Night VFR

so how could you be at 3000ft, 800m vis, and be in sight of the surface?

It says 3000 feet AMSL, not AGL. 800m Flight visibility is forward visibility that does not necessarily apply vertically. I have on many occasions been at 3000 ft amsl, in around 800 metres visibility and had no difficulty seeing the surface, even at night. Its a good rule that has worked for many years.

Unfortunately the Swedish CAA also proposes to apply IFR like minimum altitudes for VFR flights at night when making the Swedish legislation SERA compatible.
I too would like to know if any country today, pre-SERA, uses these, over the top, night VFR minima of “1000 ft above obstacles within 8 km”.

The proposal from the Swedish CAA on how to implement SERA in Sweden can be found here [in Swedish]: http://www.transportstyrelsen.se/Global/Regler/Remisser/Luftfart/F%C3%B6reskriftsf%C3%B6rslag_trafikregler_140428.pdf

My translation of the night VFR parts below:

File an ATS flight plan if the aircraft intends to leave the vincinity of the aerodrome.
Two-way radio communication shall be established and maintained.

The following VMC minima regarding visibility and distance to clouds shall be applied:
* Flight visilibility shall not be below 5 km.
* Distance from clouds in controlled airspace: 1500m horisontally and 1000 ft vertically.
* Distance from clouds in un-controlled airspace: free of clouds and maintain ground visibility.
* Cloud base shall not be below 1 500 ft.
* At or below the highest of either 3 000 ft AMSL or 1 000 ft AGL the pilot shall maintain constant ground visibility.

Except for take-offs and landings a VFR flight at night shall be conducted at the following altitudes:
* Over mountenious terrain the altitude shall be at least 2000 ft above the highest obstacle which is situated whithin 8 km of the estimated position of the aircraft.
* Over other areas the altitude shall be at least 1000 ft above the highest obstacle which is situated whithin 8 km of the estimated position of the aircraft.

Night (as in darkness) is equivalent to IMC.

So “night VFR” is meaningless unless there is a lot of light around, in the sky and on the ground.

I am not arguing for tighter regulation (obviously nobody wants even more regs in this crazily regulated business) but what were the regulators thinking?

that you’re the captain and should know your limits ?

NVFR with some moon is ok, plus you always have an external reference with the ground (very few places with absolutely no lights).
And it’s a first step towards IFR

that you’re the captain and should know your limits

I think that would be an excessively revolutionary approach to aviation regulation

that you’re the captain and should know your limits

I think that would be an excessively revolutionary approach to aviation regulation

Isn’t it already this way? Doesn’t for example IM SAFE contain an element of that? I do not remember whether there is any regulation that explicitly states that the PIC shall do a self-assessment of his/her capabilities before commencing a flight.

I used to fly a lot of night VFR before I got my IR, and unless it is a dark night over water or really deserted areas (which there are plenty of in certain places in the US – not so much in Europe), most of the time you do have some lights on the ground although not necessarily a clear horizon. The difficulties associated with night VFR are the reason why a NQ is required by EASA, and involves a minimum of instrument time if memory serves me right.

There are some day VMC conditions that are reminiscent of IMC; taking off VFR over water at dusk (technically VMC day) in certain conditions where there is little contrast between sea and sky. There are some (hazy) days where you have no horizon when crossing the Channel in day VMC.

And again, VFR refers to flight rules – not conditions.

Unfortunately you can hurt yourself and your passengers no matter what the flight rules are if you transgress the limits of your abilities, regardless of what training you have received. Some need to push the envelope and scare themselves to figure out what their limits are, while others are more cautious. The NQ should make you aware of the difficulties you can encounter in Night VFR and give you the training to overcome them in a bind. Just like the training for day VFR. If you encounter a situation you do not like, you do have the option of turning around.

I think that night VFR flying is perfectly reasonable, but is probably best considered in context. For example, flying night VFR locally in the some places with lots of lights is no problem (Vancouver, Canada). I would not hesitate to launch in the night with a good forecast anywhere in the local lowland regions, in fact, I would consider it a pleasure! It is a great experience to fly VFR, and to have the opportunity to explore some familiar landmarks with night lighting. One should be a bit circumspect and be current with their instrument flying, altitude and navigation requirements, but otherwise go for it!

That being said, when returning from a long cross country flight (VFR), I try to make sure that I have crossed the last mountains prior to full darkness… Nobody wants to be surprised by some black granite! Certainly, when there are no lights, and there are obstacles to avoid, then it should probably be an IFR flight. Horses for courses.

To get a Canadian Night Rating for VFR flying, you need 5 hours dual at night, and 5 hours solo, including a 2 hour cross country. When I first did this it seemed like a good introduction to the pitfalls of night flying, and allowed me to start making judgement on what was safe and appropriate. Pretty quickly you will figure out what you are comfortable with.

To get a Canadian Night Rating for VFR flying, you need 5 hours dual at night, and 5 hours solo, including a 2 hour cross country.

I believe this is quite a bit more than in Europe, isn’t it?

The night portion of the standard FAA PPL requires quite a lot more than the EASA NQ, too.

A lot of people discover this when converting a Euro PPL to an FAA PPL. There is a 100nm night X/C flight for example; I had to arrange some hotels when I was doing mine because all the nearby airports closed too early to do it in one go.