR. I took the controls at this point. We were able to maintain VFR close to 1000' AGL and maintain visual with the CCR shoreline some 15 to 20 miles away.
On leaving Travis' airspace we were able to climb a bit higher
and had wide areas of clear skies and very bright moonlight. With
a frequency change on having CCR in sight we picked up the VASI
some ten miles out and the student proceeded to land for night
landing # 10. Although a part of the IFR procedure has an intermediate
altitude of 1000', it is not, in my opinion an advisable procedure
to fly this low VFR art night even if with full knowledge that
there are no obstructions and we were tracking the VOR as though
on approach. In hindsight the better option would have been to
come in over the top.
Perhaps my memory of a night flight from Oakland to CCR which
required an altitude of 8000' to get over the top influenced my
option selection. My spiraling descent over CCR so disoriented
me that I had to ask the tower to tell me when to straighten out
on the downwind. Optical illusions can threaten your orientation
especially at night. I seem to prefer the visual certainty below
the ceiling to the uncertainty above the deck. Had the tower been
open my choice would have been different.
The rotating beacons all carry vital information:
--Civil land: alternating white and green
--Beacon operates daytime when field below VFR minimums.
--Military land: two quick white flashes and a green
--Heliports: rapid flashes of green, white, or yellow
--Lighted water: alternating white and yellow
--Pilot controlled on CTAF frequency:
--Low-intensity takes three clicks of mike switch
--Medium-intensity takes five clicks.
--High-intensity takes seven clicks.
VASI (visual approach slope indicator
Have two for G.A. aircraft or three bars for 747 types.
"Red over White, you're all right."
Three bar VASIs will have two red over white for G.A. aircraft.
PAPI has four lights in a row on left side of runway
On glide path gives two reds and two whites
High gives three or four white
Low gives three or four red
#1 SITUATION:
Night, good VFR, moon, no terrain problem, non-emergency
1. Maintain aircraft control, avoid descent, trim.
2. Self orientation
Maintain VFR and extra altitude
Check sectional for terrain altitude minimums
Orient sectional to flight direction
Use VORs to determine position
Select course-turn and fly
Intercept VOR radial and fly to destination
Fly to city lights over 3000'
3. ATC assistance
Contact FSS-request DF steer
Contact Approach- request assistance.
4. Second Pilot
If you have doubts as to your experience
Good way to extend experience and lower cost
Lowers cockpit load
# 2 SITUATION:
Night, clouds, poor visibility, lost, fuel low
SUGGESTION:
For any one of the three...
Declare EMERGENCY 121.5/7700
# 3 SITUATION:
Mountain downdraft
SUGGESTION:
First of all I would not recommend any aircraft with less than
180 h.p. in mountains. Never approach a ridge at 90 degrees. A
45 degree approach gives a quicker get-away. Try to have 2000'
clearance if possible. You may need the extra altitude if you
hit a 2000' per minute downdraft in 40 kt winds. It is important
to get out of the downdraft quickly. Instinctive desire to climb
at Vx or Vy is wrong. Slow down in an updraft full power and speed
in a downdraft.
Night
illusions
Try some night airwork without cockpit lights. It will make
you listen more closely to the sounds of the aircraft.
Runway and approach light illusions will always be a problem if
you are in an unfamiliar area. For this reason it is always desirable
to make a daylight familiarization flight to an airport before
a first time night arrival. If there is no VASI or VAPI for vertical
guidance if you get too low the runway lights will begin to disappear.
A steep approach is always better at night. If there is a strong
crosswind and you are crabbing to the runway instead of slipping
you will get the illusion of being inverted. If the airport is
well lighted in a surrounding dark area you will have an illusion
of being higher than you actually are. Again a steep approach
has much advantage. Rain on the windshield will give the illusion
of being higher than you are. An arrival at an airport with and
approach lighting system (ALS) tends to be lower and at a shallower
angle than otherwise. If you are low and pitch the nose up as
a correction or through the use of flaps, the illusion will indicate
that you are rising. Any reduction of power will cause you to
land short.
At night, banking into or away from a line of lights will give the illusion that a dive or a climb is occurring. The same dive or climb illusion can happen by a change in aircraft pitch occurs while flying toward a light. Lights that appear dim, as seen through haze, will be reported as more distant than they are. Example: I once reported an airport as in sight from twelve miles when the tower had me on radar at only five miles.
Pilots unconsciously make extensive use of their peripheral vision. Level flight, banks, climbs, and descents all rely 80% on peripheral vision. (See downwind turns) At low levels our peripheral vision gives us a sense of speed. Over time we develop a peripheral sense as to what "normal" low-level speeds are. Add a tailwind, low altitude, a bank to final approach, and a peripheral sense of a "high" speed. We now have an illusion causing a pilot response that says to pull back on the yoke to reduce the speed. The pull merely makes the bank steeper and initiates a low-level stall spin. Recovery is not possible.
A final approach over high terrain leading to the runway gives an illusion of a low fast approach. An approach over terrain that makes the runway seem like an aircraft carrier will give an illusion of too high and too slow.
Night has its own illusions that are covered in the night flight lessons. The distance of lights is greatly affected by the relative clearness and haze existing. A region of no lights such as might exist off the end of a runway toward the ocean can cause disorientation because of IFR illusions. The best solution is to go on instruments until established inland at altitude.
The black hole illusion is that you are too high on the approach. The deceived pilot will descend into danger. The night focus of your eyes is in the far distance. Again, the illusion is that you are overshooting and you will again descend. Because of visual changes with age the older you are the more likely you are to be fooled by the black hole illusion. Glasses can be fitted to compensate for this difficulty.
1. Use charts
2. Use glide slope aids
3. Use published routes
4. Hang on to radar help
5. Never descend if uncertain
6. Know MSA for area
7. Have personal minimum altitude
8. Remain above VASI slope (91.129)
VFR
Night with IFR Help
Since the VFR pilot at night is subject to illusions that
can lead to controlled flight into terrain, the use of instrument
approach facilities can provide you with help in terrain avoidance.
Pilots tend to add speed when flying in insecure or uncertain
situations. Most runway overruns occur at night as do most IFR
approach accidents. Night and low visibility VFR approaches should
be flown at appropriate airspeeds. Use whatever IFR guidance is
available.
No
Light Landings at night (Emergency)
Landing in darkness techniques under emergency conditions.
Select a long runway. Use Localizer or ILS approach if available.
Find a long runway if available. Set power for slow descent with
nose high, minimum flaps, At 100' hold nose high but do not flare.
Fly into the ground. This method will work when flying into the
sun and having difficulty seeing runway.
I have found in the 'hilly' S.F. Bay Area that flying my day flights are a good time to feel out the nighttime minimums. I will fly relatively close to the hilltops and ridges with the intent of setting my night minimums for the route.
My preferred night arrival at any unfamiliar airport is relatively steep with power on. Before the FAA came up with its three hours of night and 100 miles, I would take my students into the Sierra Foothills and do all the airports from Mariposa (Yosemite) to Grass Valley at night and that was before they improved the airports.
General recommendation is not to go into an airport at night that you haven't scoped out in the daytime.
A
'Blind" Clearance at OAK
Oakland, CA has two towers and effectively two runway areas. The
South tower is open 24 hours. The North tower closes at 10 p.m.
local. The South Tower controls all operations on
the north field even though they cannot see the takeoff and landing
areas (first 1000') of 27R or L.
The ATIS has this information when the tower closes and pilots are also advised by the South Tower. You will be cleared for landings and departures by the South Tower but you must acknowledge that you are aware of their visibility restrictions. Your clearance will include the words such as, "at pilots discretion".
Knowing
Night From Day
Horizon:
Wherever one is located on or near the Earth's surface, the Earth
is perceived as essentially flat and, therefore, as a plane. The
sky resembles one-half of a sphere or dome centered at the observer.
If there are no visual obstructions, the apparent intersection
of the sky with the Earth's (plane) surface is the horizon, which
appears as a circle centered at the observer. For rise/set computations,
the observer's eye is considered to be on the surface of the Earth,
so that the horizon is geometrically exactly 90 degrees from the
local vertical direction.
Rise, Set:
During the course of a day the Earth rotates once on
its axis causing the phenomena of rising and setting. All celestial
bodies, stars and planets included, seem to appear in the sky
at the horizon to the East of any particular place, then to cross
the sky and again disappear at the horizon to the West. The most
noticeable of these events, and the most significant in regard
to ordinary affairs, are the rising and setting of the Sun and
Moon. Because the Sun and Moon appear as circular disks and not
as points of light, a definition of rise or set must be very specific,
for not all of either body is seen to rise or set at once.
Twilight:
Before sunrise and again after sunset there are intervals
of time, twilight, during which there is natural light provided
by the upper atmosphere, which does receive direct sunlight and
reflects part of it toward the Earth's surface. Some outdoor activities
may be conducted without artificial illumination during these
intervals, and it is useful to have some means to set limits beyond
which a certain activity should be assisted by artificial lighting.
The major determinants of the amount of natural light during twilight
are the state of the atmosphere generally and local weather conditions
in particular. Atmospheric conditions are best determined at the
actual time and place of events. Nevertheless, it is possible
to establish useful, though necessarily approximate, limits applicable
to large classes of activities by considering only the position
of the Sun below the local horizon. Reasonable and convenient
definitions have evolved.
Civil
twilight
Civil twilight is defined to begin in the morning, and to
end in the evening when the center of the Sun is geometrically
6 degrees below the horizon. This is the limit at which twilight
illumination is sufficient, under good weather conditions, for
terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished. At the beginning
of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the
horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible
under good atmospheric conditions in the absence of moonlight
or other illumination. In the morning before the beginning of
civil twilight and in the evening after the end of civil twilight,
artificial illumination is normally required to carry on ordinary
outdoor activities. Complete darkness, however, ends sometime
prior to the beginning of morning civil twilight and begins sometime
after the end of evening civil twilight.
Return to whittsflying
Home Page
Continued on Preparing
a Cross-Country