By Josh Page, CFI
One of the most exhilarating parts about flying is being able to soar through the night sky. There’s nothing like looking down on all the city lights illuminating the surrounding darkness. It’s such a unique experience from daytime flying. And if you think landing during the day is fulfilling, there’s something particularly special about landing at an airport in the middle of a dark night. In this article, we’re going to look at the requirements for safe night operations.
Certification
In the United States, a pilot must receive a minimum of three hours of night training before they can get their private pilot certificate. Within those three hours of night training, they must do ten full stop landings as well as a cross-country flight of more than 100nm total distance with their certified flight instructor. This requirement ensures the student not only learns the aspects of landing at nighttime, but also learns and experiences being able to navigate to a different airport at night. Interestingly, in many other countries, pilots need to earn a separate rating to be able to fly at night. Let’s consider some reasons why extra training is important for safe night operations.
Disorientation & Illusions While Flying
It is very easy to become disoriented at night. The normal visual cues a pilot often relies on during the day are removed at night. As soon as one of your senses is taken away, your body can begin to mislead to you. This is why it is crucial to trust your instruments. Trust your instruments. Trust your instruments! A pilot who cannot identify things outside the plane, like the horizon, for example, might feel they are climbing when in all reality they are flying level. So, they begin to pitch down to correct what they perceive is a climb — now that are descending unaware. This can happen in low visibility situations during the daytime, but it is very common at night.
It's also common for a pilot to mistake something like a low bank of clouds or a series of city lights for the horizon and then base their flying off what they perceive to be the horizon. This is called a false horizon illusion. Once again, the answer is to trust your instruments! They will tell you if you’re flying level or not.
If you stare directly at a light in the distance long enough, it will appear to start moving! This is another common night illusion called autokinesis. It’s important to keep your eyes constantly scanning at night rather than focusing on one area. At night we’re using our peripheral vision more than anything in our scan, so keep those eyes moving.
If you fly to an airport in a rural area with few lights around, it can be very difficult to judge your height and distance from the airport. This is called the black hole effect. It would be good to know before you fly if your destination airport has a VASI/PAPI light system. If not, might be good to consider going elsewhere until you have more night experience under your belt.
Landing Illusions
It’s also possible to become disoriented during your landings at night. If you’re landing on a narrower runway, you can experience an illusion of feeling like you’re higher from the ground than you really are. If not recognized and corrected, this can lead to a sudden hard landing. Conversely, if you’re landing on a wider runway at night, this can create the illusion that you’re lower to the ground than you really are. This would lead a pilot to begin their round out and flare far too early. As mentioned before, if your airport has a PAPI or VASI light system, they will be your best friend when landing at night.
Night Vision
Your eyes will need about 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, so avoid bright white light prior to flying at night. It’s important to use a colored lens light in the cockpit because white light will ruin your night vision very quickly. I use a headlamp with a red-light option. It works great and doesn’t destroy my night vision. You may also need to adjust the brightness of any digital instruments in the cockpit as well as your ipad. The last thing you want to do is climb into the plane to fly at night without having allowed your eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Thorough Pre Flight
Because flying at night comes with a whole new series of risks, it’s very important to ensure you’re set up for a safe flight. Our preflight inspections should always be thorough, but I always take extra time at night to make sure everything is as safe as possible. You will also want to make sure your NAV lights and anti-collision lights work. If you’re renting the plane, you also need your landing light. That one is very helpful at nighttime, so I’d recommend using it regardless of whether you’re renting the plane or not.
Nothing Like Flying at Night
You’re sure to have some breathtaking views and a memorable experience flying at night. It’s some of the best flying in my opinion, but it is so important to make sure you’re safely prepared and experienced in case you become disoriented and face any illusions. Anyone who goes flying at night will understand in a fresh way just how important those instruments really are! Safe flying!
By Josh Page, CFI
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