I have to second many of Jay's points. In my younger, less experienced
times, I did a LOT of night flying (winter in mid-west, you either take
time off or fly at night). I loved it - beautiful sights, smooth air,
absolutely magical. Two years ago, I got the opportunity to land
engine out in a wheat field (during the day). Perfect touch down just
over the trees and just short of the road/ditch. No damage at all to
the plane or occupants. Pulled the wings, towed her to the nearest
airport, replaced an intake gasket and flew her home (oh yeah, removed
1/2 lb of wheat from the pitot). Anway, night flight has taken on a
new dimension since. It's amazing the "auto-rough" on the engine that
sets in about sunset. An off-field landing at night is something I
NEVER want to do. Flying here on full-moon or near full moon nights is
pretty easy, but I avoid overcast and/or sliver moon nights if at all
possible. I find myself constantly tracking "nearest airport" and
flying much higher as well as spending too much time on instruments
(engine in particular) and have to force myself to keep eyes out of the
plane (and on the sky instead of just the next potential landing spot).
I got back on the horse, but am a bit more skittish now for sure.
Jeff

PS - An actual off-field landing is something a sim will NEVER really
prepare you for. It's also something that's surprisingly different
than all of your practice power-outs. All that practice ingrains
excellent responses and instills the correct reactions, but there is a
"come to Jesus" moment when it's real. I discovered, for the first
time in my life, that I get REALLY bad lower back spasms under enough
stress :^). Never had a sim or had a practice flight indicate that
would happen :^).

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

Flying at night is lovely, and -- as many have mentioned -- a full moon
on a snow-covered landscape is fantastic. (And almost as bright as
daytime, once your eyes adjust.)

That said, Mary and I have made a conscious decision not to fly at
night until the kids are grown. We occasionally have to fly at night,
and enjoy it -- but we do our best to make plans that avoid night
flights.

Why? Because your options are pretty limited if your engine fails on a
dark night, and our kids need us. Around here, you would just aim the
plane for a dark spot, and hope for the best. NOT a good plan, in my
opinion.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"