Night flying
 

tomorrow its my first time to go do some night flying. Local airport, noting fancy do some PPL manuevers and landings.

Do you guys, with an experience, have any tips/suggestions for my flight so i can make it as easy as possible? Heard it was quite different from day :)

Go outside for about 30 mins before you get in the plane and let your eyes adjust to the low light. Start out with your cockpit lights in the plane as low as you can stand it and then constantly lower them more as your eyes adjust.

For the landing, you have to set the airplane up in the flare attitude and then wait for it to land itself...you can't judge the touchdown quite as precisely as daytime.

Also, if the landings go well, ask your CFI to let you practice some lights out LDG's with the landing lights off. Since GA landing light bulbs last only about 25 hours, you WILL, for sure, have them burn out eventually necessitating a lights-out landing. It's better to do your first one with a cfi than all by yourself as a low-time private pilot.


Have Fun!

Yah landing with out lights needs to be practiced.

Also - a red top from a coke bottle fits on a pocket mag light perfect and is a great night red light...

Please tell us that you know what the instruments are telling you before you get out in a black hole....

When I was a young pilot landing at country airports with no lights on the xwnd and dwn wnd - I would tell myself - this is as real as it gets - becuase I could not hit P in Flight Sim - Have Fun - Fly Safe :)

Oh yea, from my previous experienses i can say that I know what the instruments are telling me.

Good point on no landing light...

and tip for red coke bottle! :)

Those are kind of advices i'm looking for. You guys rock

Tip: night vision is overrated. Don't sacrifice misreading a chart for it. Applies more to IFR flight in general but nonetheless. Have fun, listen to your CFI, and relax. It will take a few flights before you feel comfortable.

Red coke bottle cap works well, but you have to buy a coke which costs lots of money. You can also just got to a hardware store and take a cap off a WD-40 can. That's free, and I wouldn't consider it stealing...

I don't drink coke - so I just get them out of the trash ;)

A friend cheaper than me - stole his old ladies finger nail polish and paints bulbs with it ;)

I am far from expierenced but my advice is be aware of the various illusions that runway lights can cause at night! Use your peripheral vision to judge how far you are from the runway when flaring for landing. The first couple of flights I always flared to high with resulted in quite a sink rate and a hard landing. Also use your alimeter to your advantage and be siuationally aware of field elevation at unfamiliar fields. Good luck you will have a great time!

Hey another tip that also works on floats on glassy water as well as night...

Set the aircraft up for 200' descent on the VSI and just try and not let it land.

Night flying is cool but if it ever gets "quiet" you need to have it clear in your mind on do I go for the road and wires - or dark spots which might be water... I live in Fla. Alligators are a factor in that thought...

I tend to fly high at night SEL and always flight following....