The Night VFR Rating (NVFR) allows you to fly as pilot in command of an aircraft at night. The restriction is that you can still only fly under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). The night rating is a terrific introduction for students who are considering further training in the form of the Command Instrument Rating (CIR), as a significant amount of time is spent teaching radio navigation aid work which forms the basis of an instrument approach. The completion of the night rating is confined to private operations for the carriage of passengers, or in the case of charter operations you are only permitted to carry freight. All students who enroll into the Certificate IV course will complete a Night Rating as part of their training unless they choose not to do this. Students who have completed a multi engine endorsement and meet the required standard, will also be offered the option of completing the night rating test in the Piper Seminole. Students who are not at the required standard will be initially tested in a single engine aircraft, but will be able to retest in the Seminole at a later date. A multi engine night rating covers both single and multi engine aircraft, however a single engine night rating does not cover multi engine night operations.

The minimum training requirement for the night rating is 10 hours of dual flying followed by a practical flight test.

The practical flight training comprises a session of circuits at Moorabbin to familiarise you with basic flight operations at night. This will be followed by a short navigation excercise down to the Philip Island, Wonthaggi area to cover intercept work using the VOR and ADF radio navigation aids. Students will complete a synthetic flight trainer lesson in our Elite iGate S623 on the basics of the VOR and NDB instruments operation and intercepts, before heading off on this night navigation exercise. This ensures they have a solid understanding of intercepts and use of the radio navigation aids that will be endorsed as part of the Night Rating. The training then moves into cross country navigation at night, which essentially covers the same training that you completed in your PPL, but to a higher standard and with the application of the rules and regulations relevant to night flying. Also covered in the training are the emergency procedures, in particular electrical failures and engine failures at night. There is no formal CASA exam for the night rating, however all students will be required to successfully complete an in-house assessment exam before being allowed to undertake the practical flight test.

Contact us today to discuss undertaking your night rating in our brand new Piper training aircraft.