Knowing Your Way at Night Is Part of Pilot Training

When the dark sneaks up on you, being aware of what runway lights look like and how to activate them is critically important.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 10:14 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: Steve Spears

Photo Courtesy of Avia Aero Services, Inc. Cary Green

Key Takeaways:

Solo flight for students as night approaches, particularly without proper night training or endorsement, is a significant safety concern and a major source of anxiety for flight instructors.
Effective night flight training includes understanding the physiology of night flight, recognizing illusions, and practical skills like activating airport lighting, which can be endorsed for solo students if agreed upon by the school and CFI.
Pilots and CFIs must navigate multiple definitions of "night" (FAA regulatory, currency-related, and flight school operational) and maintain night currency to ensure safety and compliance.
Unexpected circumstances can extend flights into night conditions, emphasizing the critical importance of thorough preparation, night flight proficiency, and adherence to school-specific rules for all pilots.

See a mistake? Contact us.

There are fewer things more nerve-wracking to a CFI than waiting for a freshly soloed learner to return from a flight as night is falling. This is particularly true when the learner has not been trained for or endorsed for solo flight at night. You think your parents got upset when you broke curfew? This is worse.

My first exposure to this was at a school in Seattle. I was a freshly minted instructor assigned to an evening ground school, and when I walked to the CFI office, I found a coworker having a meltdown because one of his students had gotten caught out as night fell.