Eye of Experience #18:Night VFR

Sometime ago an AVweb subscriber, Ms. Annette Wright, requested a column onthe subject of night VFR. We here in the U.S. are fortunate in that there is nospecific rating required for a pilot to fly VFR at night. However, thissituation does not prevail throughout the rest of the world. In fact, in manycountries an instrument rating is required for night flying. In Ms. Wright'scountry, Australia, there is a specific rating for night VFR and this is as itshould be. Much of the countryside in Australia is very desolate and largelyunpopulated. Therefore, there are few, if any, ground references to aid thepilot. On the other hand, over well-populated areas, with lots of roads andhighways with a steady flow of traffic, it becomes easy.

VFR at night can be among the most pleasant flying of all. When the moon andstars are out and the wind is calm, as you drone along you experience a peacethat just cannot be described. Also, the air is usually smoother at night, soyou're not as likely to get a bumpy ride. And another good thing about flyingVFR at night is the fact that traffic is much easier to spot. All airplanes thatfly at night have rotating beacons, or strobes (most have strobes today), and,of course this makes them highly visible. Knowing which wing has the red andwhich has the blue running (or navigation) light and the fact that at the veryrear end of the airplane there is a white light makes it easy to see thedirection the traffic is going and whether or not it is on a collision course.However, night VFR does have some substantial differences from routine day VFRflying.

Engine Loss

First,let us consider the emergency with which we are confronted in the event ofengine failure in a single engine airplane. Our choices of where to set theairplane down at night are much more limited than they are in broad daylight. Iknow several experienced VFR pilots and at least one IFR-rated pilot, willing tofly his single-engine airplane in IMC in the daytime, but who won't fly at nightat all. They refuse to fly at night because of the possibility of having to makean off-airport landing in the event of a power loss. Evidently they believe theold saying that if you should lose your engine at night the thing to do is pickout the blackest spot on the ground within gliding range, aim for it, and glidetoward it. When you get low, turn on your landing light. If you like what yousee, go ahead and land. If you don't like what you see, turn the light off.Frankly, I don't see the difference between having to put an airplane downdead-stick at night and doing so in daylight through a cloud deck. In eithercase, it is a risk one must assume if he or she decides to fly single-engine IFRor single-engine at night. With today's dependable engines it is a risk I amwilling to assume.

Really, as a general rule, one of the worst places to set an airplane down inthe daytime is a road - they are almost always criss-crossed by nearlyinvisible wires which the pilot fails to see until it is too late to avoid them.So, unless there is a clear straightaway on an expressway or a level median, aroad is a poor choice during the day. However, at night a road is likely to bethe best choice. You just have to take your chances with the possibility ofencountering wires crossing the road. Another calculated risk one must assume.These are risks that I, personally, am willing to assume, although I do notencourage others to do so. Each person must make those decisions forhim/herself. I never tell anyone how to fly or what to do. I tell 'em what I doand let 'em make up their own minds, If they like what I have to say, fine. Ifnot, also fine.

Clouds

If the night is clear, with the moon and stars out, there will be awell-defined horizon and night VFR flying is a joy. But if there any cloudsaround, even widely scattered thin clouds, it is quite possible to fly into acloud and instantly become disoriented, and this could lead to disaster. Evenfor the IFR pilot, unexpectedly entering cloud at night is a strange experience.The glow of the running lights, or the blinding flash of your strobes beingreflected off the cloud, may be your first indication. At this point, the VFRpilot would be wise to initiate a standard-rate, 180-degree turn back out of thecloud, just as was practiced during primary training.

Illusions

Themost important of the senses for a pilot is sight, and there are numerousillusions with which we must contend at night. Things are frequently not whatthey seem to be. The judgment of height above the ground on an approach to landis much more difficult at night than it is in the daytime. In cruising flight abright star might be confused with a light on the ground in sparsely populatedareas, and a narrow, lighted runway will likely appear to be farther away thanit really is. This could lead to landing short of the runway. If a pilot isflying in the clear on top of a solid cloud deck with the moon and stars above,if the deck should happen to be a slant deck and the pilot used it as hishorizon reference, he/she could well wind up flying in a circle, a quite largeone. This, of course, can also happen to the VFR pilot in broad daylight as wellwhen flying VFR on top. Even on a clear night, a bright star on the horizon canappear to be a light on the ground, or conversely a distant light on the groundcan appear to the pilot to be a star in the sky.

There are several other illusions that lie in wait to catch the unwary pilotat night. If there are scattered clouds below, on an approach with the runway inplain sight, it is possible to fly into a cloud and suddenly lose everything.These are merely a few of the differences between flying VFR at night and in thedaytime. When you are alone, flying at night, the feeling of loneliness is muchgreater at night than it is in the daylight.

Navigation

If you are high enough to see the cities and towns, VFR navigation bypilotage at night is very easy. Prominent landmarks stand out at night just asthey do in the daytime. On a clear night, the lights of the cities and townsstand out like jewels on black velvet, and by comparing their layout to the VFRchart, it is a simple matter to maintain your orientation. Of course, in reallydesolate, sparsely populated areas, it is an enormous help to have and usenavaids such as Loran C or GPS in those areas where VORs and NDBs are few andfar between. Of course, there is no difference whatever between navigatingduring the day and at night if one is flying on airways or with Loran C or GPS.Also, the air is more likely to be calm at night so wind corrections are likelyto be less drastic than in the daytime.

Another consideration is fuel. The operators at many airports close up and gohome by nightfall, and if one is on a rather long trip requiring one or morefuel stops, it is important to call ahead and ascertain that fuel will beavailable when you arrive. Otherwise, you might find yourself in the position ofbeing forced into an unscheduled overnight stay at someplace other than yourintended destination.

Equipment

There are two pieces of equipment that should be aboard when flying at night,one sometimes required and one optional. The regulations require a flashlight ofat least two "D" cell capacity when for-hire operations are beingconducted or when flying a large or turbine-powered multi-engine airplane, andthis is definitely a good idea at other times if for no other reason thanreading the VFR chart. (Many cabin dome lights are inadequate for this purpose.)And, of course, in the event of electrical failure it is nice to be able to seeinside the cockpit.

The optional piece of equipment, which I highly recommend, is a two-wayhand-held radio. I once had an experience at night when the alternator in myairplane simply died. Fat, dumb, and happy, I failed to notice the discharge theammeter was showing, and the first I became aware of the situation was when itgot dark in the cockpit. The autopilot, which was engaged at the time, gave up.There I was, over the middle of Lake Erie with no electrical power in theairplane. Fortunately, it was a clear VFR night and I was able to fly theairplane home uneventfully. Since that time, I have never flown at night withoutmy trusty hand-held radio on the empty seat beside me. Although the likelihoodof this occurring is extremely remote, I advise everyone to take the sameprecaution.

VFR Into IFR

Theclassic situation of the VFR pilot blundering into IMC (instrumentmeteorological conditions) is aggravated at night. What happens is this: anon-qualified pilot finds him/herself in cloud (day or night). Just the weightof his/her hand on the yoke pulls it down slightly. This causes the airplane tobank, which in turn causes the nose to pitch down, causing an increase in thebank, causing a further increase in the pitch down (a classic example of thetheory of cumulative causation as opposed to circular causation - A causes anincrease in B which causes an increase in A which causes a further increase in Bad infinitum). By actual testing it was discovered that in this situationit takes the an average pilot 22 seconds to understand that he is in a"graveyard spiral," a diving spiral at an accelerating rate of speed.About now, the pilot glances at the airspeed indicator and thinks, "My God!Look how fast I'm going." He/she then gives a good healthy yank on theyoke, all the way to the stop in an effort to slow the airplane down. Thisresults in seriously overstressing the airplane and the next day we read in thepaper about how "another one of those little airplanes came falling out ofthe sky in pieces." Or, equally bad, if the pilot manages to pull up andsurvive, there could well be hidden stress in the structure, such that on afuture flight a moderately steep turn could result in the airplane comingunglued.

This tragic situation can happen at any time, but during daylight, unlessconditions are extremely hazy it is difficult to inadvertently blunderinto a cloud - you can see 'em and avoid 'em. But at night, particularly on amoonless, starless night, over water with no well-defined horizon, or oversparsely populated areas where there are no lights on the ground and in hazyconditions leaving the pilot with an ill-defined horizon or no horizon at all,it is easy to do. Of course, if the airplane is low enough, and just barely getsinto a well-defined diving spiral, it will impact Mother Earth at a high rate ofspeed rather than being pulled apart. Regardless, the result is the same -another tragic fatal "accident." As I mentioned earlier, inadvertentlyflying into a cloud at night can surprise the IFR-rated pilot whether or nothe/she is on a flight plan and in controlled airspace.

Blue skies and sunshine.