Aero-Tips!
A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard
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statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of
"there are no old, bold pilots.")
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something we might never have considered before, or something that
didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized
it for the practical test.
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Aero-Tips 10.28.06
We see it a lot in the difference between private and commercial
operations. But sometimes even under FAR Part 61 the rules are more
stringent when someone besides the pilot is aboard an aircraft.
Most of us (in the US, anyway) will set our clocks back one hour
this weekend, meaning nightfall will come earlier. Now's the time
to think about night currency.
Rules dichotomy
There's no currency rule for night flight beyond the need for a
Flight Review or equivalent, as long as you're the only person on
board the aircraft. In other words, pilots have leeway under Part
61 to put themselves at the heightened risk of night operations.
Has it been decades since you flew after dark? No problem -- fire
up and fly away. Just do it solo.
But if you carry passengers at night FAR 61.57 says:
…no person may act as pilot in command of an aircraft
carrying passengers during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset
and ending 1 hour before sunrise, unless within the preceding 90
days that person has made at least three takeoffs and three
landings to a full stop during the period beginning 1 hour after
sunset and ending 1 hour before sunrise, and --
(i) That person acted as sole manipulator of the
flight controls; and
(ii) The required takeoffs and landings were performed in an
aircraft of the same category, class, and type (if a type rating is
required).
The regs let us put ourselves at heightened risk, but require at
least a minimum of recent experience to put passengers at the same
risk. Think "full"": If any seat besides your own is "full" you
need three takeoffs and landings in "full night" conditions, and
all three landings must be to a "full" stop.
Reality
The reality is that, passengers or no, night visual effects are
different enough that it's a good idea to get some night dual
before venturing aloft after dark unless you're already night
current (I'm scheduled to get some night dual tomorrow evening). If
this isn't possible, practice takeoffs and landings beginning at
dusk, when there's still a lot of ambient light, and keep flying
until it's fully dark outside. On another mission, in very good
weather, plan and complete a night cross-country flight to an
airport.
Aero-tip of the day (or night): It's the time
of year you're more likely to be flying after dark. Practice to be
legal and, more importantly, safe in night flight.