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Ninety-five percent or more of flight time logged by private pilots takes place in daylight. This statistic seems to warrant a close review of night flying techniques, since we seem to fly at night so infrequently. As members of the human species and from a physiological point of view, we are better adapted for daytime activities.

Anatomy textbooks speak of human vision comprising two types: photopic vision for daytime and scotopic vision for nighttime. The visual receptor cells packed into the eye's retina are called cones and rods; they convert light into the electrical energy needed to generate nerve impulses conducted through the optic nerves. Only about 10 percent of the light that enters the eyes reaches the receptor cells — most of it is reflected or absorbed in other parts of the eye. There are about 7 million relatively thick cones in the human eye used for daytime, or what could be termed color, vision and about 120 million slender rods used for night vision. The low illumination of nighttime demands a huge increase in these receptor cells in order for any light reception to take place at night.

Chapter 8-1-6 of the Aeronautical Information Manual, Medical Facts for Pilots, addresses a few concerns of pilots while operating at night. In darkness, vision becomes more sensitive to light; a process called dark adaptation. Dark adaptation usually takes 30 minutes in total darkness, but it can be achieved in 20 minutes under dim red cockpit lighting. Red light severely distorts colors on aeronautical charts and causes difficulty when trying to focus on objects inside the cockpit, so white cockpit lighting is necessary for chart and instrument reading and should be used as necessary — but keep the overall cockpit illumination at your lowest comfortable level. Cabin altitude pressures above 5,000 feet, smoking, exhaust fumes (carbon monoxide), and vitamin A deficiency also impair dark adaptation. Sudden exposure to a bright light ruins dark adaptation within seconds, so pilots should close one eye when a light (for example, a flashlight in the cockpit) is used, to preserve some degree of night vision.

Featured presenters for this briefing include FAASTeam Program Manager (FPM) Jim Adams and FAASTeam Representatives Ken MacDonald and Jack Keenan. They'll provide the tools and training necessary for us to safely mitigate these night flying hazards. Don't miss this opportunity to be a safer pilot!

Refreshments provided by the Worcester Area Pilots Association.

For additional information please contact Jim Engberg of the Worcester Area Pilots Association at: 508-849-9937 or FAA Safety Team Program Manager Jim Adams at 860-654-1039. 
 
Special thanks to the following for making the FAASTeam seminars a success:
Jim Engberg and WAPA