Night VFR Soaring (USA)

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

FAR 91.205 (c) Requires Position Lights, anti collision system for
airplanes after 1971, an adequate electrical supply, and spare fuses.
FAR 91.209 Requires position lights, and to use an anti collision
system is installed.

I don't think it would be too hard to install this on a glider. You
may get some odd looks from the FSDO when you get your ops limits
changed to include night VFR flight though :-)

Pete

On Apr 13, 11:57*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

I once made a landing on our unlighted grassy field at 5 minutes
before local sunset. It's not an experience I ever want to have again!
Judging height for the flare was difficult - sort of like skiing a
mogul field at night.

-John

I'd think that you'd have difficulty judging height above the runway,
unless you had a landing light.

On Apr 13, 12:57 pm, 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

FAR 91.205 only applies to Powered aircraft.

I am a little unsure how to interpret 91.209(b). I think it is trying
to say that if you have anticollsion lights you have to use them
unless the pilot deems it unsafe to operate them.

So I think all you would need is postion lights.

Brian

Night flying requires specific training, practice and currency but,
given that, landings become comfortable enough. Since, like
instrument training, night training is hard/impossible to do in a
glider, you're pretty much left training in a light airplane. Google
"night flying" and find a lot of useful stuff.

As for the question about practicality, we know soaring flight can be
sustained in wave and on a ridge at night. Some bare rock, like old
lava, holds enough heat to keep thermals going well after dark. LED
aircraft lighting has been approved so the current draw is low
enough. I have seen pictures of gliders in Argentina landing at night
with both position lights and a landing light. Looking at some of the
Argentine distance wave flights on OLC, it's clear some took off and/
or landed at night.

The unasked question is about safety. Night flight has a really bad
accident record in General Aviation - and that's with an engine for go-
arounds if an approach turns out badly. I found that night flight
just works better if you treat it as instrument flying. There are
certainly times and places when a pilots only attitude reference will
be his instruments even in clear weather. An IFR panel and current
skills to use it would be on my minimum equipment list. It's worth
noting that the USA is one of the few countries in the world which
allows night VFR.

Taking off into a "Black Hole" with absolutely no ground lights on a
dark night is an experience every pilot who has experienced it will
remember forever.


On Apr 13, 12:04*pm, jcarlyle wrote:
I once made a landing on our unlighted grassy field at 5 minutes
before local sunset. It's not an experience I ever want to have again!
Judging height for the flare was difficult - sort of like skiing a
mogul field at night.

-John

I'd think that you'd have difficulty judging height above the runway,
unless you had a landing light.

On Apr 13, 12:57 pm, 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

On Apr 13, 1:46*pm, Brian wrote:
FAR 91.205 only applies to Powered aircraft.

I am a little unsure how to interpret 91.209(b). I think it is trying
to say that if you have anticollsion lights you have to use them
unless the pilot deems it unsafe to operate them.

So I think all you would need is postion lights.

Brian

Hmmm you're right 91.205 applies only to powered aircraft. Is there a
similar FAR that addresses the minimum equipment requirements for
gliders?

Pete

i went through this last year with my glider. the operating
limitations at that time limited me to 91.205 for day VFR operations
and prohibited night/IFR ops. Even though 91.205 on its own does not
apply to gliders, since i was bound to it through my operating
limitations it did apply to me.

Last spring I got my operating limitations changed to reflect the
standard limitation of no instrument requirements for day VFR and
91.205 for everything else.

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

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

bildan wrote:
... It's worth
noting that the USA is one of the few countries in the world which
allows night VFR.

??

"brian whatcott" wrote in message
...
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

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