Event Details and Registration

On November 5th, Daylight Savings Time will be ending, and with it brings early nightfall.  For those of us who work a regular 9-5 schedule, early nightfall means an increase in night flying time.  How current are your night skills?  Maybe it’s time to focus on what is different between day VFR and night VFR flight.

Obviously, less ambient light adds challenges for anything requiring eyesight.  This includes preflight inspection, taxi safety, obstruction avoidance, IMC recognition and avoidance, cockpit resource management, and a number of others.  Most familiar to pilots is probably the differences in landing.  The sight picture of a normal approach to a runway is very different with reduced external visual cues from night.  Flashing lights can help or hurt pilot attention and recognition.

So should night flight be avoided?  Not necessarily.  Night flight brings with it reduced ATC workloads, often calmer winds, cooler temperatures that help performance, and the ability to spot traffic from farther off.  Your decision about flying at night can be aided by attending a Night Flying Refresher seminar like this one.

Herb Patten is an FAA certificated advanced and instrument ground instructor who teaches private pilot ground school at San Carlos Flight Center. He holds a private pilot certificate with an instrument rating, has over 800 hours and flown into 111 different California airports. He is co-founder of the Bay Area Student and New Pilot Support Group, and a board member of the Upwind Foundation, famous for its Upwind Summer Scholarship Program. In 2015, Herb was named a Master Instructor by the National Association of Flight Instructors.

This event qualifies for FAA Wings credit.

Any questions, contact us at (650) 946-1700 or info@sancarlosflight.com.

San Carlos Flight Center is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our evening safety seminar programs. Space is often limited so it is important to sign up early through the FAA event notification system at FAASAFETY.GOV. SCFC members may choose to watch the seminar live over the web at home. Contact your SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 to confirm secure online access to any particular seminar.

Directions to Room: Pilots who fly in should park in transient parking on the opposite side of the field and expect to walk about 10 minutes (.5 mile) to the Flight Center. Suite 215 is upstairs in the northwest corner. On occasion, rides may be prearranged through San Carlos Aviation and Supply.

San Carlos Flight Center was voted Best Flight School in the US in the 2013 AOPA Flight Training Excellence Awards. We are committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our evening safety seminar programs. For more information about this and any of our weekly seminars, please visit http://sancarlosflight.com/activities-and-events.