Night flying and vision
9 min readLesson 56 of 59
- Explain how night vision works and how to protect it
- Interpret other aircraft's lights
- Recognize visual illusions on approach
How your eyes work at night
Your retina has cones (color and detail, concentrated in the center) and rods (low light and motion, around the edges). At night, the cones don't work well, so there's a night blind spot in the center of your vision. Use off-center viewing: look about 10° to the side of an object to see it with your rods.
Your eyes need about 30 minutes to fully adapt to the dark, and one bright light can ruin it. Keep cockpit lights dim, avoid bright lights before the flight, and carry a flashlight (some pilots use red, which protects night vision but makes red chart symbols hard to see).
Reading other airplanes' lights
Position lights: red on the left wingtip, green on the right, white on the tail. From where you sit: if you see only red, the other airplane is crossing from your left to your right; only green, it's crossing from right to left; red and green together, it's coming straight at you; only white, it's moving away. The flashing beacon or strobes just tell you an airplane is there.
Visual illusions on approach
| Situation | Illusion | Tendency |
|---|---|---|
| Narrower runway than usual | You feel higher than you are | Fly a low approach |
| Wider runway than usual | You feel lower than you are | Fly a high approach |
| Upsloping runway or terrain | You feel higher than you are | Fly a low approach |
| Featureless terrain, water or a dark area ("black hole") | You feel higher than you are | Fly a low approach |
| Rain on the windshield, or haze | The runway looks farther away | Fly a low approach |
The common thread: most illusions make pilots fly too low. Use a VASI or PAPI when available, and cross-check your altitude and distance.
Night planning
Fly higher than you would during the day, plan routes over lighted areas and near airports, know where the dark terrain is, and keep extra fuel. Night emergencies are harder because it's hard to pick a landing spot.
Key takeaways
- Use off-center viewing; full dark adaptation takes about 30 minutes.
- Lights: red left, green right, white tail. Red and green together = coming at you.
- Most approach illusions make you fly too low; use the VASI/PAPI.
What the examiner may ask
Practice answering out loud before you open each answer.
How would you prepare for a night flight?
What's a black hole approach?
What lights are required for night flight?
Common mistakes
- Turning on bright cockpit lights right before takeoff.
- Flying a long night cross-country over dark terrain at a low altitude.
- Not carrying a backup flashlight.
Read it in the FAA sources
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Lesson check
Get every question right to complete the lesson. Take your time; wrong answers explain why.
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