| Heli-Skiing in Canada or spectacular tours in | | | | |
| New Zealand, mountain flying in a helicopter | | | | Flight operations don't stop when the sun |
| is one of the most thrilling experiences you | | | | goes down. |
| can have. | | | | |
| | | | Night flight training is part of your pilot |
| Safe mountain operations require not only | | | | training program and includes both flight and |
| good flying skills but also experience and | | | | ground lessons. |
| knowledge. It is quite different from flying | | | | |
| at low altitude and over flatland. | | | | In about the 20th hour of your course you'll |
| | | | do your first night flight and you'll be at |
| For one thing aircraft performance is | | | | the controls to experience the city in a way |
| decreasing with altitude. The air becomes | | | | you could never imagine. |
| less dense making it harder for the engine to | | | | |
| breathe while the helicopter's main and tail | | | | 1. DEFINITION |
| rotor blades haveless grip in the air. | | | | |
| | | | In aviation, night is the time between the |
| Then there is the weather factor. Each area | | | | end of evening civil twilight and the |
| in the mountains has its own local climate | | | | beginning of morning civil twilight. |
| making it more difficult to predict weather | | | | |
| conditions for a given time. When flying over | | | | Civil twilight ends in the evening when the |
| rugged terrain you will have to deal with | | | | centre of the sun's disk is 6 degrees below |
| turbulenceand downdrafts, changing visibility | | | | the horizon and begins in the morning when |
| and temperatures. | | | | the centre of the sun's disk has again the |
| | | | same position. |
| Visibility for example can change within | | | | |
| minutes from clear to almost zero. At one | | | | How can you find out for your area? It's |
| time we landed on a mountain peak near Palm | | | | easy. Just look it up in the American Air |
| Springs, California. The landing area was not | | | | Almanac. Pilots can get this information also |
| too confined and the student had no problem | | | | from their local Flight Service Station |
| touching down. As we got ready again for lift | | | | (FSS). |
| off, visibility dropped rapidly. | | | | |
| | | | 2. REGULATIONS |
| Winter operation is another aspect. The snow | | | | |
| must support the helicopter's weight while | | | | In America you don't need an additional night |
| blowing snow caused by the rotor downwash can | | | | flight rating to be able to fly at night. All |
| make a save landing impossible. Start up on | | | | you need is a current medical and a valid |
| an icy or slippery surface is another story. | | | | pilot certificate without restrictions. |
| | | | |
| Flying wise we can forget the height velocity | | | | If you want to carry passengers at night, you |
| chart. The safest place for a landing in the | | | | must have made at least 3 takeoffs and 3 |
| mountains was probably the one we just lifted | | | | landings within the preceding 90 days during |
| off. Make shallow approaches with no flare at | | | | the period beginning one hour after sunset |
| the end. If you can hover out of ground | | | | and ending one hour before sunrise. |
| effect you'll have enough power for a safe | | | | |
| landing. | | | | The required landings must have been to a |
| | | | full stop and in the same category, class, |
| Proper flight planning is a must. Make notes | | | | and type of aircraft to be used. |
| of powerlines and other obstacles which are | | | | |
| hard to see from the air and do not forget to | | | | Night flights under VFR require also |
| check your performance charts! | | | | additional instruments and equipment such as |
| | | | an approved anticollision light system. |
| Bottom line, high altitude training is | | | | |
| essential for your career as a pilot. Keep | | | | Flying at night over cities such as Los |
| this in mind when choosing your flight | | | | Angeles, San Francisco or New York is an |
| school. | | | | experience you'll never forget. |