Night Currency

I was at the airport fiddling with some data distribution among the various boxes late today. The sun started getting low in the sky, only myself to worry about for dinner, so I decided with the impending "fall back" I would hang out and get night current, so as to have more options if travelling with someone else in the plane.

Usually it is depressing to taxi out under the fading sunlight. Why can't a pinkie landing count, man!



Then I swung it around for takeoff, and told myself I had no room to moan this evening:



If you're not cheating, you're not trying! Don't need no stinkin' NVG's!

at my home field C17s do their exercises at weeknights. I didn't remember this and decided on a Wednesday night to do my 3 landings. I was politely asked by the tower if I remember about C17 traffic on weeknights - fortunately that was on my third and I taxied on it.

I got night current last night too. To kick off the night season, I usually take off just after the sun goes down and stay in the pattern doing landings as it gets darker and darker. This helps me to get reacquainted with everything. Once it is legally dark, I do my three landings to full stop and call it good.

I always get a kick out of watching it get darker and darker. Even 50 minutes after sunset it still isn't dark dark. 60 minutes after it's definitely dark! The FAA made the right call on this requirement.

EAA Chapter meeting last night at 08A, so it was a good time to update night currency. The full moon was so bright it was almost like cheating. I went off sightseeing, turned south, and it reflected off the pearl paint on the left wing so brightly that I jumped. For a moment I thought I had wandered across the path of an airliner headed for Dannelly, and he had just flipped on the landing light.