Peter wrote:
The problem is that while VFR at night is legal per ICAO, on a real proper night, away from towns etc, you can’t see anything. It is fully instrument flight.
While I’m a fan of night VFR, having done a large portion of my US flying at night, I would say in some situations it can be worse than flying in the clouds. When you have no visibility you have no choice but to trust your instruments, but at night there are all kinds of false horizon illusions that can trick you. This is most noticeable when the lights are sparse. But this is also what night training is about. The difference from day is the loss of certain visual cues and how to compensate.
But I would argue it doesn’t need an IR because you can still see the airport and other traffic—actually more easily than during the day in many cases. Most of the IR training isn’t about keeping the airplane upright on instruments. This can be learned pretty quickly. The complexity is in the procedures and level of precision required, neither of which is required for night VFR.
It’s not hard to keep FAA 3+3 passenger carriage currency but you need to make the effort to find an airport which stays open late enough. Also a Euro IR avoids the need for the 3+3 currency (probably only in the country in which the IR was issued) and for that reason I usually don’t bother with it.
What is important is to always fly an IAP at night and not try tight circuits etc.
Peter wrote:
What is important is to always fly an IAP at night and not try tight circuits etc.
I don’t understand this advice. I fly an IAP when IFR and a visual approach when VFR. While it is possible to have difficulty seeing the runway lights from the side depending on the configuration, it’s never been a real issue for me.
dutch_flyer wrote:
Most of the IR training isn’t about keeping the airplane upright on instruments. This can be learned pretty quickly. The complexity is in the procedures and level of precision required, neither of which is required for night VFR.
Very true!!
Peter wrote:
What is important is to always fly an IAP at night and not try tight circuits etc.
Why do you say that? I think very few pilots (including instructors) would agree. There are also lots of airports with runway lights and no IAPs at all. (Well, at least in countries where night VFR is permitted.)
Yes. And when you are on a VFR flight plan, ATC might and sometimes will decline you to fly the path of an instrument approach. I witnessed this myself several years back when I was flying night VFR, I heard a guy coming to land at the local big airport, confidently asking for the practice ILS. The controller denied and said he should fly to reporting point November, as he was a VFR flight. Now while this is a bit typically German, this could happen anywhere.
Straight-in is always safer. So, use an IAP if available.
reporting point November, as he was a VFR flight. Now while this is a bit typically German, this could happen anywhere.
That’s an obscene abuse of ATC authority. How do you find a VRP in darkness? With GPS, but that’s hardly the point because the same ATCO would have probably refused an IFR waypoint.
While VFR load of ATS ask to report over villages and VRP day or night and yes many refuse IFR waypoints, it gets tricky when VRPs or Villages are not even in the VAC chart, one can be prompt by giving distances or radiales to airport overhead and let them get done with it
Alternatively, if that does not work one can say it’s not on direct route or bullshit that aircraft is above an overcast, it’s Golf after all
I find those villages at home after two drinks and scrolling on SkyDemon 
I’ve never before heard of anybody using a practice IFR approach procedure because it’s dark.
Assuming VMC probably 50 VFR flights a night are made into my base, some fraction of which are after the tower closes. IFR approaches are likely to be ongoing concurrently, mainly for training. Those IFR flights switch to common traffic advisory frequency when close to the airport. Most of the VFR flights would not be talking to Approach, so just as in daytime there’s no common frequency until everybody is close to the airport.
it gets tricky when VRPs or Villages are not even in the VAC chart, one can be prompt by giving distances or radiales to airport overhead and let them get done with it
Alternatively, if that does not work one can say it’s not on direct route or bullshit that aircraft is above an overcast, it’s Golf after all
I find those villages at home after two drinks and scrolling on SkyDemon
I don’t understand. Are there some missing words or punctuation?
I’ve never before heard of anybody using a practice IFR approach procedure because it’s dark.
It is safer if there is terrain around, and it is properly dark.
