Helicopter Instructors Handbook

[eagle5]

I was checking this book out recently and,...not to keep beating a dead horse (for those of you who followed "Minor Ethics Question"),...aw' who am I kidding I love beating dead horses, but,...

 

On the title page for Night Operations, ch 14, it states:

By definition, night flight is flying between the hours of sunset (end of evening civil twilight) and sunrise (beginning of morning civil twilight).

 

Now according to our friends at the Naval Observatory (the folks who bring us the Air Almanac), sunset and the end of evening civil twilight are two completely different times (about a half hour apart)!

 

The Glossery however does have the correct definition of night as given in the FAR/AIM sec. 1.1, so I guess this was just a minor slip?

 

However I have not seen an errata sheet for this book, so what the hell, I thought I'd just bitch about it here!

[CharyouTree]

....I believe this is exactly what Spike was trying to tell you.

 

For the purpose of currency, night doesn't start until 1 hour after. For the purpose of logging your flight as Night, vs Day, it begins at sunset.

[crashed_05]

Logging of night begins at the end of civil twilight (when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon).

Nav lights come on at sunset to sunrise.

Recent experience to carry pax begins one hour after sunset.

[eagle5]

....For the purpose of logging your flight as Night, vs Day, it begins at sunset.

 

That is incorrect.

 

...but do we really want to start that again!

[Mikemv]

Crashed_05 has the three considerations of "night" and how they apply correct.

 

 

[Logging of night begins at the end of civil twilight (when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon.

Nav lights come on at sunset to sunrise.

Recent experience to carry pax begins one hour after sunset.]

 

I thought that CFIs taught this as part of ground school.

 

Mike

[aeroscout]

Crashed_05 has the three considerations of "night" and how they apply correct.

 

 

[Logging of night begins at the end of civil twilight (when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon.

Nav lights come on at sunset to sunrise.

Recent experience to carry pax begins one hour after sunset.]

 

I thought that CFIs taught this as part of ground school.

 

Mike

That's how I remember it. My memory in this area improved when I applied the "FAA isn't happy until you're unhappy" rule.

[eagle5]

Crashed_05 has the three considerations of "night" and how they apply correct.

 

 

[Logging of night begins at the end of civil twilight (when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon.

Nav lights come on at sunset to sunrise.

Recent experience to carry pax begins one hour after sunset.]

 

I thought that CFIs taught this as part of ground school.

 

Mike

 

Well I think the guy who wrote the first sentence in ch 14 of the Helicopter Instructors Handbook didn't go to ground school?,...because he got it wrong!