A new Never Again for me:

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
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Location
west Texas
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Display name:
Dave Taylor
I flew down to the border last week and finished up things after dark. Took off heading back to home base around 7:00, good weather but over rough terrain. No moon, remote area, largely imc despite the great weather. Zero traffic, can see the beacon for miles. Enter downwind for the favored runway and....can see no runway lights. No mention on the asos. Blink and strain eyes to see anything but it's just the pump light, beacon light, a few building lights. Try PCL but nada, still a 30,000 acre black field with no landing guidance. The mind toys with options; call my buddy to light it up with his truck, follow the extended centerline on foreflight. Use the stratus synthetic vision.....naahh.
I power up and head over the hills to the neighboring field 20mi away. Over the hills and start on down to the airport. Can see the beacon and a lot of airport lights....but again no runway lights!
Now I'm starting to think I have cataracts or glaucoma or maybe crap on my windshield. Blink, blink, strain, squint...Maybe I'll have to go 80mi to another field or back where I started; what a pain! Hit PCL again at this airport and....
Whew, lights pop up in that very welcoming way, on the short runway (the main one is under construction so understandably no lights there).
(Idle in the tiedown and call around; airport knew lights were off but were not able to get a notam out. I see they are off again and still they are working on a notam, not sure what the holdup is. Airport manager is in hospital; maybe the FAA will only accept his notam, not sure.)

So, fly with lots of fuel folks - you never know!

(my wife rescued me, a week later all vehicles are back where they belong)
edit; the notam after my event appears on airnav now, but earlier it was not on FF.
 
So what is the "Never Again" part? :confused:
Never fly at night?
Never fly at night to an airport that requires PCL?
Never fly to an airport that hasn't issued a NOTAM when their runway lights are out? ;)

You didn't indicate that your fuel situation was any sort of issue, so presumably that is not what you were referring to in the thread title?
 
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Now do we know why the fuel requirements are what they are?
 
Normally Airport NOTAMs are only accepted from an approved source. The registered airport manager. With him in the hospital the local FSDO should have been able to get the NOTAM published.
 
Perhaps the lesson learned is have a plan B for destination lights being OOS when flying at night?
 
I'm installing high intensity wingtip landing lights that should help in such a situation! I've encountered this issue a few times; and on one memorable occasion I was having an engine failure at the time.
 
Back in private training my instructor had me land at an airport without turning on the pilot controlled lights... I was not a fan of this but was also young and stupid, I was surprised with the aircraft landing light how high off the ground I was able to start seeing the runway..
 
Seeing as how my airport has practically no runway lighting I can relate to your discomfort. You eventually get used to just knowing the runway is there. I don't make it a point to fly at night, and often avoid it. I have landed a few times though and I always feel like I left one of my 9 lives behind.
 
Grum.Man said:
You eventually get used to just knowing the runway is there.
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You guys must have some indication of where you are. This runway is in an enormous pasture with zero lights for miles. There are no street lights. Town is 3 miles away. If you could only see the 4 lights around the gas pump in an otherwise completely black surface, could you really find the threshold a mile away? I was struggling with that.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
You guys must have some indication of where you are. This runway is in an enormous pasture with zero lights for miles. There are no street lights. Town is 3 miles away. If you could only see the 4 lights around the gas pump in an otherwise completely black surface, could you really find the threshold a mile away? I was struggling with that.
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There is a light on either side of the runway at the 1000' markers and again at the end of the runway. It's not for the faint of heart or nerve lol.
 
I'm guessing no one has ever seen the PCLs turn off during the flare?
 
danhagan said:
I'm guessing no one has ever seen the PCLs turn off during the flare?
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I always click them on in the downwind even if they’re already on. I was still a couple miles out on a long final when I learned that lesson so it wasnt that exciting.
 
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