Prepare for: Night Pattern Work
Takeoffs and landings at night: lighting, the night pattern, and the 10 full-stop landings the private certificate requires.
Your CFI's syllabus and your airplane's POH come first. This page is a general study aid to help you show up prepared.
What you'll do
- Preflight with a flashlight; check every exterior light, and set cockpit lights dim before engine start.
- Know the airport lighting: runway edge (white), threshold (green), runway end (red), taxiway edge (blue), and how to turn on pilot-controlled lighting on the CTAF.
- Fly the same pattern as in the day, using the same power settings and checkpoints. Don't let the dark change your numbers.
- Use a stabilized approach and the VASI or PAPI to stay on the glidepath; don't descend early into the dark area before the runway.
- Private requirement (61.109(a)(2)(ii)): 10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop, each with a pattern, at night (night is defined in 14 CFR 1.1).
- Carrying passengers at night later needs 3 takeoffs and landings to a full stop in the last 90 days, from 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise (61.57(b)).
The standard you'll be held to
Quoted from the current FAA Airman Certification Standards for each level that tests this.
Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C)Task PA.XI.A · Night Operations
See this task in the official ACS.
Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C)Task PA.III.B · Traffic Patterns
- Identify and interpret airport/seaplane base runways, taxiways, markings, signs, and lighting.
- Comply with recommended traffic pattern procedures.
- Correct for wind drift to maintain the proper ground track.
- Maintain orientation with the runway/landing area in use.
- Maintain traffic pattern altitude, ±100 feet, and the appropriate airspeed, ±10 knots.
- Maintain situational awareness and proper spacing from other aircraft in the traffic pattern.
Prepare the night before
- Read the night flying and vision lesson.
- Learn the airport's lighting setup and the pilot-controlled lighting frequency.
- Avoid bright screens before and during the flight.
Common mistakes
- Descending below the glidepath on approach (the black-hole illusion).
- Flaring too high or too low because depth perception is worse at night.
- Not carrying a flashlight with spare batteries.
Questions to ask your instructor
- How many night landings will we do on this flight?
- How do you turn on the runway lights here?
- What happens if the runway lights go out on final?
Related lessons
Check yourself
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