Just decide to go fly at midnight?

Thats when i used to practice instrument approaches. Didnt switch runway lights on until minimums. ATC thought i was nuts
 
Hank S said:
But 10:00 doesn't. Just curious how much of the year your airport prevents you from being night current and effectively prevented from going places, or coming home from places, at the end of the day. Sure, you can land after 10, but you gotta be night current to be in the air . . .
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So take off at 9:45, go to another airport and get night current, then return home... good to go.... or return, that is...:)

I am just wondering if the 10pm curfew means no go arounds. "I sure could have avoided the van full of nekkid people on the runway with a go around but because of the curfew I had to continue the landing...."
 
Hank S said:
What time does it get dark in summer? Specifically, when is Civil Twilight? Because it doesn't count as Night Flight until an hour after Civil Twilight, and you can't complete a flight after then if you aren't night current. Or take off, either.
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Night currency is 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise. For me today that means any takeoffs and landings after 4:57 am and before 10:45 pm don't count.

Civil twilight is the cutoff for logging night time. That means I have to fly between 10:25 pm and 5:18 am to log the time.

So I'm never night current in the summer and I never log night hours. But what I can do is fly the crap out of the J-3, which has no lights or electrical system and therefor can only fly, today for example, from 5:57 am until 9:45 pm. :)
 
Hank S said:
Sure, you can land after 10, but you gotta be night current to be in the air . . .
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No you don't.

I go in and out of night currency all the time, and am sometimes only current in one category and class. But a lack of currency has never prohibited me from flying whatever I'm rated for at night.
 
I am such a night guy and want to do this all the time! Unfortunately the FBO I keep my plane at closes at 11pm and I have no way in after that otherwise I would do this all the time, often times at 1 2 in the morning i think it would be nice to go for a cruise. I plan on moving to a fly-in next year and when I have it in the backyard you bet I'll be doing this fairly often.
 
eman1200 said:
you only have to be 'current' to carry pax, no? otherwise u can do whatever u want, with the exception of the flight school goober rules.
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Correct. Night currency, day currency, category/class/type currency, tail wheel currency are all for carrying passengers. The only currency I know of that is required to fly solo is instrument currency to act as PIC under IFR.
 
Night flying gives me the heebejeebes when I'm in the pattern. XC is nice. Base and final I get a little uncomfortable.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Night flying gives me the heebejeebes when I'm in the pattern. XC is nice. Base and final I get a little uncomfortable.
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The airport I was based out of previously was in the middle of cornfields. Flying past the runway on downwind at night was like flying into a black hole. Descending without sight of the ground was unnerving.
 
mondtster said:
No you don't.

I go in and out of night currency all the time, and am sometimes only current in one category and class. But a lack of currency has never prohibited me from flying whatever I'm rated for at night.
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True, but I rarely travel very far alone . . . My wife loves weekend trips. Thus my need for night currency.
 
JustinD said:
I am such a night guy and want to do this all the time! Unfortunately the FBO I keep my plane at closes at 11pm and I have no way in after that otherwise I would do this all the time, often times at 1 2 in the morning i think it would be nice to go for a cruise. I plan on moving to a fly-in next year and when I have it in the backyard you bet I'll be doing this fairly often.
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Just arrange it in advance with them, and pick up the keys before they close. Do find out where you should leave the keys when you get back; often you can leave the bag in the plane.
 
Hank S said:
What time does it get dark in summer? Specifically, when is Civil Twilight? Because it doesn't count as Night Flight until an hour after Civil Twilight, and you can't complete a flight after then if you aren't night current. Or take off, either.
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I'm about to do my 5 hours of night flight with 10 TOs and landings at a controlled airport for my commercial. Problem is, all these Class D towers close generally no later than 9. That makes it hard in the summer. Unless I just do them at ATL. Wonder if they would mind 10 TOs and landings by an Arrow around 10pm? :cool:
 
BrianNC said:
I'm about to do my 5 hours of night flight with 10 TOs and landings at a controlled airport for my commercial. Problem is, all these Class D towers close generally no later than 9. That makes it hard in the summer. Unless I just do them at ATL. Wonder if they would mind 10 TOs and landings by an Arrow around 10pm? :cool:
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I stil have to do my 250nm XC too. I guess I could do it as a night flight and fly toward Charlotte and just do them there on the way or the way back. Not as big as ATL.
 
Hank S said:
Just arrange it in advance with them, and pick up the keys before they close. Do find out where you should leave the keys when you get back; often you can leave the bag in the plane.
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it's my airplane not a rental so there would be no need to pick up and drop off the keys....unless you meant the key to the FBO? if thats what you meant I still cant do it, The ramp my airplane is on the same side of the airport right next to the airport terminal because of that the airport authority is pretty strict even with a badge I can't be entering or exiting the property without an employee of the FBO there. I've tried figuring out just about every way to go about it and so has my FBO but unfortunately the airport authority is really standing their ground on the matter
 
BrianNC said:
I'm about to do my 5 hours of night flight with 10 TOs and landings at a controlled airport for my commercial. Problem is, all these Class D towers close generally no later than 9. That makes it hard in the summer. Unless I just do them at ATL. Wonder if they would mind 10 TOs and landings by an Arrow around 10pm? :cool:
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ATL still kicking it at. Last big push is around 1030-1100pm.
 
JustinD said:
it's my airplane not a rental so there would be no need to pick up and drop off the keys....unless you meant the key to the FBO? if thats what you meant I still cant do it, The ramp my airplane is on the same side of the airport right next to the airport terminal because of that the airport authority is pretty strict even with a badge I can't be entering or exiting the property without an employee of the FBO there. I've tried figuring out just about every way to go about it and so has my FBO but unfortunately the airport authority is really standing their ground on the matter
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So you pay rent to keep your plane there, then they deny you access? That ain't right, you should talk to them in those terms. In most states, it is patently illegal to accept rent money then deny access. You may have a winnable lawsuit on your hands, "authority" or not.
 
Hank S said:
So you pay rent to keep your plane there, then they deny you access? That ain't right, you should talk to them in those terms. In most states, it is patently illegal to accept rent money then deny access. You may have a winnable lawsuit on your hands, "authority" or not.
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Definitely doesn't sound right.
 
It's all in the lease terms, it is what it is. I've had my plane based there since I got it 2012, I can access the plane, but I'd have to pay an after hours fee, which paying an after hours fee just to go tool around the pattern isn't worth it. They aren't denying me access, it's in the terms I agreed to, that's how the field is, don't like go elsewhere I guess. Both full service FBO's on the field are exactly the same in this manner. It comes down from airport operations not the FBO. The only way to have unrestricted 24 hour access is to have it in the T-Hangars, which at this point in time I still prefer the full service FBO. In the 5 years I've had my plane it's never been a hinderance to my normal operation, just those random times I feel like going up for a cruise at midnight

And even if I could access it, let's suppose my plane was at the back of the hangar with 10 other planes in it, or blocked by maybe a jet or 2, I certainty can't move all those around to get mine out! And then advising them in advance to pull it out would defeat the very purpose of this thread about just suddenly feeling like going up in the middle of the night
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
Night flights are very tranquil, with the calm air and what not. I like flying to a nearby airport and do a few landings to stay night-current (French Valley has amazing runway lights, BTW). Typically, I have the pattern all to myself.
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I love going flying at night, especially on a whim. I'll have to add F70 to the list. What makes their lights so great?
 
jordane93 said:
I'm looking to bid reserve in NY and hopefully won't get used!
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Getting used sounds so master/slave. Just say you hope you don't get called by Screw Scheduling. :)

Oops. Typo. Or autocorrect. Or was it? ;)
 
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