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 student flights extending into night without proper training create significant risks for both the student, due to potential disorientation and unfamiliarity, and severe anxiety for flight instructors.
Night flight requires specialized training covering visual physiology, illusions, and airport lighting, as the lack of illumination greatly increases challenges like depth perception and maintaining situational awareness.
Pilots and instructors must adhere to strict night currency requirements, which can be complex due to varying definitions of "night" between FAA regulations and flight school policies.
Unexpected flight delays can push daytime operations into dusk or night, underscoring the importance for all pilots to be prepared and understand the unique difficulties associated with flying after dark.

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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.