Certified for night flights

Let’s take advantage of this week of high pressure to continue my night flying experience. This time, I need to perform 5 night landings solo – meaning alone on board!

Checking the aircraft’s logbook, there’s more than 3 hours of fuel remaining. No need for refueling tonight! I carry out the pre-flight checks under the supervision of my instructor. We settle into the cockpit; I then run through the checklist. Before starting the engine, I turn off my lamp to visually scan the surroundings. No one around – I engage the starter. I contact the tower requesting taxiing instructions for runway 28. The engine tests are successful, and I announce that I’m ready for takeoff. Aligned on the centerline, I apply full throttle to take off. At 700 feet, I turn 90° to the right to enter the crosswind leg. Downwind, base leg then the final approach. I touch down on the runway and continue for another traffic pattern circuit, left-handed this time.

During the second landing, my instructor asks me to taxi to the club parking area before letting me take off solo again. As he heads back to the club, he offers his last pieces of advice; I close the canopy. At the holding point, after the engine tests, I reconfigure the aircraft for takeoff. I announce “ready for takeoff” as a TB10 aligns further down the runway. The controller asks if an immediate takeoff is possible; I respond in the affirmative. My first solo night takeoff was faster than expected!

I enter the the downwind leg, keeping an eye on the TB10, which has also taken off. I switch the carburetor heat to “on,” turn the fuel pump to “on,” and set the power to 2000 RPM. I wait for my airspeed to reach the white arc on the anemometer before deploying the first stage of flaps. During the base leg, I reduce the power to 1700 RPM to achieve a descent rate of 400 feet per minute. In the final approach, I deploy the last flap stage and verify that my landing light is on. I reduce power as I cross the runway threshold and begin the flare. The tires squeal as they touch down; all that remains is to do it four more times! An hour later, I park the aircraft at the aero club’s parking area. Now, I am officially part of the night pilots’ club!