Night Currency

[bstratt]

I know you have to do 3 takeoffs and landings to a full stop, but is there any requirement to leave the runway? My read is that if the runway is long enough, and the tower okays, you can come to a full stop, pause, reset, and take off again.

Correct?

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

I know you have to do 3 takeoffs and landings to a full stop, but is there any requirement to leave the runway? My read is that if the runway is long enough, and the tower okays, you can come to a full stop, pause, reset, and take off again.

Correct?

Yep, stop & gos on the RWY are routine for NT currency on long RWY.

 

[poadeleted20]

Yep, stop & gos on the RWY are routine for NT currency on long RWY.

Just make sure tower knows you're doing a "stop and go" rather than a "touch and go" as that may change how he spaces folks behind you. You don't want to force a go-around for the plane behind you by surprising the controller with the amount of time you spend on the runway.

 

[AirBaker]

The real question is... If the runway is long enough, and you're in a short takeoff aircraft, can you take off and land without flying the rest of the pattern?

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

The real question is... If the runway is long enough, and you're in a short takeoff aircraft, can you take off and land without flying the rest of the pattern?

I don't know for sure what the FAA BS is on that.

A full stop LDG is a full stop LDG, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's loggable for FAA.

I'm confident Bruce or Ron will have the complete FAA Reg for viewing here soon though, so that we're not, in the dark...

 

[jdwatson]

FAR 61.57 doesn't specifically state that each landing must involve a traffic pattern.

 

[inav8r]

I couldn't find anything in the entire FAR 61.57 (Recent flight experience: Pilot in command.) that requires the flight "involve a flight in the traffic pattern".

Edit: It does appear that TO & LDG that you're going to use to apply for a rating do require a "flight in the traffic pattern." Tho as stated above, for currency this doesn't appear to be the case.

 

[gismo]

The real question is... If the runway is long enough, and you're in a short takeoff aircraft, can you take off and land without flying the rest of the pattern?

I see nothing in the reg's that would preclude this, but I could swear that I read somewhere that the FAA doesn't agree. In any case why in the world would you want to do this?

 

[Jim Chumley]

The real question is... If the runway is long enough, and you're in a short takeoff aircraft, can you take off and land without flying the rest of the pattern?

What a question. Talk about thinking "outside the box", this is classic. But, take it another step. Would the tower guys/ladies log it as one airport movement or three, if you were able to make the three stops and goes in one pass?

I hope this is all rhetorical and someone is not actually considering trying it.

Jim

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

What a question. Talk about thinking "outside the box", this is classic. But, take it another step. Would the tower guys/ladies log it as one airport movement or three, if you were able to make the three stops and goes in one pass?

I hope this is all rhetorical and someone is not actually considering trying it.

Jim

Not only considered it, but did it. Why not ?

On a 2 mile long runway with no traffic, it's the perfect place to simulate an engine failure on takeoff for the pilot that's still basking in the warmth of their own ego after that preceeding, perfect night LDG...

But we did full patterns anyway so that logging considerations were not an issue.

 

[inav8r]

On the other hand, my instructor tells me that I can't count the two bounces and the landing as 3 landings.

 

[Maverick]

What a question. Talk about thinking "outside the box", this is classic. But, take it another step. Would the tower guys/ladies log it as one airport movement or three, if you were able to make the three stops and goes in one pass?

I hope this is all rhetorical and someone is not actually considering trying it.

Jim

It would be theoretically possible at an airport such as Oscoda Wurts (OSC) in Michigan. This is the field that used to be Wurtsmith AFB. I believe the runway is 11,800 feet long, 300 feet wide and unless something has changed it's an uncontrolled field.

But why would someone want to do that. Sure it may be three TO and Landings but without flying some sort of pattern you're not really making an approach. I don't mean to confuse this issue with an instrument approach. As an old friend once told me when I was in flight training. He said " If you make a bad approach to the runway, it's likely to be a bad landing". This was the rational behind a go around if the approach gets crazy.

I would think the spirit of the requirement would include flying a normal traffic pattern and approach to the touchdown point rather than just popping up and down three times.

I've seen pilots get, what I belive to be, too hung up on the (where is it written) concept. Sometimes we just have to use common sense because there will be times when just exactly the answer you're looking for is not written but is implied if we examine the rules closely.

Jeannie

 

[poadeleted20]

The real question is... If the runway is long enough, and you're in a short takeoff aircraft, can you take off and land without flying the rest of the pattern?

61.57 for landing currency has no such requirement. If you go down to the Shuttle landing strip, you can probably get current at night in one trip down the runway. What you are thinking of are these lines in the Private Pilot aeronautical experience requirements:

61.109(a)(2)(ii) for night: "10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport." [emphasis added]


61.109(a)(5)(iii) for solo: "Three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower." [emphasis added]

​

 

[AirBaker]

The real question is... If the runway is long enough, and you're in a short takeoff aircraft, can you take off and land without flying the rest of the pattern?

It's just a bunch of 'straight in' approaches to final...

 

[gismo]

61.57 for landing currency has no such requirement. If you go down to the Shuttle landing strip, you can probably get current at night in one trip down the runway.

So faced with a really long runway at night and a need for quick currency, exactly how far off the ground do you think one would need to go between each takeoff and subsequent touchdown.

BTW while this technique might minimize the flight time required to establish currency, Hobbs time might suffer due to the long taxi back.

 

[Henning]

The real question is... If the runway is long enough, and you're in a short takeoff aircraft, can you take off and land without flying the rest of the pattern?

With the Stinson 108 w/235hp, I could have taken off and landed full stop 3 times on a 5000' runway.

 

[Henning]

On the other hand, my instructor tells me that I can't count the two bounces and the landing as 3 landings.

Your instructor must be wrong since whenever I bounce in a landing it is fo currency purposes.

 

[AirBaker]

If the runway wasn't quite long enough... Take off, Land, Make a 180, Take off, Land, 180...

 

[Len Lanetti]

If the runway wasn't quite long enough... Take off, Land, Make a 180, Take off, Land, 180...

So you were landing opposite direction on the parallel runway?

:<)

Len

 

[gismo]

So you were landing opposite direction on the parallel runway?

Wide runway.

 

[AirBaker]

Same strip of asphault, just a 180degree taxi turn... Not that I've done it... Yet.

 

[CFIse]

Let me tell you the tale of the pilot out to regain his night currency who did just that in calm winds. Takeoff, climb out, turn 180, land.

The rollout was short, but it took a helluva lot of power to taxi - 'nuff said.

 

[Maverick]

Let me tell you the tale of the pilot out to regain his night currency who did just that in calm winds. Takeoff, climb out, turn 180, land.

The rollout was short, but it took a helluva lot of power to taxi - 'nuff said.

In another words, you know you've made a gear up landing when it takes full power to taxi to the ramp?

Jeannie ~ Cardinal RG driver

 

[maximus]

In another words, you know you've made a gear up landing when it takes full power to taxi to the ramp?

Jeannie ~ Cardinal RG driver

I never understood this. If you had a gear up landing wouldnt it effect the engine?

 

[Skip Miller]

I never understood this. If you had a gear up landing wouldnt it effect the engine?

{Foghorn Leghorn voice ON} It's a joke, son... I say it's a joke {FLV-OFF]


Or is it? See the thumbnail.

-Skip

 

[gismo]

I never understood this. If you had a gear up landing wouldnt it effect the engine?

It does tend to reshape the prop on a Cardinal RG, but all jokes aside, aircarft like a Lake with a pylon mounted engine would probably still be able to taxi, at least on wet grass. Tail mounted jet engines ought to produce plenty of thrust as well with the gear up.

 

[RotaryWingBob]

Hmmm. That triggers a question for Ron or someone else. What about helicopters?

At N99 with 3347' of runway, I can land on the numbers, then do several quick stops, and still be able to depart. Would a landing and 2 Q-stops count? And what about an air taxi -- does that count as a landing when you come to a hover afterward?

Inquiring minds want to know!