: It would have been easier if my light had been brighter, but there's
: a cost associated with that (in reduced night adaptation).

Just for the record, I have made (IMO) the perfect chart light for night
flying. I took a regular minimag flashlight (2-AA type) and replaced the bulb with a
single green LED. The smaller one (3/4 T or something... don't remember the size
packages of LEDs offhand) is almost the same size as the original light bulb. I had
to rig in a resistor (47 Ohm IIRC) in between the two AA's to limit the current.

Anyway, bottom line is that it's just enough light to read the features of the
chart easily, but not too much to destroy your night vision. Useless as a regular
flashlight, but it's perfect for charts and it'll last almost forever on a single set
of batteries.

: I agree with this as well. While training, I used to try to ignore all
: the visual cues (and was able to get disoriented from time to time) -
: flying at night didn't make this any easier... but I was flying over
: the valley between Oakland and Sacramento - not the darkest part of
: the planet to be sure.

I'm a bit skewed. Here in the mountains southwest Virginia, there aren't all
that many lights. Certainly little "glow from below". You'd have to see the lights
out of your peripheral vision to get references from them. I found daylight shadows
moving (and my fixed-pitch prop loading/unloading the engine) the most irritating
"cheats" to simulated IMC.

:
: IMO the best VFR conditions for hood training are hazy southeastern
: afternoons.
:

: Of course, as others have said - nothing beats actual IMC for giving
: you respect for IMC ;-) If any pilot (or prospective pilot) hasn't
: experienced it yet, they should grab an instructor and go do it; regardless
: of their Instrument Rating aspirations. It will really open your eyes -
: Especially if you think "How hard can it be?" ;-)

Absolutely agree. My instructor had me do actual for some of my instrument
work for my private. It was a nice, February high overcast chilly day... spent about
20 minutes 500' up in a solid overcast (but above MEA for the area). It felt like 20
hours and I never knew I could sweat so quickly. Here I am... probably about 30 hours
total, flying in solid soup using 98% of my brainpower to keep the shiny side up.
Instructor leans over and points at the windshield saying, "See that? That's airframe
ice."
Anyway... enough to instantly instill respect for IMC and icing. Good
experience to have under controlled circumstances so you don't blunder into it
yourself.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************