I don't see the problem that many people have with nighttime flying. I much
prefer it to some daytime stuff I've had to deal with. There are very few
people/aircraft to contend with, those that are up there can be seen 50 miles
away, the air is usually silky smooth, and you have all the ground resources
at your disposal without the chatter or waiting. I can see that if you fly
places where there are not ground lights at all (deserts and farm areas) then
you would have to be up on your pilotage skills but you should be up on them
anyway.
When I fly at night from Redding (Northern California) to the San Francisco
Bay Area, I do so mostly using Mexican IFR.....I Follow Roads (Interstate 5),
I Follow Rivers, and I Follow Ravines. I go from empty rural farm areas to
some of the busiest areas in California. Now I also monitor VOR's and use
flight following....but these are backups. My wife usually sleeps during
these flights as she has gotten used to the spectacular display of lights as
we approach the Big City.
Now, since nighttime VFR is prohibited in the UK, could it be that many
pilots there are not comfortable because it's not done enough or it's just
too much of a hassle to file IFR flight plans in order to fly at night?
The only worry I have during a night flight would be having to put down in an
emergency. But then I feel that equates to flying day or night over water. I
try to keep things in perspective.
Mike Duane A207
Redding, California
XS Trigear
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