Helicopter Safety

PPL Privileges

Type Ratings

Night Rating

Flight Rules VFR/SVFR

Commercial Licence

Instructor Rating

Instrument Rating

THE NIGHT QUALIFICATION

This section offers information as a basic guide to obtaining a JAR-FCL Night Qualification (Helicopter) Rating as follows:-

Night Qualification (Helicopter) General Information

In order to fly as Pilot-in-Command (PIC) at night, with or without passengers, you must have a Night Qualification. For this purpose, ‘night’ means the time between half-an-hour after sunset and half-an-hour before sunrise being determined at surface level.

The night rating is particularly suited to current PPL pilots who want the added security that if due to unexpected delays their flight falls into the ‘night’ category, they are not only capable of the flight but they are also flying within the limitations of their license.

If a commercial pilots licence is your aim, then a night rating is a pre-requisite for issue of a CPL(H).

The night rating enables pilots to fly legally at night (for licence and insurance purposes), as long as the helicopter is equipped with additional emergency night landing lights.

It must also be noted that a night rating is a VFR (Visual Flight Rules) rating and not an instrument rating.

Rotorflight’s R44 G-ROTG, has these additional emergency landing lights for night flying.

Night Qualification (Helicopter) Flying Training/Experience Requirements

Applicants applying for a Night Qualification you must produce evidence of having met the following flying requirements:

• 100 hours of flight time as pilot of helicopters after the issue of the PPL(H), including

• 60 hours as Pilot in Command of helicopters; and

• 20 hours cross-country flight.

The main features of the PPL(H) Night Qualification Course are:

• 5 hours theoretical knowledge instruction;

• 10 hours* dual helicopter instrument instruction - this is in addition to any instrument instruction completed prior to the course. The holder of an IR(A) is credited 5 hours of this training;

• 5 hours helicopter night training, including 3 hours dual instruction and 5 solo night circuits. Each circuit shall include a take-off and landing.

• The course must be completed within 6 months.

* This requirement is based on the assumption that the applicant has previously completed 5 hours dual instruction during their training for a JAR-FCL PPL(H). Under UK national arrangements dual instrument instruction was not a requirement for the UK PPL(H), and the licence was issued with a restriction so that the pilot was not permitted to fly a helicopter out of sight of ground or water and by sole reference to instruments. The restriction can only be removed by completing 5 hours of instrument instruction.
Therefore the holder of a UK PPL(H) who has not had this restriction removed will be required to complete 15 hours dual helicopter instruction.

Validity

The holder of a licence that does not include a valid instrument rating (helicopter) shall not act as pilot-in-command of a helicopter carrying passengers at night unless, during the previous 90 days, at least three take-offs and landings have been carried out by night.