Finished my night rating!

[MikeGolfEcho]

Well it was meant to be finished by March, but time and weather being what they were meant it took until last night to get the last 0.8 finished. And as it's Monday, thought the picture seemed appropriate...

[white_knuckle_flyer]

Congrats !

I'm envious. Started mine in the late Fall and ran out of time, money and energy before I could finish. Still have 4 hours in the circuit. Really want to finish it though. I now know what so many instructors were raving about when they talked about how nice it was to fly at night or at least very late in the day. Calmer air, purty lights and less traffic.

Enjoy !

[Colonel Sanders]

Congratulations!!

Remember, two words:

Dewpoint Spread.

[MikeGolfEcho]

Congrats !

I'm envious. Started mine in the late Fall and ran out of time, money and energy before I could finish. Still have 4 hours in the circuit. Really want to finish it though. I now know what so many instructors were raving about when they talked about how nice it was to fly at night or at least very late in the day. Calmer air, purty lights and less traffic.

Enjoy !

Wise words from the Colonel as ever. The usually hectic airspace is a lot quieter and it really is beautiful looking out on a big city on a clear night. This time of year is tough because 'night' is so late, but definitely worth getting it finished. A whole new dimension to flying in terms of safety and pre-flight planning. I thought I knew the area quite well until flying around at night. Normally I think, "if the engine quits, where am I going"... but at night I was thinking, "Holy $hit please don't let the engine quit! Where the f*$K will I go?!"

Great experience, and I hope to do some decent night cross country trips... just another licence to learn as they say!

[slam525i]

Remember, two words:

Dewpoint Spread.

Hi Colonel (and others). I've never "really" experienced icing so I've got a few questions.

How can I tell if I'm picking up ice if I'm flying at night? (I've never tried flashing a light at the wings... would that even work in a 172? What about in a low-wing?)

Also, earlier in the year, I managed to pick up ice on the windshield, but not the strut and wings while clear of (but close under) clouds. How does that happen? There was nothing precipitating. It was just picking up the moisture from the air/cloud-bottoms.
To keep/create a hole in the ice, I was trying to decide between keeping the power up (more heat to the windshield heating vent) or power down (less cooling air blast from the prop). What is more effective?

(Before anyone freaks out that a low hour PPL like me should be kissing the ground for having survived icing, the side windows and the rest of the airplane was perfectly clear. The only ice on the airplane was a thin layer on the windshield obstructing the view. I tried to find higher ceiling elsewhere but I couldn't so I went back to the field for a few circuits. The first circuit I asked for an option in case the windshield didn't clear enough on approach. It cleared enough that I did a touch-and-go, but picked up more ice on downwind so I called it quits.)

[DanWEC]

Congratulations!!

Remember, two words:

Dewpoint Spread.

Very, very wise words. I almost never hear of anyone getting any additional met training that focused on nighttime flying. It's not even so much about icing (Well, it is of course) but about cloud formation that you just can't see at night.

[Colonel Sanders]

Dan nailed it. Night flying is either very, very good
(when the wx is good) or it's very, very bad (when
the wx is bad).

Only go VFR flying at night when the wx is good.

How can we tell this? Well, no precip on the radar
and dewpoint spread greater than 3 degrees C.

Why greater than 3 degrees C? Well, with a dewpoint
spread less than that, you can expect water to condense
and form cloud and fog, at less than 1000 AGL.

Remember that the temperature drops at night. And
if you have a source of moisture - say, an onshore
breeze, or a melting blanket of snow - the dewpoint
could increase.

This is not good.

Night flying for me is all about the dewpoint spread.

[Expat]

Night flying is sure the best flying there is. Especially in the north, where there are no lights at all, and the radio is silent. It sure hones IFR skills, when their are no ground references. The air is still, and any plane can be flown with feet only.
I also did my smoothest landings at night...

[Lotro]

I thought I knew, but to be sure, I looked it up, and then figured, I can't possibly be the only idiot who wanted to confirm this out there.

So, for all you other dummies like me:

dew-point spread [doo-point, dyoo-] noun
the number of degrees of difference between the air temperature and the dew point.
Also called dew-point deficit, dew-point depression.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dew-point+spread

I assume you'd have to adjust for temperature changes at altitude? I'd better visit FTGU.

[GUMPS]

If you're asking yourself what "dew point spread" is you better ask yourself how you passed MET on your written exam. If you haven't gotten that far...for god sake learn it and know it