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Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 11:20:48 -0500
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Subject: RE: Night flying
Thread-Topic: lml Digest #1454
Thread-Index: AcYEi3VxKfOaC+C3S+Sz/l/3s7Y13QAHBySw
From: "Halle, John" <JJHALLE@stoel.com>

My first instructor gave me the emergency procedure for engine out at =
night:=20

1. Perform a best glide descent until you think you are about 100' agl.
2.  Turn on the landing light. =20
3.  If you don't like what you see, turn it back off.

I don't fly much at night any more for the same reason I get =
uncomfortable flying over mountains.  The notion that I can't land =
safely if the engine quits makes me nervous.  The fear is, however, =
irrational.  The chances of a well-maintained engine supplied with =
gasoline quitting in mid-cruise are documented to be very small.  If =
that were not so, none of us would fly at all.  The increase in accident =
rates for night flying (estimated by people like Richard Collins because =
there is no hard data on what percentage of GA flying occurs at night) =
tends to result from pilots not understanding the IFR-like nature of the =
exercise.

I think if you have and use IFR skills, keep your engine in good shape =
and don't run out of gas, flying at night is, objectively, almost as =
safe as flying during the day.  I don't think it matters much if you are =
over mountains (as long as you stay well above them which is easy to do =
with today's terrain programs) or in IMC, high or low.  Approaches are =
just as hard during the day as during the night.  But the irrational =
matters.  I fly for fun and it is not fun if I am nervous, whatever the =
reason.  I do miss night flying though.  It can be a wonderful =
experience.