Night flying instead of wearing a hood for ifr?

[Monpilot]

I'm about to start training for ifr and wonder if flying at night can eliminate having to use a hood for all those many hours required. Since it's getting close to winter it'll get date earlier and I can train after work.

 

[Ted]

Someone will chime in with the specific regulatory aspect, but doing your instrument training as much at night as possible is of excellent value. I'd recommend it.

 

[Brad Z]

I'm about to start training for ifr and wonder if flying at night can eliminate having to use a hood for all those many hours required. Since it's getting close to winter it'll get date earlier and I can train after work.

Doing instrument work at night is fine, but unless you're in the clouds, VMC is VMC regardless of whether it's day or night. If you plan to log instrument time in VMC, you need a view limiting device.

 

[TangoWhiskey]

I did nearly all of my instrument training after work in November and December. Dark. Still wore Foggles, but darkness prevented much of the light/shadow clues. Highly recommended.

 

[BillTIZ]

As previously posted, still need a view limiting device.

You don't say where you are, but I'm betting there is still too many lights on the ground, and with tonight's 99.97% lunar illumination and a little snow, it would be almost like full daylight.

 

[Jeff Oslick]

I did nearly all of my instrument training after work in November and December. Dark. Still wore Foggles, but darkness prevented much of the light/shadow clues. Highly recommended.

Same here. I still try to do instrument recurrent training at night when I can for the same reason.

Jeff

 

[poadeleted20]

Doing instrument work at night is fine, but unless you're in the clouds, VMC is VMC regardless of whether it's day or night. If you plan to log instrument time in VMC, you need a view limiting device.

VMC is not the issue; actual instrument conditions is. Night alone is not "actual instrument conditions" regardless of whether you're in VMC or IMC. Just being 1999 feet from a cloud simply isn't enough to log instrument time.

To ditch the hood at night, you'd have to be in "actual instrument conditions" which are, as the FAA Chief Counsel said, "when some outside conditions make it necessary for the pilot to use the aircraft instruments in order to maintain adequate control over the aircraft. Typically, these conditions involve adverse weather conditions." Darkness alone does not meet that standard, but "a moonless night over the ocean with no discernible horizon, [when] use of the instruments is necessary to maintain adequate control over the aircraft" would.


IOW, out over the Long Island Sound with the horizon obscured by haze and a high thin overcast, JFK Jr. was in actual instrument conditions just before he died even though he as in VMC (like 5 HZ OVC250). OTOH, flying around on a clear night over a well-lit city with good moon/stars is not actual instrument conditions, and the hood would be necessary to log it as instrument time/training.

 

[Monpilot]

Thanks for the input! I'm in Houston so theoretically I could fly over the gulf. But I won't. So foggles at night it shall be.

 

[jonnyjetprop]

Some of the "hardest" IFR I've flown has been over the Nevada dessert on clear, dark nights. It just doesn't count for training.

 

[poadeleted20]

Some of the "hardest" IFR I've flown has been over the Nevada dessert on clear, dark nights. It just doesn't count for training.

Actually, it does, if "outside conditions make it necessary for the pilot to use the aircraft instruments in order to maintain adequate control over the aircraft" -- see the Chief Counsel's Carr interpretation quoted above.

 

[jonnyjetprop]

Actually, it does, if "outside conditions make it necessary for the pilot to use the aircraft instruments in order to maintain adequate control over the aircraft" -- see the Chief Counsel's Carr interpretation quoted above.

Good to know. I miss read your earlier post. I loved doing instrument training at night. It seemed to cure the peaking problem with some students.