The Night Rating allows the pilot to fly safely at night in good visual weather conditions and have the benefit of being less restricted when planning and executing a particular flight.
For aviation purposes, night is defined as 15 minutes after sunset and 15 minutes before sunrise.
Valid Private Pilot Licence
5 Takeoffs and landings by night
10 hours of instrument instruction of which not more than 5 hours are allowed to be accumulated on a flight simulator
Night cross-country of at least 150nm and including two full stop landings at different aerodromes and a controlled airport
You need to hold a valid PPL, which means to do a Night Rating you must be at least 17 years old.
Obtaining your Night Rating can be very beneficial to increase both your flying skill and your versatility as a pilot. A basic Night Rating flight test will be conducted by at least a Grade II Flight Instructor or higher. Contact Blue Chip today to find out how we can help you achieve your Night Rating.
The Rating equips pilots with skills to fly solely by reference to instruments in clouds and conditions where a visual external horizon is absent. An excellent example is flying in fog or haze at night.
Pilots are taught procedures to safely descend through obscured atmospheric conditions by complying with instrument let-down and/or cloud-break procedures overhead surveyed ground navigational beacons.
Flights can also be undertaken under instrument rules with the aid of radar vectoring and tracking procedures. Pilots are also taught to recognize and deal with otherwise accident precipitating weather conditions in advance and to plan accordingly. The standard is considerably higher than for the PPL or NR.
The Instrument Rating is a vital component for both more advanced private and commercial flying opportunities. Accuracy standards and levels of the procedure are higher. Candidates are taught to deal with in-flight emergencies under instrument conditions.
Commercial Pilots may find it difficult to land more lucrative employment opportunities without an Instrument Rating. Airlines adhere to instrument flying rules without exception.
Candidates must have a valid Commercial Pilot’s Licence with 200 hours or Private Pilot Licence with Night Rating with at least 250 hours total flying time with 100 hours as pilot-in-command.
To hone skills and enhance later employment opportunities many pilots elect to undergo Instructor’s Ratings.
The professional challenges of being an instructor will undoubtedly make a candidate more employable, either on a part-time or full-time basis. Instructors have the edge.
The Rating also opens more career opportunities and dividends, such as later becoming a training captain in an airline.
Obtaining an instructor’s Rating is invariably a wise investment. The initial Rating is Grade III, and after completing at least 50 hours of instruction, the test may be undertaken with a CAA-approved designated examiner.
Valid Commercial Pilot’s Licence
Minimum 31 hours of ground lectures
Minimum 20 hours air exercises or ‘patter’
Once you have completed this phase you will complete the theoretical CAA exam in 2 subjects
Practical skills test in both lecturing and air exercises with an approved CAA designated examiner
Many if not most employment opportunities require Multi-Engine experience. The Commercial Pilot Licence preparation can overlap with an initial Multi-Engine Rating preparation.
However, if deciding to combine the tests for a Commercial Pilot Licence and Multi-Engine Rating it may be prudent to allow an additional five hours of preparation time. Many, if not most candidates prefer this approach, although the final choice to test on a single or multi-engine aircraft is left to the test candidate.
The initial Instrument Rating test can also be on a Multi-Engine aircraft. A test with a designated examiner is required to complete the Multi-engine Rating. Bear in mind the initial Multi-engine Rating requires 100 hours pilot-in-command before being tested.
