Night VFR without Pitot Heat

[LiamKeating]

Hey, AvCanada-
New pilot here, fresh out of my night rating, and having just joined a flight club on the west coast for PIC building towards CPL.
I was hoping to do the vast majority of my PIC time building as night flying, as I see an added value in the skills needed for night flight.
The flight club has a 1965 C172F, and I see that it doesn't have pitot heat.

The question I have is:
Can I use that aircraft to fly at night?

I checked around the internet and this forum, and didn't find this question asked before.
Through the best of my searching, I am looking at CAR 605.16 (4)(c) (Power-driven Aircraft - Night VFR) which states:
"(c) a means of preventing malfunction caused by icing for each airspeed indicating system"

That seems fairly clear to me- I will not be able to fly at night.
However, the use of wording makes me wonder if there are different ways of looking at that regulation.

Thanks, in advance, for your time.

[455tt]

All you are doing is time building under Night VFR.

Here is the exact reg:

(4) In addition to the equipment requirements specified in subsection (1), no person shall operate an aircraft in night VFR flight under Subpart 4 of this Part or Subparts 2 to 5 of Part VII, unless the aircraft is equipped with

(a) an attitude indicator;

(b) a vertical speed indicator;

(c) a means of preventing malfunction caused by icing for each airspeed indicating system; and

(d) an outside air temperature gauge.

You are not "operating" the aircraft as a Private Air Operator under CARs 604, nor are you "operating" a commercial air service under Part VII (702 - 705). So the provision does not apply. Pitot heat is not required equipment for your intended operations. Nor do you require an attitude indicator, nor do you need a VSI, nor do you need an OAT gauge.

But just to be 100% safe, I would take the exact reg as above to whomever is the CFI and bring it to their attention and tell them you want to time build only and you want their consent in advance to do your flight. If they don't consent, then don't do the flight. I think they will be OK but who knows.

[‘Bob’]

This is a good study in “safe” vs “legal”.

[CpnCrunch]

This is a good study in “safe” vs “legal”.

Well, I think it depends on the weather. If it's not going to get anywhere near freezing, and there's little to no risk of running into a cloud, it's not really an issue.

[LiamKeating]

Thank you for the replies-
Please forgive me as I try and wrap my head around the subject.

I am interpreting the response from '455tt' to say that the important distinction lies in the bolded text below:

(4) In addition to the equipment requirements specified in subsection (1), no person shall operate an aircraft in night VFR flight under Subpart 4 of this Part or Subparts 2 to 5 of Part VII, unless the aircraft is equipped with

(a) an attitude indicator;

(b) a vertical speed indicator;

(c) a means of preventing malfunction caused by icing for each airspeed indicating system; and

(d) an outside air temperature gauge.

If I am following correctly, and what now seems obvious, is that all equipment included in 605.16 (1)-(3) is standard required equipment, and the few additional items listed in 605.16 (4) are for commercial/for hire flights.
That understanding comes from 'Part VII — Commercial Air Services', and 'Part VI — General Operating and Flight Rules, Subpart 4 — Private Operators' as well as this post giving me a better understanding of CAR 604:
http://www.avcanada.ca/forums2/viewtopic.php?t=102067

But just to be 100% safe, I would take the exact reg as above to whomever is the CFI and bring it to their attention and tell them you want to time build only and you want their consent in advance to do your flight. If they don't consent, then don't do the flight. I think they will be OK but who knows.

This is a good study in “safe” vs “legal”.

Here, I definitely agree with both of your sentiments- There is a very clear reason why pitot heat (or equivalent) is required for commercial operations, and this is why I am reaching out to so many individuals about this specific topic. I have already discussed this with a few CFI's, and a few flight club members, and we all agree- it would be much less safe to operate without pitot heat.
That being said, every instructor was quite sure that it was unable to be flown at night in any conditions due to the regulations, specifically referencing the handbook "Night Rating - SharpeAero", which cites CAR 605.16 but does not differentiate on "(4)".
The responses in this post are the first to point out the specifics in the CARs that say otherwise.

All-in-all, do I now have the proper understanding of this regulation?