Sunset to Sunrise

David Robson

Description

Night flight is one of the most pleasant forms of flight. Every city looks good at night. The sparkling lights, stars, moon and reflections combine to produce a spectacle many only dream about. However, night flight requires different technique, perspective, and considerations than day operations. The aircraft must be flown with reference to the flight instruments, and the outside visual references take on new importance while at the same time providing different illusions. Night flight can be a test for even the most experienced pilot.Veteran author David Robson prepares readers for the unique considerations involved with night operations with information and practical techniques on:Flying on instrumentsWeatherHuman factors, including night vision, fatigue, hypoxia, and moreThe regulations governing night operationsPreflight preparationsAircraft and airport lightingCross-country planning, navigating using both pilotage and dead reckoningTakeoffs and landingsEmergency situationsReaders will come away equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy the night flying experience to the fullest.

Informations

• Publié par: Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.
• Date de parution: 27 octobre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781644250822
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Sunset to Sunrise: Night Flight Techniques by David P. Robson
Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. 7005 132nd Place SE Newcastle, Washington 98059 [e-mail] | 425-235-1500 | asa2fly.com
© 2004 Aviation Theory Centre Pty Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and David P. Robson assume no responsibility for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
None of the material in this book supersedes any operational documents or procedures issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, aircraft and avionics manufacturers, flight schools, or the operators of aircraft.
Published 2004 by Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.
Acknowledgments Photographs: Aviation Theory Centre Graphics: Rob Loriente Layout and index: Catherine Jeffreys
ASA-NIGHT-EB ISBN 978-1-64425-082-2
Additional formats available: Softcover ISBN 1-56027-542-1 KindleISBN 978-1-64425-083-9 eBook PDFISBN 978-1-64425-084-6


Author/Editor
David Robson
David Robson is a career aviator having been nurtured on balsa wood, dope (the legal kind), and tissue paper. He made his first solo flight shortly after his seventeenth birthday, having made his first parachute jump just after his sixteenth. His first job was as a junior draftsman (they weren’t persons in those days) at the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Melbourne, Australia. At that time he was also learning to fly in Chipmunks with the Royal Victorian Aero Club. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1965 and served for twenty-one years as a fighter pilot and test pilot. He flew over 1,000 hours on Mirages and 500 on Sabres. He completed the Empire Test Pilots’ course at Boscombe Down in 1972, flying everything from gliders to Lightnings and Argosies. He completed a tour in Vietnam as a forward air controller in support of the First Australian Task Force. He was a member of the Mirage formation aerobatic team, the Deltas, which celebrated the RAAF’s 50th anniversary.
After retiring from the Air Force, David became a civilian instructor and lecturer and spent over ten years with the Australian Aviation College. During 1986-88, he was the editor of the Aviation Safety Digest (the “Crash Comic”) which won the Flight Safety Foundation’s international award. He was awarded the Australian Aviation Safety Foundation’s Certificate of Air Safety in 1997 and the Award for Excellence in training in 2001. He continues to fly at Morrabbin, Ballarat, and Temora.



Editorial Team
Jackie Spanitz
Jackie earned a B.S. in Aviation Technology and Operations from Western Michigan University and earned a M.S. from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. As Curriculum Director for ASA, Jackie oversees new and existing product development, ranging from textbooks and flight computers to computer-based tutorials, and integration of these products into curricula. She also conducts aviation research as well as product development and project management. She holds Flight and Ground Instructor Certificates. Jackie is the author of Guide to the Biennial Flight Review and the technical editor for ASA’s Test Prep Series.
Melanie Waddell
Melanie began flying in 1994 and was awarded a Bachelor of Technology in aviation studies in 1997 from Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia. She currently holds an ATPL, with multi-engine and command instrument ratings, and is a grade-one flight instructor at Essendon. To broaden her aeronautical knowledge and experience, she instructed the Air Training Corps and was appointed acting flight commander of 5 Flight in the Victorian Squadron. She has also worked for Airshows Downunder. She continues to pursue a challenging career in aviation. Melanie and her husband, Darren, were recently married in a DC-3!
Juliet Dyer
Juliet began flying training at the age of 15 in Melbourne, Australia. She successfully studied for a Bachelor of Science (Aviation) degree at Newcastle University and after gaining a commercial pilot’s license was employed as a scenic pilot conducting flights along the beautiful South Coast of New South Wales. She returned to Melbourne to complete her tertiary studies at Swinburne University, concentrating on aviation business management, at the same time completing a Flight Instructor’s rating at Moorabbin.


Introduction
Night flight is magnificent. It is smooth, uncluttered, and easy, provided you learn the correct technique and you fly regularly. Night flying technique is the same as day flight, except you probably will not have a visual horizon. There is, therefore, only one way to fly at night: by the instruments. However, there are two ways of navigating (visually and by NAVAIDs) and two sets of rules and procedures (IFR and VFR). Each has its own pros and cons.
Why Fly at Night, Especially in a Single-Engine Airplane?
Some of the aspects that can make night flight such a pleasant experience include smooth conditions, good visibility, reduced wind, traffic, talking, and thermal activity, wonderful sunsets (and sunrises if you are an early riser), and beautiful patterns of stars and lights. Moreover, there are the added advantages of increased aircraft utilization, better takeoff and climb performance, better visibility (greater distances), fewer birds (although you may encounter bats and other animal activity), easier and faster service at FBOs, and more readily available aircraft rentals. But night flight has its potential hazards—you may not see an embedded thunderstorm inside a stratus cloud, the ADF needle can give false indications at night, and there are few lights and many illusions over sea, desert, and mountains. Like all forms of flight, night flight should be approached with due respect, but more so because there is less room for error or inaccuracy and fewer escape options.
Single-engine flight at night can be quite safe. Some pilots tell tales of engine noises, fluctuating oil pressure, and rough running at night or over the sea, but the engine does not know that it is night, or that it is over mountains or water. So why does it seem to make strange noises? I don’t know—perhaps we hear what isn’t there because of heightened sensitivity. If you know the engine’s maintenance history and have personally checked the fuel and oil, the engine should be very reliable. However, realize that a forced landing may not be an option in some areas. Choose your route with this in mind. A track with rivers, beaches, lakes, or straight, lit highways gives some chance of survival. Your autopilot, attitude indicator, and turn coordinator become as important as the engine. A powerful and reliable engine is useless if you have no attitude reference.
Night flight in a multi-engine airplane is potentially safer than in a single-engine one. However, engine failure and asymmetric control at night are demanding exercises in themselves, especially immediately after takeoff. Do not forget your emergency self-brief for these possibilities.
Equally important is the built-in redundancy in the lighting, electrical, and instrument systems. Unless you are current, confident, and competent at partial panel instrument flight, choose an airplane with a standby attitude indicator, if available.
Night “Visual” Flight
Night flight is not visual flight despite being called night VFR and the weather conditions being called night VMC. The official definition of night flight relates to weather conditions or to regulations and rules that apply, but not to the techniques of controlling the airplane.
This book highlights the hows and the how nots for safe night flight. Use the autopilot—it can be a good friend, but unlike your best friend, do not trust it absolutely. Keep a weather eye. The same advice applies to the GPS.
If you fly smoothly, confidently, and regularly, you will enjoy night flying.


Part 1
Refresher



Chapter 1
Instruments and Systems
The definitions and regulations regarding day visual meteorological conditions (VMC) and night VMC do not specify a clearly defined horizon. Night flight is instrument flight—make no mistake. If there is no visual horizon, you are flying on the clocks. During the day in reduced visibility and over level terrain, you may get away with a vertical reference below the airplane as a guide to airplane attitude and flight path. At night, it is too risky. Uneven distribution of lights and stars gives subtle but misleading cues as to which way is up, which way is down, and whether or not the airplane is level. You must fly attitude on instruments and be able to do so competently when talking on the radio, reading charts, writing down instructions, and looking for ground features and other traffic.
Flight instruments fall functionally into three categories: pressure instruments , gyroscopic instruments , and compass instruments . Pressure instruments include the airspeed indicator (ASI), the altimeter, and the vertical speed indicator (VSI). Gyroscopic instruments include the attitude indicator (AI), the heading indicator (HI), and the turn indicator or turn coordinator. Compass instruments use a magnetic reference. In support of the flight instruments are the pitot-static system, the vacuum system, and the electrical system. All of these are brought together by the greatest aid to the pilot—the autopilot.
Pressure Instruments
Airspeed Indicator
The airspeed indicator displays indicated airspeed (IAS). Indicated airspeed is a measure of dynamic pressure, which is the difference between the total pressure of the pitot head and th