Stan Gosnell wrote
Peter wrote in
I agree, but why can a PPL do this, then?
I am writing from the UK but I suspect it is the same in the USA.

In the US, by constitutional authority, everything is permitted unless
specifically prohibited by law, not the other way around. The FARs do not
prohibit flying at night over water, so it's allowed.

But it could just as easily be forbidden. It's forbidden for
recreational pilots.

Most regulations
are designed to prevent harm to innocent passengers, and private citizens
are assumed to be responsible for themselves; if they want to do something
dangerous to themselves, it's permitted.

Then why is IMC flight in uncontrolled airspace not permitted for the
private pilot without an instrument rating? By your logic, the two
are equivalent.

I believe the difference is this - flying IMC, you will quite likely
need to execute an instrument approach, which is a skill set the
private pilot gets no training in. Flying night over water, you will
only need to maintain level flight on instruments, which is a skill
set the private (airplane) pilot is trained in. Once near the airport
(which is presumably lit) you can transition back to visual
references, and an instrument approach will not be required.

In some instances, it's not that difficult, because there are lights, and
perhaps bright moonlight. But that can change quickly.

In general, flying at night can put you in a situation where you must
transition to instruments quickly - and not just over water. Over
unlit terrain, you might as well be over water. If there is an
overcast and some scattered stuff below, you can fly into a cloud and
not know it until you are in it. Flying at night demands certain
limited instrument skills - basically the ability to hold heading or
rate of turn, and altitude or airspeed. Private pilots in airplanes
are taught those skills. Recreational pilots are not permitted to fly
at night. I have no idea what the FAA was thinking with regard to
helicopter night flight - the aircraft are far less stable, the
instrumentation is usually more limited, and the pilots are not
trained in its use anyway.

Michael