Night VFR Soaring (USA)

Mike the Strike wrote:
On Apr 13, 8:59 pm, 5Z wrote:
On Apr 13, 7:47 pm, brian whatcott wrote:

If you need to get night current to carry passengers, follow the
definition of night as described in FAR 61.57(b), which is the "period
beginning one hour after sunset and ending one hour before sunrise."
Yes, there really are several different definitions in the FARs...
Nope - one definition, several requirements.

As soon as the sun sets, it becomes hard to see aircraft (and oncoming
cars) if they're not illuminated, yet it's still pretty much daytime
as far as seeing the ground and large obstructions.

It's not until it's quite dark that landings become a bit more
interesting than during the day, so the FAA wants to be sure you're
current at landing IN THE DARK before carrying passengers.

-Tom

As the OP, perhaps I should clarify a few things.

I understand that it was ALWAYS legal to fly a VFR certified aircraft,
including gliders, after sunset (but in twilight) provided that you
have the required navigation lights. This is after sunset, but before
the onset of "legal" night! Night VFR only commences after the end of
civil twilight and is reportedly no longer restricted under
Experimental certification in the USA.

It would certainly be useful to finish our final glides in twilight,
but I believe that we all can (and always could) do this legally
anyway. At our home field, we find landing into the setting sun
greatly reduces visibility and waiting five minutes till it has set
improves safety. There is no question, though, once the sun has set,
you need navigation lights.

AFAIK, no part of any FAI badge flight can be flown at night. I have
not seen any ruling on OLC.

So any rules folk out there - can we or can't we soar at night for
records, badge flights or OLC?

Mike

Concerning OLC, night flights seem to be valid as long as they are
carried out legally (i.e. you have a valid night VFR rating and your
glider is equipped with the required lights).

I checked with the german rules, as the OLC originally started he

Section 12 start with this sentence:
"Die Veranstalter des OLC gehen davon aus, dass die Teilnehmer bei ihren
Wertungsflügen nicht gegen luftrechtliche und andere Vorschriften
verstoßen."

In the english rules this sentence is translated to:
"The OLC organizers have to assume that the participants in the contest
will not violate restricted airspace during their flights."

A more precise translation would be:
"The OLC organizers have to assume that the participants in the contest
will not violate any air law and other regulations during their flights."

FAI ruling is different, but OLC just says that if you are flying
legally, the flight will count.
--
Peter Scholz
ASW 24 JE

BT wrote:


"brian whatcott" wrote in message
...
BT wrote:


It's helpful to remember that the official definition of night is
one hour after civil twilight to one hour before civil dawn (by
which time it is often black as ..well..night.)

Brian W

Brian, Wrong answer. FAR 1.1 defines "night" as the end of evening
civil twilight to the beginning of morning civil twilight as
published in the American Air Almanac, converted to local time. The
American Air Almanac is now maintained by the US Naval Observatory.

For my location today, Morning Civil Twilight started at 5:42am and
Sunrise at 6:09am, 27 minutes later.
Sunset is 7:14pm and End of Civil Twilight is 7:40pm, 26 minutes later.

Not the "hour" that you suggest.

The "aircraft lighting" requirement is from Sunset to Sunrise
(excluding Alaska). 91.209, Not twilight to twilight.

BT


BT - wrong answer: right back at ya! :-)

If you need to get night current to carry passengers, follow the
definition of night as described in FAR 61.57(b), which is the "period
beginning one hour after sunset and ending one hour before sunrise."

Yes, there really are several different definitions in the FARs...

Brian W

Brian... but that is not the definition of "night"....
BT

Duh!
'follow the definition of night as described in FAR 61.57(b), which is
the "period beginning one hour after sunset and ending one hour before
sunrise."'

' Yes, there really are several different definitions in the FARs...'

What don't you understand about FAR 61.57(b) Definition of night?

Brian W

I routinely fly my gliders at night for airshows. Learning to fly
aerobatics at night was one of the scariest things I've ever done.
However, once I established the proper parameters and visual cues (and
where not to look to avoid being blinded by the pyrotechnics), it is a
blast! The occasional night wave flight is pretty awesome too.
Frankly, I prefer hard dark to twilight. Once my eyes adjust to hard
dark, it's better to not be exposed to any light. The western horizon
can be very bright long after sunset (especially in northern
latitudes). Landing into a setting sun can be near impossible.
Landing a glider at night is harder than an airplane (even a back-
seat, no-visibility biplane like the Skybolt) because of the extremely
low visual position. At touchdown, your eyes are scarcely higher than
the runway light posts. All depth perception is lost at the final
moments. Also much worse with a tinted canopy. Without my landing
light, I can't see the runway at all.

There are different definitions for various stages of 'non-day'
flight. The requirement for position and anti-collision lights is
different than that for night currency. Also, the requirement in
91.205 for an 'adequate source of electrical energy' can be a problem
in an unpowered glider. (91.205 technically only applies to
airplanes, but your operating limitations probably reference it, so it
applies.) A standard set of position lights draws about 12 amps, a
strobe system draws about 6 amps. With my 8 ah battery, the strobe
starts going haywire in about 30 minutes. The lights are noticeably
dim by then. And that is starting with a fresh 'light-dedicated'
battery. The new LED lights draw less current, but are really
expensive. My ops limits only allow 30 minutes after sunset, and
require replacing the battery every three years.

Night VFR has been allowed on experimental aircraft for many years.
Nothing new as far as I know...

Bob

On Apr 13, 10:57*am, Mike the Strike wrote:
In issuing a new airworthiness certificate, my local FAA FSDO examiner
told me yesterday that the restrictions on experimental aircraft
(which includes a lot of sailplanes) to fly only in day VFR had been
removed, and night VFR was now permitted in aircraft equipped with the
necessary navigation lights.

In Arizona, our short summer days sometimes have us on final glide as
the sun is setting and we do occasionally land around (or even just
after) sunset. *I know most contest rules cut off soaring at or before
sunset, but I wonder if there any circumstances where this would be
useful?

Night OLC, anyone?

Mike

61.57 does not define "night"
1.1 defines "night"
61.57 says your in the dark "night" landings have to be 1hr after sunset, to
1hr before sunrise.
Definitions are not in the 61 or 91 series of the regs
Definitions are in Part 1.1

"brian whatcott" wrote in message
...
BT wrote:


"brian whatcott" wrote in message
...
BT wrote:


It's helpful to remember that the official definition of night is one
hour after civil twilight to one hour before civil dawn (by which time
it is often black as ..well..night.)

Brian W

Brian, Wrong answer. FAR 1.1 defines "night" as the end of evening
civil twilight to the beginning of morning civil twilight as published
in the American Air Almanac, converted to local time. The American Air
Almanac is now maintained by the US Naval Observatory.

For my location today, Morning Civil Twilight started at 5:42am and
Sunrise at 6:09am, 27 minutes later.
Sunset is 7:14pm and End of Civil Twilight is 7:40pm, 26 minutes later.

Not the "hour" that you suggest.

The "aircraft lighting" requirement is from Sunset to Sunrise
(excluding Alaska). 91.209, Not twilight to twilight.

BT


BT - wrong answer: right back at ya! :-)

If you need to get night current to carry passengers, follow the
definition of night as described in FAR 61.57(b), which is the "period
beginning one hour after sunset and ending one hour before sunrise."

Yes, there really are several different definitions in the FARs...

Brian W

Brian... but that is not the definition of "night"....
BT

Duh!
'follow the definition of night as described in FAR 61.57(b), which is the
"period beginning one hour after sunset and ending one hour before
sunrise."'

' Yes, there really are several different definitions in the FARs...'

What don't you understand about FAR 61.57(b) Definition of night?

Brian W

Following the various discussions on this group, I am
finding it personally helpful to couch the (at least)
three FAR references to night in terms of relating
flight safety to operational pilot behavior, in order
to get safety-conscious answers to some questions
of this kind:

When do I need to apply nav lights and anti-collision light?
- As early as possible, for safety's sake: sunset to sunup.

What time of night do I need to fly, land to full stop etc.,
so as to provide a minimally safe level of night pilotage for passengers?
- for safety's sake: in the darkness of night, an hour after
sunset, an hour before sunup.

What times can I legally enter in a log for night flight?
- some variable delay after sunset and before sunup to be
obtained from a Naval Observatory source or an Air Almanac;
which delay differs from latitude to latitude and month to month:
a definition only a lawyer could love, but which is at least
based on the facts of nightfall, however impractical...

Brian W

BT wrote:
61.57 does not define "night"
1.1 defines "night"
61.57 says your in the dark "night" landings have to be 1hr after
sunset, to 1hr before sunrise.
Definitions are not in the 61 or 91 series of the regs
Definitions are in Part 1.1

"brian whatcott" wrote in message
...
BT wrote:


"brian whatcott" wrote in message
...
BT wrote:


It's helpful to remember that the official definition of night is
one hour after civil twilight to one hour before civil dawn (by
which time it is often black as ..well..night.)

Brian W

Brian, Wrong answer. FAR 1.1 defines "night" as the end of evening
civil twilight to the beginning of morning civil twilight as
published in the American Air Almanac, converted to local time. The
American Air Almanac is now maintained by the US Naval Observatory.

For my location today, Morning Civil Twilight started at 5:42am and
Sunrise at 6:09am, 27 minutes later.
Sunset is 7:14pm and End of Civil Twilight is 7:40pm, 26 minutes
later.

Not the "hour" that you suggest.

The "aircraft lighting" requirement is from Sunset to Sunrise
(excluding Alaska). 91.209, Not twilight to twilight.

BT


BT - wrong answer: right back at ya! :-)

If you need to get night current to carry passengers, follow the
definition of night as described in FAR 61.57(b), which is the
"period beginning one hour after sunset and ending one hour before
sunrise."

Yes, there really are several different definitions in the FARs...

Brian W

Brian... but that is not the definition of "night"....
BT

Duh!
'follow the definition of night as described in FAR 61.57(b), which is
the "period beginning one hour after sunset and ending one hour before
sunrise."'

' Yes, there really are several different definitions in the FARs...'

What don't you understand about FAR 61.57(b) Definition of night?

Brian W