Night Ra ng (Human Performance)

Vision

It’s useful to have a basic understanding of how the eye works at night.

Light-sensi ve nerves, called cones and rods, are located at the back of the eye.

These nerves connect to the op c nerve, which transmits messages directly to the brain.

Cones

The cones are in the centre of the re na, and the rods are concentrated in a ring around the cones. The func on of
the cones is to detect colour, details, and faraway objects.

Rods

The rods func on when something is seen out of the corner of the eye (peripheral vision). They detect objects,
par cularly those that are moving, but don’t give detail or colour – only shades of grey.

Both the cones and the rods are used for vision during daylight and moonlight.

It’s the rods, however, that make night vision possible. Because the rods are distributed in a band around the cones,
and don’t lie directly behind the pupil, off-centre viewing (looking to one side of an object) is important during night
flight.

During daylight, we rely on our central vision to see fine details. We use our peripheral vision to see general features,
and changes in movement or brightness.

In low light, our central vision doesn’t work as well, so we rely more on our peripheral vision to see things in
the dark.

We’re more likely to no ce objects at night by using our peripheral vision, and maintaining a ‘scanning’ visual
mo on. When flying at night we s ll need to use our central vision, like when we read instruments or charts, but we
also need to use our peripheral vision as much as possible.

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To maximise your visual performance for night flying, take the following steps.

• Maintain good general health. Keep in mind that some medica ons or medical condi ons may also impair night
vision.

• Avoid things that impair vision performance, such as smoking.

• Allow me for your eyes to adapt to darkness.

• Avoid bright light, even when using your central vision. Keep cockpit lights and torches as dim as you can, without
losing your ability to read instruments and documents.

• Use a prac sed scanning mo on when looking outside the aircra .

• Don’t fly at any higher al tude than necessary. Visual func on is dependent on oxygen levels, especially at night.
Al tude that may be perfectly safe during day me, can result in significant reduc on in night vision func on.

Why Oxygen is of great Importance at Night?

Oxygen Concentra on in the air stays the same (about 21%), but the par al pressure of oxygen decreases with
al tude. This means:

 Even though the air has the same percentage of oxygen, there's less total pressure, so less oxygen enters the
bloodstream with each breath.

 At night, pilots may not fly higher than during the day, but vision demands increase, and the body is more
sensi ve to even slight oxygen deficits, especially the eyes.

How the Eye Gets Oxygen – and Why It Suffers First?

The re na, especially the rod cells responsible for night vision, is extremely oxygen-hungry.

Here's why it's affected quickly:

1. High Metabolic Demand

 The re na uses more oxygen than almost any other ssue in the body.

 Rod cells (used for night vision) are ac ve in low-light and require con nuous oxygen to func on properly.

2. No Blood Vessels in the Fovea

 The central part of the re na (fovea) relies on oxygen diffusion.

 Even small drops in oxygen pressure mean less oxygen reaches these cells, impairing vision faster than other
organs.

How Oxygen Depriva on Affects Pilots’ Vision at Night

 At al tudes as low as 5,000 , par al pressure drops enough to reduce oxygen flow to the eyes.

 Symptoms:

o Blurry or dim vision

o Difficulty dis nguishing shapes and objects

o Slower adjustment to darkness

o Poor depth percep on

 Since night vision is already limited, even mild hypoxia can be dangerous.

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Dark adapta on

 Adjus ng to low light is called dark adapta on.

 It takes a while to adjust from bright light to low light. But, when going from dark light to bright light, the
effect is rapid and removes any dark adapta on that has taken place.
 You’ve probably experienced this when entering and leaving a cinema.
 You need to plan for dark adapta on when preparing for night flight.
 Allow me for your eyes to adjust to low light a er comple ng any tasks that need to take place in bright
light, such as the preflight inspec on.
 Avoid any bright light once you’ve started adap ng to the dark.
 To preserve your dark adapta on, consider instrument ligh ng levels, especially if you’re using large mul -
coloured LCD screens.
 Be careful with mobile phones too, as they can have very bright displays.
 Some aircra are fi ed with red ligh ng to help preserve dark adapta on.
 If you do use red light in the cockpit, avoid having it at too high a level, reduce the intensity as your eyes
adapt, and be aware that it will distort the colours on naviga on charts.

Visual illusions

Charts placed on the top of the instrument panel can cause reflec ons that have a disorien ng effect.

Flicker ver go

Flashing lights or flicker effects from propellers can cause dizziness and disorienta on, resul ng in a loss of situa onal
awareness and spa al disorienta on. Turning off strobes, and briefly looking away from the light source, can help
reduce this effect.

Judgement of distance

Depth percep on is impaired in low light. The effect is worse when the only objects visible are points of light, and
there is no rela ve size informa on.

Auto-kinesis

Auto-kinesis, or self-movement, can occur when looking at a fixed light source against a dark sky, with no
surrounding lights or other visual cues. This fixed light source could be a star, or a single light source in a remote area.
A er a while, the light may appear to be moving or oscilla ng, and could be mistaken for an aircra light. To prevent
this illusion, avoid prolonged focusing on any one light, and look to one side using your peripheral vision.

Confusing ground and star light

At night, ground lights can be confused with stars. This can lead you to manoeuvre the aircra into an unusual
a tude, to put the ground lights above you. In areas with sparse ground ligh ng, isolated lights can also be mistaken
for stars, which can make the aircra appear to be in a nose-high a tude, or have one wing low. When overcast
condi ons block any view of stars, unlighted areas of the terrain can appear to be part of the sky. Flight over water
makes you more vulnerable to this effect, and in parts of extensive Lakes or water bodies, the lights on fishing boats
can be mistaken for stars.

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The black hole

The visual cues available to you when approaching a lighted area at night over unlit terrain (the ‘black hole’) are
misleading and inadequate.

The most common example of this is an approach to an aerodrome over water or unlit area. Without peripheral
visual cues to help, you may have trouble orien ng yourself rela ve to the earth.

The runway can seem out of posi on (down-sloping or up-sloping) and, in the worst case, results in landing short
of the runway.

If an electronic glide slope or visual approach slope indicator (VASI/PAPI) is available, you should use it. If naviga on
aids are unavailable, use your flight instruments to maintain orienta on and a normal approach profile.

If at any me you’re unsure of your posi on or al tude, carry out a go-around.

Sensory illusions and spa al disorienta on

For us to be able to orient ourselves in space and me, our brains have to filter and process a lot of sensory
informa on from our environment.

This informa on comes from our eyes, ears, nose, and skin.

The ves bular organs in our ears also help us with balance, movement, and maintaining a stable visual field.

Visual informa on is the main sense used during flight, but when flying at night this informa on is reduced, and can
result in sensory illusions.

These illusions can be very powerful and disorien ng.

They can happen very quickly, as the brain tries to make sense of the informa on. Sensory illusions are caused by a
mismatch between the informa on that the brain receives from the different sensory organs.

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Night flight sensory illusions include the following.

• The leans – Generally, this is a situa on where a balanced turn has been sustained for long enough that the body
compensates, and incorrectly perceives the turn as being level flight. On rolling out of the turn, the sensa on is of
banking in the opposite direc on, even though the wings are level.

• Somatogravic illusion – When an aircra accelerates in level flight, or during take-off, our ves bular organs aren’t
able to dis nguish between the accelera on and gravity. This can result in an illusion that the aircra ’s a tude is
more nose-high than it is. You may incorrectly apply nose-down control inputs un l the flight feels right – and the
aircra descends and impacts the ground.

• Somatogyral illusion – This is a false sensa on of rota on. A classic example of this illusion is the ‘graveyard spiral’,
where the illusion of an opposite direc on turn occurs a er you’ve returned to straight-and-level. You may
incorrectly adjust for the false rota on, and can enter a progressively ghter spiral in the opposite direc on, resul ng
in aircra breakup or ground impact.

• Coriolis illusion – Moving the head excessively, especially during in-flight turns, confuses the ves bular organs in
the ears and can produce a tumbling sensa on.

To reduce the likelihood of these illusions, take the following steps

• Prepare yourself preflight What situa ons in this flight are likely to lead to illusions? What will I do if I have a
problem? Am I in good health and okay for this flight? Have I followed the I’M SAFE checklist, and ensured I’m
sufficiently rested? Have I given my body and brain me to adapt to night flight, before I fly? Illness, medica on,
alcohol, sleep loss/sleep debt, and fa gue all increase suscep bility to experiencing illusions and
spa al disorienta on.

• Minimise head movements During the scanning of your instruments, and outside, try to keep head movements to a
minimum and move your eyes instead. Where prac cable, make turns and other flight path adjustments as gentle as
you can, and for rela vely short dura ons.

• Use the visual horizon where it is available and reliable Vision is the most powerful sense for orienta on.

• Get onto your instruments, and rely on them Whenever you don’t have a reliable visual horizon, whenever you’re
doing manoeuvres that can lead to illusions, and whenever you’ve recognised any sort of illusion or possible
disorienta on.

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Recovery from spa al disorienta on

If you experience confusing sensa ons at any me in flight, scan all relevant instruments before making control
inputs.

This is the reason there’s some minimum instrument training experience required, prior to star ng night flying
training.

Start with the A tude Indicator (AI) / (AH) Ar ficial Horizon.

The AH provides the main picture of what your aircra is doing.

See where the nose is, and where the wings are in rela on to the horizon.

Note the airspeed, ver cal speed, and al tude.

If they indicate improper control of the aircra , follow these steps:

• level the wings

• if losing or gaining al tude quickly, check to make sure you’re not reaching cri cal airspeeds

• adjust power if necessary for airspeed, then smoothly apply back or forward pressure to stop ver cal devia on,
pu ng the nose of the aircra on the AI’s horizon

• when the VSI reads zero, the aircra is in the proper a tude for level flight.

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Night Ra ng (Air Law)

CARS

Defini on CARS 1.01.1

“night” means the period from 15 minutes a er sunset to 15 minutes before sunrise, sunset and sunrise being as
given in the publica on “Times of Sunrise, Sunset and Local Apparent Noon of the South African Astronomical
Observatory” or a similar publica on issued by a recognised astronomical observatory;

“night duty” means a period of not less than 4 hours between 20h00 and 06h00 of the next day;

Privileges and limita ons of a night ra ng 61.10.5

The holder of a valid night ra ng may exercise the privileges of his or her pilot’s licence by night.

Aircra opera ng lights

91.04.3

(1) No owner or operator of an aircra shall operate the such aircra by night unless, in addi on to the equipment
specified in regula on 91 04.4 or subregula on 91.04.5 (1), whichever is applicable, the aircra is equipped with—

(a) serviceable naviga on lights;

(b) either—(i) two serviceable landing lights; or

(ii) one single serviceable landing light housing with two separately energised filaments;

(c) a serviceable rota ng beacon or strobe light; and

(d) a serviceable electrical torch for each required crew member, readily accessible to such crew member when
seated at his or her designated sta on.

(2) Power supplied from the electrical system of the aircra shall—

(a) provide adequate illumina on for all instruments and equipment, used by the flight crew and essen al for the
safe opera on of the aircra ; and

(b) be adequate to provide illumina on in all passenger compartments, if any.

(3) No owner or operator of a helicopter shall operate the helicopter by night unless such helicopter is equipped
with—

(a) in the case of a flight by night within 10 nau cal miles, a light or lights providing adequate illumina on both
forward and downward to facilitate safe approaches, landings and take-offs; or

(b) in the case of a flight by night of more than 10 nau cal miles, two landing lights or a single light having two
separately energised filaments which are capable of providing adequate illumina on both forward and downward to
facilitate safe approaches, landings and take-offs.

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(4) No owner or operator of a seaplane or an amphibious aircra shall operate the seaplane or amphibious aircra
unless it is equipped with—

(a) the instruments and equipment referred to in subregula on (1), (2) or (3), as the case may be; and

(b) when opera ng on water by night, display lights to conform with the Interna onal Regula ons for Preven on
Collisions at Sea.

(5) The naviga on lights to be displayed by aircra by night, on the water or on the manoeuvring area of an
aerodrome, shall be as prescribed in technical standard 91.06.10 of Document SA-CATS 91.

Flight, naviga on and associated equipment for aircra operated under VFR

91.04.4

No owner or operator of an aircra shall operate the aircra in accordance with VFR, unless such aircra is equipped
with the following func oning equipment—

(a) a magne c compass;

(b) an accurate me-piece showing the me in hours, minutes, and seconds;

(c) a sensi ve pressure al meter with a subscale se ng, calibrated in hectopascal, adjustable for any barometric
pressure se ng likely to be encountered during flight;

(d) an airspeed indicator;

(e) if so required for use in designated airspace, a pressure-al tude repor ng transponder, unless authorised by the
responsible ATSU; and

(f) if to be operated by night, a chart holder in an easily readable posi on which can be illuminated.

Flight, naviga on and associated equipment for aircra operated under IFR

91.04.5

(1) No owner or operator of an aircra shall operate the aircra in accordance with IFR, unless such aircra is
equipped with func oning naviga on equipment appropriate to the route to be flown and—

(a) a magne c compass;

(b) an accurate me-piece showing the me in hours, minutes and seconds;

(c) for large aeroplanes, two independent sensi ve pressure al meter systems with subscale se ngs, calibrated in
hectopascal, adjustable for any barometric pressure se ng likely to be encountered during flight and for all other
aircra , one sensi ve pressure al meter with subscale se ngs, calibrated in hectopascal, adjustable for any
barometric pressure se ng likely to be encountered during flight;

(d) an airspeed indicator system with heated pitot tube or equivalent means for preven ng malfunc oning due to
either condensa on or icing;

(e) a ver cal-speed indicator;

(f) a stabilised direc on indicator;

(g) a turn-and-bank indicator, or a turn co-ordinator incorpora ng a slip indicator;

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(h) an a tude indicator and for large aeroplanes for which an individual cer ficate of airworthiness was first issued
a er 1 January 1975, an emergency power supply, independent of the main electrical genera ng system, for the
purpose of opera ng and illumina ng, for a minimum period of 30 minutes, an a tude indicator, clearly visible to
the PIC. The emergency power supply shall be automa cally opera ve a er the total failure of the main electrical
genera ng system and clear indica on shall be given on the instrument panel that the a tude indicator(s) is being
operated by emergency power;

(i) a means of indica on, in the cockpit or in the flight deck, the outside air temperature in degrees Celsius;

(j) a chart holder in an easily readable posi on which can be illuminated for opera ons by night;

(k) a means of measuring and displaying whether the supply of power to the gyroscopic instruments is adequate;
and

(l) a pressure-al tude repor ng transponder.

(2) A person shall not operate an aircra in an RVSM airspace unless such aircra is equipped as specified in
Document SA-CATS 91.

(3) No owner or operator of a large pressurised aeroplane shall operate the aeroplane when carrying passengers at
night or under IMC unless it is equipped with opera ve weather-detec ng equipment capable of detec ng
thunderstorms whenever the aeroplane is being operated in areas where such condi ons may be expected to exist
along the route.

Addi onal equipment for single-pilot opera on under IMC or at night

91.04.6

(1) No owner or operator of an aircra shall conduct single-pilot opera ons in an aircra under IMC or at night
unless such aircra has been cer ficated for single-pilot opera ons and—

(a) the single pilot flying is equipped with a headset with boom microphone or equivalent and has a transmit bu on
posi oned in such a way that it may be operated without the pilot having to remove his or her hands from the
control wheel, joy s ck or cyclic s ck;

(b) the aircra is equipped with a means of displaying charts that enables them to be readable in all ambient light
condi ons;

(c) if the aircra is flown under IMC, such aircra has been cer ficated for single pilot IFR opera ons and is equipped
with a serviceable automa c flight control system with at least al tude hold and heading mode; or

(d) in the case of a helicopter, if it is flown at night under VMC, such helicopter is equipped with a serviceable
automa c flight control system with at least al tude and heading mode or similar equipment: Provided that this
requirement shall not apply to a helicopter operated in the circuit of the aerodrome of departure or over densely
populated, well-lighted areas in accordance with the provisions of subregula on 91.06.32 (2) but not higher than 3
500 above the prescribed minimum height.

(2) Nothing in this regula on shall be construed as meaning that a flight under IFR or at night for the purpose of
flight instruc on conducted by an appropriately rated flight instructor would be a single-pilot opera on, or that such
a training flight, if conducted in terms of any of the Parts 93, 121, 127 or 135 would be required to be operated by
two qualified pilots.

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