Night Currency - Why Full Stops?

a wrote:
On Aug 12, 1:17 pm, Ross wrote:
wrote:
Subject says it all. Why do the landings for night currency have to
be made to a full stop?
Thanks
Chris
I read the replies and I hope this is a better answer. One poster said
it correctly, the FARs say you have to.

But, night flying is so different than day. The perspectives of the
runway environment are different and whether you have a dark night or a
full moon night. Safety would be an answer, but I think it is more the
difference. Night flying on a moonless night is akin to IFR, almost,
especially in a sparsely populated area.

Just another bit of information. Before I had to sell my plane, our
local airport wanted to get night approach lights. I took the airport
sponsor and another pilot and went to a couple of airports that had VASI
lights. I made much better landings at night following the VASI than I
did at my home airport without them. I really found it amazing. I guess
ThenI tended to be high on approach at night.

--

Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP
Sold
KSWI

If you want to really test your night time skills, find an isolated
uncontrolled airport with minimal lighting -- be sure it has a 4000
foot or more runway. Then, do your landings planning touchdown a
thousand feet from the approach end. The only way I can do it
consistently is to put the Mooney in landing configuration, set the
manifold pressure to where I want it, and fly the approach airspeed. I
make throttle adjustments until my target flare point stays fixed in
my sight picture when I'm 500 feet above the ground. I would much
rather fly an ILS to minimums with a crosswind component near max
allowable than fly into small airports with basic lighting at night.
At least on an ILS when I look up and see the airport environment I
know where things are supposed to be. Landing between the RR lights,
or just setting up right, means among other things factoring in the
width of the runway when imagining the sight picture to look for. I
prove all too often that that 'Right Stuff" is really hard to find in
my flight bag.

....then there are the country fields with pilot-activated lighting....

Brian W

ohh... ok.. they work in the day light too..

I do land on runways at night with out "night approach lights"

BT

"Ross" wrote in message
...
BT wrote:
what are "night approach lights"?
do not recall hearing that term before
BT

"Ross" wrote in message
...
snip

--

Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP
Sold
KSWI



It was my lame term for VASI, etc type of approach landing light systems.
--

Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP
Sold
KSWI

a wrote:
On Aug 11, 6:39 pm, wrote:
Subject says it all. Why do the landings for night currency have to
be made to a full stop?

Thanks
Chris

Look at the regs for day time currency. . The easy answer is, if you
bounce enough you could otherwise get 2 touch and go a littles, then
a full stop, on a 5000 foot runway.

So if it's good enough for day...


Why would you want to skimp on proving to yourself you were still
sharp enough? If you did three and weren't happy with them, even if to
a full stop, would you stop because you could put a check mark next to
current, or would you go back for some more to prove to yourself, not
anyone else, you were good enough? I'd not want to fly with someone
else as a PIC if he or she told me she had been inactive, then did 3
touch and goes. Would you?

That's nice but doesn't address the original question, which was about
the regulations, not what you feel is good enough.

am wrote:
Subject says it all. Why do the landings for night currency have to
be made to a full stop?

IIRC, the reasoning is due to the lack of overall perspective of the
airport environment at night compared to day. Everything that is not
lit disappears, so it is beneficial to have additional experience in
that environment. Perhaps the FAA expected pilots to practice taxing
after each landing, although they did not require this.

I've heard of students who received their primary training at night, and
while they made great night landings had a lot of trouble at first
during the day, so your mileage may vary.

The simplest way to get your landings to a full stop is merely due stop
and goes on a runway with suitable length (with tower's permission as
applicable).

Taildraggers need landings to a full stop during the day to maintain
currency.

On Aug 13, 9:35*pm, Jessica wrote:
wrote:
Subject says it all. *Why do the landings for night currency have to
be made to a full stop?

IIRC, the reasoning is due to the lack of overall perspective of the
airport environment at night compared to day. *Everything that is not
lit disappears, so it is beneficial to have additional experience in
that environment. *Perhaps the FAA expected pilots to practice taxing
after each landing, although they did not require this.

I've heard of students who received their primary training at night, and
while they made great night landings had a lot of trouble at first
during the day, so your mileage may vary.

The simplest way to get your landings to a full stop is merely due stop
and goes on a runway with suitable length (with tower's permission as
applicable).

Taildraggers need landings to a full stop during the day to maintain
currency.

If you are flying a more complex aircraft, you really want to get off
the runway, stop and grab the checklist to make sure you are properly
configured for the takeoff. If you forget something, say, leave the
flaps down, or the trim where it was, etc, you could find yourself in
a lot more trouble on a stop and go or touch and go than if the sun
was shining. Anyway, it's what I always do. Saving a couple of
minutes just isn't worth it.

K l e i n

If you are flying a more complex aircraft, you really want to get off
the runway, stop and grab the checklist to make sure you are properly
configured for the takeoff. If you forget something, say, leave the
flaps down, or the trim where it was, etc, you could find yourself in
a lot more trouble on a stop and go or touch and go than if the sun
was shining. Anyway, it's what I always do. Saving a couple of
minutes just isn't worth it.


In my mind, the real question is why a 'bounce and go' is allowed for
daytime currency in a nosedragger...

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

On Aug 16, 9:17*am, "Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk @See My
Sig.com wrote:
If you are flying a more complex aircraft, you really want to get off
the runway, stop and grab the checklist to make sure you are properly
configured for the takeoff. *If you forget something, say, leave the
flaps down, or the trim where it was, etc, you could find yourself in
a lot more trouble on a stop and go or touch and go than if the sun
was shining. *Anyway, it's what I always do. *Saving a couple of
minutes *just isn't worth it.

In my mind, the real question is why a 'bounce and go' is allowed for
daytime currency in a nosedragger...

-
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

I may be wrong about this, but I think daytime recent experience
requires full stop landings too.

A brief google search didn't answer another question -- that is, what
does the FAA consider a 'take off'. If it just meant getting the
wheels off the ground, I could do a take off from a dead stop off and
a landing to a full stop without having to fly a circuit. I'd have to
taxi a circuit though for the next cycle.

That's a technical/legal question of course, the idea of doing 3 t-o
and landings is to demonstrate you still know how to do tham. That
should be the minimum requirement any of us have. If we have not flown
in 90 days, boys and girls, there's rust on them there reflexes. Go do
some airwork, maybe with a safety pilot. Find a crosswind and land
into it. Do slow flight for a while, hang that damned thing on its
prop. Do a steep 360 and stay within 50 feet of altitude. Do enough of
that then ask yourself if you were riding in someone else's airplane
and knew that was the extent of his recent experience, would you let
him fly you somewhere?

Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe The Sea Hawk @see my sig.com wrote:
If you are flying a more complex aircraft, you really want to get off
the runway, stop and grab the checklist to make sure you are properly
configured for the takeoff. If you forget something, say, leave the
flaps down, or the trim where it was, etc, you could find yourself in
a lot more trouble on a stop and go or touch and go than if the sun
was shining. Anyway, it's what I always do. Saving a couple of
minutes just isn't worth it.


In my mind, the real question is why a 'bounce and go' is allowed for
daytime currency in a nosedragger...

They are not.

Read 61.57 a.1.ii


--
Jim Pennino

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wrote

In my mind, the real question is why a 'bounce and go' is allowed for
daytime currency in a nosedragger...

They are not.

Read 61.57 a.1.ii

Perhaps you did not accurately read the post to which you responded?

Bob Moore

Robert Moore wrote:
wrote

In my mind, the real question is why a 'bounce and go' is allowed for
daytime currency in a nosedragger...

They are not.

Read 61.57 a.1.ii

Perhaps you did not accurately read the post to which you responded?

Bob Moore

Yep, all I saw was "dragger"...


--
Jim Pennino

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