A FAA CPL applicant must meet certain aeronautical experience requirements outlined in 14 CFR § 61.129 which includes a night cross-country flight and 10 night landings at a controlled airport. Since I had some time before returning to Moscow, I decided to gain some night experience.
Flying at night is really cool. The winds are often calm, and the airplane is very stable and predictable. I had a similar feeling in the Czech Republic at 5 am.
The landscape is also very different at night, with lots of lights, easily identifiable highways and towns, and airport lights. While landing at night is not much different from a daytime landing, the approach can be more challenging.
I believe that after gaining instrument experience, flying at night is easier since the procedures are the same: trust your instruments and don’t rely on your senses.
Another critical aspect of flying at night is properly using airplane lights, especially enabling and disabling landing lights at the appropriate times. While it may not be a big deal to forget about them during the day, it’s crucial to remember them at night.
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