First Licenced Night Flight in Sling ZDL

Twilight and we were in the air

Waiting for the sun to go down and let my eyes adjust to the gathering dark

We have just got back from 2 weeks in Europe and I was keen to get back in the seat of the Dragon Warrior ZDL and take the plane for my first licenced night flight.

 

Llewellyn and I got down to Virginia early after closing up at work for the weekend and waited for the sun to sink. Sunset was 5.50pm and night flying is determined as 15 minutes after sunset to 15 minutes before sunrise. Before then we were up in the air and practised a few landings and I re-acqainted myself with the lie of the land before it got dark.

 

We then did a flight to Ballito and back through King Shaka International airspace and returned for my first night landing at Virginia. Then I flew to the general flying area so I could climb and view the clear nightscape from 2500 feet before returning to Virginia for my second and darker landing. The moon was just peeping up over the seas, so I would have liked to stay a little longer, but supper with my mom was calling. Awesome feeling knowing that I can do it by day or night!!

Landing at night can be a little tricky as there are some illusions created by the darkness... dark areas seem further away than they are and bright areas seem closer. Stars look like they can be aeroplanes coming at you and pilots often land short of the runway as they think the plane is higher than it actually is. But once you get the feel of the landings right, they can be some of the best landings you can make. Awesome stuff.. had a few good ones!!
 

Night Rating and PPL revalidation

 

Thanks Warren (left) from Ayre Aviation for the training for my Night Rating as well as putting me through my paces for my first PPL licence revalidation. I managed consecutive sunset and sunrise flights last night and at the crack of dawn this morning to pass both.

 

Wow, Durban really is beautiful by night and by day. Unusual last night was the inversion with high winds (up to 65kms per hour rocking the plane, and the high temperatures at 3000 ft - 42 deg c, whereas it was 29c on the ground at 8pm.

 

Waiting in ZDL at twilight for the growing dark and adjustment to my vision

Catching the sunrise reflected in the window behind one of Ayre's 4 Slings they use for training. I was doing owner training on our own Dragon Warrior ZDL.

As the sun has risen, getting ready to fly out for my revalidation test. A pilot needs to have the first one within 12 months of getting your licence, and every 2 years thereafter.

First flight into King Shaka

Wow, hey guys, poor ZDL has been parking in the hangar waiting for an awesome night like last night to get out for my night cross-country. Last night was just perfect and my instructor Warren and I set off at twilight making our way to King Shaka and then off to Richards Bay

This was my first and long awaited visit to King Shaka from the pilot-seat and as you can see I was flying straight in "flying the papi" as one might say. The papi is a clever lighting system that shows whether you are flying in on the correct slope for a good landing - all red lights means you are too low, all white lights means too high and half white/half red means you are on a perfect slope.

Coming in for a perfect landing at King Shaka. Initially quite intimidating, especially when the AirTraffic Controller (ATC) said I must look out for an AirBus at my 10 o clock position at 1000 feet... couldn't see any plane at all!!! But the approach and landing were all quite simple, more so because I did a touch and go, so no handing over to Approach, Tower, Ground and Apron control... whew!

We were also white water rafting... almost.

Trying a VOR to Richards Bay, with the harbour on the EFIS clearly coming up.. see the small image of the plane on the screen showing our position.

I'm looking a bit dozy after landing in Richard's Bay, but just needed this pic to show you I made it there in a Sling!! ZDL rocks!!

 

Back into the night sky

It's been hard to find a clear day or night for flying in Durban over the past month, but last night was perfect. I am trying to complete my night rating and we managed to get 1,6 hours over an incredible almost full-moon lit Durban city and harbour. We practised VOR techniques to the old Durban International airport and the reciprocal as well as rate 1 level, descending and ascending turns to instructor Warrens's stopwatch. The Virginia ATC closes at 7pm, so we also managed a few free touch and gos. The wind was calm although the air was a bit trashy near the threshhold and for some reason each time we got within 50 feet of the ground the windshield fogged up slightly then cleared again. The red cabin lights of the Sling were supplemented by our red headlamps to improve readability of the cockpit instruments.

 

Night Visual Illusions

I signed up to write my Night Rating exam on Friday and as part of the learning, one needs to recognise and be aware of optical illusions that can trick a night pilot. This article sums up some of the information I have been reading...

VISION IN FLIGHT - NIGHT VISUAL ILLUSIONS

There are many different types of visual illusions that commonly occur at night. Anticipating and staying aware of them is usually the best way to avoid them.

AUTOKINESIS
Autokinesis is caused by staring at a single point of light against a dark background for more than a few seconds. After a few moments, the light appears to move on its own. To prevent this illusion, focus the eyes on objects at varying distances and avoid fixating on one target. Be sure to maintain a normal scan pattern.

FALSE HORIZON
A false horizon can occur when the natural horizon is obscured or not readily apparent. It can be generated by confusing bright stars and city lights. It can also occur while flying toward the shore of an ocean or a large lake. Because of the relative darkness of the water, the lights along the shoreline can be mistaken for stars in the sky.

NIGHT LANDING ILLUSIONS
Landing illusions occur in many forms. Above featureless terrain at night, there is a natural tendency to fly a lower-than-normal approach. Elements that cause any type of visual obscuration, such as rain, haze, or a dark runway environment also can cause low approaches. Bright lights, steep surrounding terrain, and a wide runway can produce the illusion of being too low, with a tendency to fly a higher-than-normal approach.

Often a set of regularly spaced lights along a road or highway can appear to be runway lights. Pilots have even mistaken the lights on moving trains as runway or approach lights. Bright runway or approach lighting systems can create the illusion that the airplane is closer to the runway, especially where few lights illuminate the surrounding terrain.

and off another site, some more information here...

Empty Visual Field “Blindness”:

This situation occurs when the eye is not simulated and encouraged to re-focus. The eye will transition to a resting focus of 3-4 metres. To avoid this maintain a scan that periodically involves close objects (the instrument panel) and further points (the wing tip and further afield) (Ewing, 1993). This illusion can also occur during the day in cloud, hazy conditions and over vast, featureless areas such as snowfields, deserts and water.

Break-off Phenomenon:

Is reported to occur during flight in areas of low visual stimulus, often with a low workload, including at night (Ewing, 1993). Ewing (1993) states that solo pilots note a feeling of detachment and floating free of the aircraft, or that the aircraft feels like it is balancing on a knife edge, about to fall off. This feeling is short lived, and pilots who are more anxious than average may be more susceptible and it is relatively common in situations of low visual stimulus (Ewing, 1993).

Black Hole Effect:

A common situation that is especially prone to developing when on a long straight in approach over the sea or unlit terrain, Black Hole Effect is something all pilots should be aware of. One strategy for dealing with black-hole approaches is to use the VASI or ILS glideslope to maintain a safe altitude on approach, though not all airports have these. However, with the wide availability of GPS (or DME when there's a VOR on the field), you can approximate your own three-degree slope. On a three-degree glideslope, you'll descend 318 feet for each nautical mile you travel. So while on approach, stay at least this high above the ground for every mile away from the runway. In any case, avoid very long, straight-in approaches at night, particularly if no glideslope guidance is available.

I have also compiled my own Training Manual for a Night Rating and you can download it fee here... click on the link.

First Night Flight in ZDL

At the flight controls in the dark over Durban

The onboard computer screen is reflected in the cockpit screen against the night backdrop

Instructor Warren with his red headlamp

Wow, awesome, incredible are the few words to describe my first experience night flying to get my night rating in the red rocket.

It was so dark and the landing lights barely sufficient to see around, especially as the lighting at Virginia Airport is fairly minimal. The take-off was fine, although the cabin lighting in the Sling is not really sufficient if you are trying to look at the conventional instruments and the EFIS lighting too bright if you are looking at that. My instructor Warren had his own headlamp which enabled me to see the conventional instruments which we were using for the training.. even the compass was dark.. what happened to phosphorescence on the little stripes so they shine up in the dark? We spend over an hour in the general flying area just inland of Amanzimtoti doing various exercises. I opened up the sun canopy and the moonlight and stars were shining in. On the way home we had to descend as clouds were coming in over the harbour... then the struggle to find the runway. Even the street lanps along the road were brighter. Landing could have been better, but overall an incredible experience..

The requirements for a night rating are a further 5 hours dual instruction (having just done 5 with my PPL course) and 5 hours of ground school, a cross country over 150 nautical miles, a flight test and an online exam. Not too hectic.