Timeline for How do pilots see at night if airplanes don't have front lights?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
5 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 2015 at 20:58 | comment | added | Pondlife | @abelenky Yes, absolutely. I didn't literally mean that you should always file IFR at night, maybe I should have written that "pilots can but they don't have to". | |
| Jan 30, 2015 at 18:25 | comment | added | abelenky | @Pondlife: I've been on several moonlight flights where I could see even more clearly than during the day. With lots of moonlight, no sunshine glare, and each roadway and tower clearly lit up, every detail was perfectly visible. Some nights may be IFR appropriate, but night VFR can often be optimal. | |
| Jan 29, 2015 at 21:58 | comment | added | reirab | To expand on what Pondlife said, you don't even need an instrument rating at all to fly at night in the U.S. In fact, flying at night is a requirement to get a private license in the first place and private pilots are encouraged to do so regularly to maintain currency. Also, landing lights are much more useful for seeing other aircraft (especially during the day) than nav and beacon lights (assuming you're looking at the aircraft head-on, of course.) | |
| Jan 29, 2015 at 21:37 | comment | added | Pondlife | Maybe pilots should fly IFR at night, but they don't have to: night VFR is legal in many countries. | |
| Jan 29, 2015 at 21:25 | history | answered | ratchet freak | CC BY-SA 3.0 |