Could you pass the PTS at night?

[Hilton]

Hi,

A very interesting article, and more thought-provoking research by Captain
Barry Schiff.

http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/1999/prof9911.html

Hilton

[C J Campbell]

It would have been interesting to see how well Barry would have done.

I think it depends a little on the area where you live and the time of year
you learn to fly in.

Right now I have students that fly almost exclusively at night, so both they
and I get a lot of practice with night maneuvers.

[Peter Duniho]

"C J Campbell" > wrote in message
...
> It would have been interesting to see how well Barry would have done.

He doesn't say, but I suspect Schiff is implying that he would fare no
better (or at least not significantly better) than the pilots with whom he
experimented.

> I think it depends a little on the area where you live and the time of
year
> you learn to fly in.

A little, yes.

> Right now I have students that fly almost exclusively at night, so both
they
> and I get a lot of practice with night maneuvers.

However, in the situations similar to those Schiff describes, you all
probably would have similar problems. One hopes instrument rated pilots
would do better, of course. But the fundamental issues are not easily
solved:

* Difficulty in remembering to use instruments for attitude control,
when flying in a primarily VFR environment
* Difficulty in identifying suitable emergency landing sites at night

I read his article less as a challenge, and more as a warning to remind us
that night VFR is as much an instrument-based exercise as it is a visual
"outside references" exercise.

Pete