Night limitation on a pilot certificate?
- Thread starter gtcfi
- Start date
Hobobiker
Line Up and Wait
Ha! Sorry all. I work in healthcare and DME is one of our many hospital acronyms that just came out of my finger autopilot. How 'bout I just say Flight Doc..I think you combined AME with DPE...
A
Anonymous
Guest
I wanted to reply to this thread because my colorblindness and the information from AME's and other pilots about when and where I could fly stopped me from pursuing my PPL for many years.
I was always told that the limitation on my medical meant that I could only fly into and out of non-towered airports during daylight hours. That is false. You can fly anywhere just not an hour after sunset or an hour before sunrise.
If for some reason you are flying into a towered airport and need to rely on colored signal because of a radio failure, then you simply divert to a non towered airport while squawking 7600.
If a non towered airport is not an option and you really couldn't tell the difference between red and green then I would get in the published pattern squawking 7700 and land. The best thing to do is to carry a hand held radio as backup to hopefully avoid any of it.
I would also recommend training at night in case you try to get a SODA in the future. You are allowed to fly with a CFI as much as you want at night.
I was always told that the limitation on my medical meant that I could only fly into and out of non-towered airports during daylight hours. That is false. You can fly anywhere just not an hour after sunset or an hour before sunrise.
If for some reason you are flying into a towered airport and need to rely on colored signal because of a radio failure, then you simply divert to a non towered airport while squawking 7600.
If a non towered airport is not an option and you really couldn't tell the difference between red and green then I would get in the published pattern squawking 7700 and land. The best thing to do is to carry a hand held radio as backup to hopefully avoid any of it.
I would also recommend training at night in case you try to get a SODA in the future. You are allowed to fly with a CFI as much as you want at night.
EminiTrader
Cleared for Takeoff
I am colorblind. To have my night restriction removed I had to go up with FAA (3 hangars down) and do the light guns. Voila. This is with the Orlando FSDO
I disagree with Anonymous. NIGHT (without qualification) is the end of civil twilight which is 20-30 minutes after sunset. The only place "one hour after sunset" appears anywhere in the regs is for logging currency to carry passengers.
denverpilot
Tied Down
Summary of all "night" stuff:
VFR cloud clearance changes go by the FAR 1 definition -- civil twilight. As do Private and Commercial aeronautical experience, and night logging of time.
91.209 says you turn the lights on AT sunset and off AT sunrise and doesn't follow the FAR 1 definition.
Special VFR also isn't allowed after sunset and until sunrise unless Instrument rated. (AIM)
Night currency to carry passengers only applies one hour after to one hour before sunset/sunrise as does night currency logging of landing AND takeoffs. (Many people don't log takeoffs and technically it's required. My logbook has spots for both, many don't. Best make a comment if it doesn't.)
Passenger currency is the real oddball with nothing else following the one hour after/before rule.
Nobody's going to notice that 4 minute difference in civil twilight unless they're logging with a stopwatch so ... simplified ... it is...
- Lights on and no more Special VFR at sunset. (Sunset to sunrise.)
- 30 minutes later start logging night time and stay further away from the clouds. (Civil twilight.)
- 30 minutes after that, log takeoffs and landings for currency ... or kick the passenger out. They like that. If they're a skydiver. (One hour after sunset/before sunrise.)
Reverse if you're a morning glory instead of a night owl.
I can't think of any others. You?