Night Flying ?

[Adrian Lewer]

Have a Scenario for you all who know to consider,

 

I have build my own J430 under VH Experimental and have my Raa,PPL and night VFR rating.

 

how can I fly this Aircraft at night ? what are the Requirements for this.

 

Also What if I wanted to do a Command Instrument Rating In this aircraft and fly at night under IFR ? or even durning the day under IFR ?

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

does the aircraft qualify for night vfr? strobes. nav, instrument lights ect ect ect, does it have a full IFR panel?

 

 

[hihosland]

CASA 383/05

 

Will give you the minimum equipment list

 

cheers

 

Davidh

 

 

[Guest brentc]

Ask and you shall receive.

 

Attachment from the SAAA, whom you would be joining if you were undertaking such a project.

 

Standards for Experimental vary significantly for NVFR versus certified GA aircraft.

 

If you were to undertake such a project the easiest way would be when ordering your kit to have Jabiru supply you with their J230 NVFR model, but as a 430 and this would take the work out of having to troll through the regulations and work it out for yourself. The NVFR model from Jab comes complete complete with strobes, certified nav equipment (Garmin), red led's, cabin lights, alternate static etc etc all as per below.

 

My Jab was equipped for NVFR long before Jabiru did it with their aircraft. It could be almost considered a loop-hole that allows the J230 LSA GA registered model to fly NVFR as they are limited to VFR, however the regs don't specifically exclude NVFR. Very cunning by the Jabiru people!

 

VFR AND NIGHT VFR INSTRUMENT REQUIREMENTS

 

This is a short summary of instrument and radio requirements for Night VFR flight. In condensing the material some detail is omitted. Read this for an overview then read all the references for complete detail.

 

Lights, see CAR 177, CAR 196, for nav lights and red (maybe white) all round beacon.

 

 

 

Day VFR Instruments CAO 20.18 Appdx I

 

ASI

 

Altimeter, with milibar scale.

 

Compass, direct reading, or remote with standby direct reading compass, or alternate power source for the remote unit.

 

Clock or wrist watch.

 

Turn and slip indicator (optional).

 

OAT.

 

Night VFR Instruments CAO 20.18 Appdx IV & V

 

VFR day instruments plus:

 

Turn and Slip indicator (or skid ball only if a second AH is fitted).

 

Assigned Altitude indicator (above 15000 an altitude alerting system is required).

 

Clock indicating down to seconds.

 

AH

 

Heading indicator (DG or equivalent).

 

Turn & slip, or just a slip indicator if a second AH is fitted.

 

A means of indicating the power supply to the gyros is satisfactory (eg. vacuum gauge or voltage warning).

 

Static port, either balanced flush pair or main and alternate.

 

Instrument lights, with an alternate source, plus dimmer.

 

Minimum of one landing light.

 

Map light.

 

Passenger compartment light.

 

External lights iaw CAR 177 & CAR196.

 

Torch for each crew member.

 

Note that none of these instruments need to be an approved item for private NVFR. Hence builders are largely free to choose the instruments (including EFIS) that they like. There are no specific accuracy standards for NVFR instruments, nor are there any specific maintenance requirements.

 

Instrument Maintenance There are no legislated maintenance standards, but there are accuracy requirements laid down in CAO 108.6 for compasses and 108.56 for pressure instruments. Good airmanship suggests that you include these calibration tests in your annual inspection cycle.

 

There are no mandated maintenance or accuracy requirements for the three gyro instruments. You should simply carry out the manufacturers specified maintenance at the manufacturers mandated intervals.

 

Airmanship

 

NVFR equipment requirements differ from IFR in the following aspects:

 

• Pitot heat protection is not required.

 

• A VSI is not required.

 

• Duplicated sources of power are not required for AH, DG, and turn and slip.

 

These exemptions are provided on the understanding that NVMC flights remain clear of cloud, hence pitot icing and condensation, or instrument failures simply mean the pilot reverts to using the horizon as flight reference.

 

The problem is that clouds are difficult to see at night and inadvertent entry into cloud is possible and you need to think through whether you can cope. Can you cope with a power failure, vacuum or electric? Your choice.

 

Transponder For entry into controlled airspace, and transit of class E airspace, a TSO compliant transponder is required.

 

Radios

 

All radios fitted have to be approved by CASA, generally this means a TSO radio will be acceptable, indeed its hard to find a radio that is not TSO.

 

For NVFR you will need one VHF comm, and one of either GPS, VOR or ADF.

 

GPS – see AIP 1.5, as a minimum your GPS must comply with TSO129a.

 

VOR/ADF/DME CAO 108.34 lays down airborne radio system performance accuracy standards. Most ADF and VOR equipment meet TSOs. Some older equipment does not. If you can identify another aircraft carrying your chosen equipment then a refusal is unlikely. Even if you install TSO equipment conducting the flight tests in CAO 108.34 is a sensible way to gain confidence in your installation.

 

Communications See CAO 108.34 for radio performance standards. For NVFR flights you need sufficient radios to maintain continuous two way communications. Its hard to find a VHF that does not comply with TSOs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Adrian Lewer]

night VFR J430 kit, probably around the $60K mark. I will ring jab tomorrow...

 

Thanks Guy's

 

 

[Guest brentc]

What's the $60k for Adrian? The J430 kit last time I looked was around $67k + freight + instruments above and beyond the basic kit inclusions, so you'd be up for strobes, TSO'ed GPS and a few other bits and pieces. If they are asking $60k for the extra's to make it NVFR, I assure you that you can do better off yourself!

 

 

[Adrian Lewer]

nope, got an e-mail on thursday. J430 NVFR KIT is $70K There goes my dream of a family plane...

 

 

[Guest Howard Hughes]

A GPS is not a requirement for NVFR you know!;)