Night Flying
With the days getting shorter, it was a matter of time before a night flight would become necessary. Last week I got the call, and I hadn't really flown at night since last spring. The FAA requires that I must have performed 3 night takeoffs/landings within the past 90 days in order to carry a passenger at night, so I went out for some practice the night before.
After getting the kids to bed, I launched into the cool night air. There were some lingering thunderstorms over the Sierra Nevada mountains. The occasional flash of lightning lit up the sky to the east, but it was plenty far away for comfort. I took advantage of the opportunity to cruise about the valley, landing at Chico, Orland, Red Bluff and Willows.
Most rural airfields have pilot controlled lighting. The airport lights are turned on by keying the microphone several times. Admittedly it is kind of fun to see the lights illuminate the runway right before your eyes.
The toughest thing about night flying is judging the landing. It takes a certain amount of visual depth perception to make the flare just right, and doing it with very little light can be deceiving. The practice went very well, and it kept me legal for my charter flight the next evening.