Thanks LeSving. These guides seem very helpful.
If “night” is an insurance issue I would dig a bit deeper. The definition of night as of EASA still has words resembling “or any other definition stated in the national AIP”.
The link LeSving sent is pretty clear about the norwegian part:
So that might not be an issue with the end. The volatility of weather (and necessity of booking things in advance) are still a big issue and need to balance things out as I’d have a friend coming on the trip and she might not be as happy as sitting a couple days in Tromso / Svalbard waiting for the nice weather to come!)
Noe wrote:
she might not be as happy as sitting a couple days in Tromso / Svalbard waiting for the nice weather to come!)
Sorry to say this, but that makes the trip a non-starter. You really don’t want someone affecting your go-nogo command decisions. If you go when you are not quite happy because she is getting restless it could easily kill both of you. This is not a trip to the seaside.
Despite rarely flying north of 50N 
I couldn’t agree more.
Actually even a trip “to the seaside” with a passenger who “needs/wants to be back” is a bloody nightmare. I have got close to having to buy an airline ticket for someone and really won’t want to do it again. And few people will fly with you if you are up front about this possibility and that they would need to pay for it.
What exactly happens with a GNS/G1000 box north of 70/72N? I hear the base map disappears, but would a DCT still show as a magenta line which you could fly manually, or fly with the autopilot in ROL mode? A modern AP will fail to engage HDG if the AHRS is sending it an invalid heading flag but it should still work in ROL (and of course the vertical modes like PIT, ALT, VS etc). I wonder if there are issues with say an MFD and its depiction of the stuff below.
GPS navigation itself must work all over the earth.
I fully agree with you and that’s why it’s being discussed so early in the planning phase! I won’t go if things are not flexible – Generally not on any trip, let alone to that far/potentially challenging of a place.
I just need to ensure that things are booked in a flexible way (and that might mean a sacrifice in hotel quality – which I roughly don’t care myself about anyway), and think of “what if cannot fly” contingency plans to make things reasonably nice during the wait.
Peter wrote:
What exactly happens with a GNS/G1000 box north of 70/72N? I hear the base map disappears, but would a DCT still show as a magenta line which you could fly manually, or fly with the autopilot in ROL mode? A modern AP will fail to engage HDG if the AHRS is sending it an invalid heading flag but it should still work in ROL (and of course the vertical modes like PIT, ALT, VS etc). I wonder if there are issues with say an MFD and its depiction of the stuff below.
I imagine in this case you could lose the heading, and potentially all other AHRS data, leaving you with the “whiskey compass” and backup AI. I wouldn’t really want that to happen in IMC and especially that far north.
Likely some flexible / cancellable commercial flights will need to be booked in advance, for piece for mind. I don’t have too much of an issue waiting in Svalbard. These things need to be done / talked to right at the start of the planning (but this passenger has done a couple trips so it’s an easier exercise)
The problem is that, in the light GA sphere, there is no way to get a true heading. All you can get is a magnetic heading – from a magnetic compass.
Well, there is this 
Presumably airliners solve this with INS which enables a DCT from anywhere to anywhere, as well as having a “true/mag” selector switch for routes like that.
I’m surprised that a modern and expensive piece of equipment like the G1000 doesn’t work above 72N.
What about the newer ones? Do they have the same limitations?
Michael_J wrote:
I’m surprised that a modern and expensive piece of equipment like the G1000 doesn’t work above 72N.
What about the newer ones? Do they have the same limitations?
Even Boeing 737 and 757s have latitude restrictions. The cost of certifying would be huge vs demand for G1000 north of there. It is not just a question of will it work but proving it will work.
