wrote in message
ups.com...
I have about 150 total hours now, but my only night flights were during
my training as required for certification.

I fly in the Bay Area, CA I would love to see the beautiful scenery of
the city lights that night flying offers.

How long does it take to comfortabley fly at night and how do those of
you that fly at night navigate in the dark?

Or I guess a better question is what techniques do you use at night to
navigate that are different then how you navigate during the day?

Do you just fly the altitudes that you fly during the day time to stay
safely from getting too close to anything?

I know the easy answer is to go up with an instructor, and I plan too,
but I wanted to hear from you all first and see what you do differently
at night versus the day and how many of you actually take advantage of
night flying.

Most of my night flying is at the end of a trip where the schedule didn't
allow us to get home before dark.

At night, I tend to fly higher. That gives me more options if the engine
quits for whatever reason. Also, it keeps me farther above various towers,
which don't *always* have operating lights.

I don't find navigation to be a big problem - major roads, towns, and major
landmarks are still visible. Even better, the GPS doesn't know it is dark.

That said, I don't fly at night particularly often. While it can be
beautiful on a clear night, I rarely go sightseeing at night, because it
makes for a long day. Also, in the winter, it can be cold here.

KB