Night VFR

Circuits

Handout

Link to Handout
Night VFR Circuits handout

Aims

  • To learn how to perform ground operations at night
  • To learn how to safely fly a circuit at night

Objectives

  • At the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:
    • Successfully carry out a start, taxi and run up at night
    • Safely fly a standard circuit at night

Revision

  • What are some of the sensory illusions that may affect a pilot during an NVFR flight?
  • How can we avoid being affected by those illusions?
  • What’s the difference between sunset and last light?
  • What does the suction gauge do and why is it vital for night flight?

Ground Operations

Cessna Taxiing at night

Engine Start

  • It’s more difficult to see a turning propeller at night, so we use extra caution during engine start
  • Announce loudly CLEAR as usual but before turning the key, flash your landing light three times, then leave it on
  • This lets people around you know which aeroplane is starting
  • Once the engine has started and stabilised, turn on your navigation lights

Taxiing

  • Taxiing at night is quite different than taxiing during daylight
  • Taxi slowly, no faster than a walking pace
  • To determine your taxi speed, look sideways out your window at the taxiway
  • It may be difficult to see animals or other aeroplanes — taxi with caution

Taxiing

  • Taxiways may (or may not) be marked with
    • blue edge lights
    • green centreline lights

Taxiway Lighting

Run Ups

  • Perform checklist as during the day
  • Pay close attention to your surroundings — it is easy to misjudge your distance from a parked aeroplane
  • Apply parking brake as normal but also use toe brakes
  • It may be difficult to notice the aeroplane creeping forward so using both brakes adds an extra layer of security
  • Take your time — check and double check everything is indicating normal
  • Pay special importance to the carb heat — it is vital on night flights particularly during descent
  • Check the suction gauge is in the green while the engine is at run up speed

Entering Runway Checks

  • Pitot Heat On: vital for IFR, good practice for NVFR
  • Instruments set and checked, DI aligned, etc
  • Landing, taxi, strobe, navigation lights on
  • Transponder set to ALT, code as required
  • Final check: be absolutely sure final is clear — landing lights can be difficult to spot

Take-off Roll

Positive Rate of Climb

  • Line up and hold on the runway — check indications are normal one last time
  • Smoothly advance throttle to full and cross check performance as during the day
  • Track centreline with landing light
  • Immediately after rotation, transition to the flight instruments
  • Do not look outside during initial climb — this is when it is most easy to become disorientated
  • Cross check: altimeter climbing, VSI indicating a climb, AI indicating a climb

In the Circuit

In the Circuit

Upwind

Turn Coordinator — Rate 1

  • Rely solely on flight instruments until altimeter passes through 500ft
  • Through 500ft, look out of the cockpit and visually check for traffic
  • Conduct a Rate 1 turn on instruments — roughly 15° of bank for most GA aeroplanes
  • Ignore your senses and trust your instruments
  • Roll out 90° from takeoff heading — confirm with heading indicator

Crosswind

VSI — climb

  • Once turn has been completed, roll wings level on AI and confirm with turn coordinator
  • Confirm altimeter still increasing and VSI still indicating a climb
  • Visually check runway spacing briefly, then return to instruments

Downwind

  • Roll out 90° from Crosswind per DI and confirm with runway lights
  • Normal circuit dimensions and procedures.
  • Heading, Height, Spacing, Speed.
  • Before landing checks:
    • DI aligned to compass
    • Confirm suction gauge is functioning
    • Wind Indicator illuminated
  • Combination of instrument scan and visual confirmation

Base

  • Set up the aeroplane as normal — except you will use the threshold lights as a reference
  • Visually check for traffic then go onto the instruments for the turn
  • Conduct a rate 1 turn onto base
  • Ensure descent is stabilised at 500 feet per minute and cross check this with the vertical speed indicator and altimeter

Final Approach

  • If the aeroplane is not stabilised, on speed and on target by 500ft AGL, go around
  • Judge your height by the appearance of the runway lights

Final Approach

  • Continue the approach until the runway edge lights spread around the engine cowling and begin to appear as one solid line
  • Smoothly reduce power to idle — double check to ensure you aren’t moving the mixture
  • Do not fixate on the area illuminated by the landing light
  • Transition to straight and level and select an aiming point on the upwind end of the runway
  • Smoothly continue to raise the nose until the engine cowling is placed on the end of the runway lights

Touch and Go

  • Identify the flap selector and move to the take-off position
  • This is vital in larger aeroplanes where the flap and gear could be confused, but good practice in a fixed gear aeroplane too
  • Say to yourself flaps identified and up
  • Re-trim for take-off
  • Smoothly apply full power and rotate, immediately transitioning to the instruments on rotation

Night VFR Circuit

Night VFR Circuit Diagram

Emergency Situations

  • Failure of the cockpit lighting
    • use your head torch in this situation
  • Landing light failure
  • Engine failure will be practiced by climbing to 1500ft and gliding to 1000ft
    • We will not practice glide approach below 1000ft

Airmanship/TEM/HF

Threat Error Management Mitigation
Disorientation Over-reliance on unreliable visual reference Instrument scan, Communication Rely on instruments during upwind or when no reliable visual reference
Runway Illusions Lack of awareness of visual illusions and perception Practice night visual approach Go-around if not stabilised at 500ft
Airborne Traffic Conflict Getting behind the aircraft, failing to communicate Stay ahead of the aircraft Manage the aircraftm circuit, communicate and listen out
Collision During Taxi Taxiing too fast and/or while fixated Taxi slowly Taxi only after visual scan of surroundings and at appropriate speed
Engine Failure in Circuit Mechanical failure of the engine Monitor instruments for operations normal Have a plan for upwind, remain within glide distance of the runway

Pilot Fitness Checklist

IMSAFE

Quiz on Objectives

  • What is the best way to determine our taxi speed at night?
  • What colour are taxiway centreline lights?
  • What additional instrument indications do we look for during run-ups?
  • What checks do we perform while entering a runway?
  • What actions will we take if not stabilised by 500ft?
  • Where is our primary focus immediately after rotation during take-off?
  • Where is our primary focus in the landing flare?

Roll Out

  • Once the aircraft is on the ground:
    • Apply brakes as required to slow the aircraft to a walking pace
    • Maintain the runway centreline with rudder as required
  • Taxi off the runway on taxi centreline and complete after landing checks as normal
  • Taxi back to the ramp using the same technique you used to taxi out