Yes, I actually have quite a bit / more than most. I have about 1000 hours total, with 300 at night.
Any monochrome lighting affects colors. Astronomers use red lights, and it helps, but I'm not so sure it's of much use in the cockpit.
So did I.
Instrument-rated pilots also go flying during the day in cloud where they can't see the ground. Mr Kennedy wasn't instrument-rated.
Agreed. I think the trickiest time for night IFR is when you've just broken out into visual conditions and you see the runway lights in front of you. If you're still more than a mile back, you're at very serious risk of falling victim to the black-hole effect when you switch to visual references on a low, 3-degree approach path, so make a conscious effort to stay on the glideslope and/or pay close attention to the VASI/PAPI. If neither of those is available, don't descend below at 1,000 ft AGL (assuming no higher terrain) until you're within a mile of the runway, then drop flaps, cut power, and do a steep (5- or 6-degree) approach.
About 10 or 15 years ago they moved control of the Hawaii giant telescopes from an uncomfortable 14,300' msl to 4,000' msl in the little town of Wiamea on the Big Island.
Yes! I have tritanopia (blues vs greens are hardest for me). I have failed the color blindness test at every third-class medical I’ve ever had for 25 years. 3 or 4 different doctors all have just shrugged and moved on when I’ve failed (on the test I always miss the same two “diagrams” and the doctors never acted like it was a big deal). Hmmm I’m thinking now it is a big deal!
Let me correct that. In Canada, any VFR flight beyond 25 nm, regardless of altitude, requires a flight plane or a "flight itinerary". A flight itinerary just means that a responsible person (a dispatcher, a flying buddy, a spouse) knows your route and when you're supposed to land, and will call SAR if you don't report in, so it's not much of a burden.
Sorry, my phrasing was unclear. Let me try again:
We're still waiting.
Naw. The vast majority of astronomers are amateur, and look through eyepieces most of the time. Heck, in my office are a 10" Newtonian and a 7" Maksutov, just to remind me of what I should be doing instead of working. Yeah, I take pictures, but the real joy is looking at the 'live' sky. Go to a star party; you'll see only red lights, and you'll be wrested to the ground if you present a white light.
In my case, I did my training before I moved to Colorado. I generally trained after work and a lot of it was in winter. So it was dark, often in the clouds, and I was usually a bit tired. So I was pretty much used to night IFR and a nice normal non-training flight was simple.
Please don't rely on "The Force." If you do, this could happen:
I mean it was said jest, IE, a joke. But thanks captain obvious. Night vfr may as well be IMC which is why many jurisdictions treat it as such.Please don't rely on "The Force." If you do, this could happen:
<<At 1:20 am EST (06:20 UTC), the aircraft took off from JFK's runway 22R. At 1:44, the flight reached its cruising altitude of 33,000 feet. At 1:48, captain El-Habashi left the cockpit and went to the lavatory. During that time, relief first officer Al-Batouti was alone in the cockpit. At 1:48:39, he began to exclaim, "I rely on God," and, at 1:49:45, disengaged the autopilot. The autopilot-disengagement warning was not heard on the CVR, indicating that the autopilot was disengaged manually, and, for the next 10 seconds, the aircraft remained in straight and level flight.>>
EgyptAir Flight 990 - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Rely on regular training and proficiency.
It's not in the FAR/AIM. He's talking about Canada, different rules.
Yep, he clarified that a few years ago
