It’s Getting Dark … What’s Your Approach?

Ever land at dusk and pull out the flashlight to find your stuff, only to find it inop? If you’ve gone all summer without using a “torch,” now’s the time to take inventory. Sunset arrives a little sooner each day, making night-flight equipment a priority. That includes more than flashlights, though, when readying for IFR missions. Other considerations will reveal some surprises and valuable reminders to watch the clock and, of course, the regs.

NA at Night

Among the well-known dark pockets east of the Rockies (’cause it’s flat and low, go figure) is the Florida Everglades. Airports and urban areas are sparse. That’s part of the attraction, though, so when you make plans to attend a family wedding, you score an extra vehicle from a relative so you can land and, at least for part of the long weekend, tie down at Arcadia. From there, your own family has the means to explore the area and join in on an airboat excursion. You can keep Punta Gorda on hand as an alternate for the flight, or if you need to move somewhere with full service.

Just don’t arrive at night. Well, you can, but you’ll miss out on a lot of sightseeing from the air. That is indeed one purpose of the trip. You’re coming from Iowa, which is also scenic … in its own way. But you’ve seen corn before, and airboats aren’t a thing there, yet. More importantly, the two approaches into X06 are “NA at night.” You also see the titles are RNAV (GPS)-A and B. Yikes—circling-only, limited to day IFR?  Fine, just get into Arcadia before night. But with an eight-hour, two-leg flight from Des Moines, you’re pushing it a bit. The soonest you can go wheels-up from DSM is 10 a.m. local because you forgot to fuel up. Sigh. While waiting, you have a few minutes to figure out “night.”

There are variations for training, logging, and passenger-carrying. For operational purposes, the FAA defines “night” as the beginning of morning or the end of evening civil twilight. (See the Airplane Flying Handbook). In essence, twilight lasts between the sun’s appearance (or disappearance) on the horizon, marking sunrise and sunset, and the time the center of the sun is six degrees below the horizon. Please do not look directly at the sun. You have an EFB now. It has each airport’s local sunrise, sunset and civil twilight end times. For Arcadia, sunset is 7:42 p.m. and the end of civil evening twilight is 8:03 p.m. You prefer an ETA 30 minutes before sunset so you can still see what you’re doing after parking. You do have working flashlights, one with night mode, and you did check that the nav lights are working, since turning them on is required before sunrise and after sunset. The options: Arrive before “night” and with marginal VFR forecast, fly an approach that will allow for a comfortable circle in the pattern to land. If it’s “night,” (end of civil twilight), get cleared for the visual and use (with caution) the GPS-based visual procedure. Or, head to an alternate and RON there. All are feasible, so on the way let’s do some analysis. And I don’t mean comparing hotel breakfast buffets.

Lots of Notes

The typical scattered thunderstorms moving through Florida and will fade away by sunset, leaving a bit of light rain and scattered cloud layers. So even for daytime, Arcadia being unfamiliar and all, you’ll stick to flying an IAP. Both approaches at Arcadia are similar with the basic design and a final approach fix five miles out from the paved runway lined up with 6 and 24. Both have a two-mile stepdown fix and identical minima: Category A, 560-1; B, 700-1. But these are only circling MDAs. Since the runways are marked (non-precision) and the approaches go straight in, this must be due to obstacles requiring descent angles greater than 400 feet per nautical mile. Technically, according to the FAA’s procedures handbook, this gradient is from the FAF to the TCH (Threshold Crossing Height) published for each end. The approaches list 54 feet for the RNAV-A to Runway 6 and 50 feet for 24. You can elect to fly these straight-in if the approach is stabilized and otherwise complies with the procedure, or elect to circle in the left-hand pattern.

Also note that the MDAs stop at Category B: With the 3,700-foot runway, C and D are NA. At this point I’m going to set my own minimums to 1600-3 because even if flying Category A, I’d prefer the weather to exceed B. In fact, I want to be able to fly the normal traffic pattern VFR with the legal 500-foot cloud clearance and three miles visibility, and enough daylight to see. Circling is NA to the grass runway, day or night. The Alpha approach has a 164-foot (give or take) tower on the north side, while the Bravo approach chart shows a nearby 169-foot (approximately) obstacle close to the Runway 24 final approach. It was smart to do a NOTAM check on unlit obstacles, which do get ignored because there are so many. Among several listed, there’s one in close proximity: 269 feet, 1.6 NM northwest. This is yet another one not shown on the chart.

More Gotchas

At any rate, be sure you’ve briefed yourself on what’s acceptable. And don’t forget that if the clouds part and you see the runway five miles out, comply with your last clearance, get a new one or cancel. It’s often missed that in FAA Order 7110.65, “ATC clearances authorizing instrument approaches are issued on the basis that if visual contact with the ground is made before the approach is completed, the entire approach procedure is followed unless the pilot receives approval for a contact approach, is cleared for a visual approach, or cancels the IFR flight plan.” And: “The receipt of an approach clearance does not relieve the pilot of his or her responsibility to comply with applicable parts of the CFRs and notations on instrument approach charts … such as “procedure not authorized at night.” 

So far you’re OK to continue, but the local weather’s still unconfirmed. Say you get to FEBRO, 20 NM from the initial fix CAXOB for the RNAV-B, with 30 minutes to spare before night (whew). Arcadia has improved to 1200 feet scattered and five miles visibility … maybe. For IFR purposes, X06 uses the Punta Gorda (PGD) ASOS more than 18 miles southwest. But it can be better or worse at Arcadia; you just won’t know until you get there. Back to the personal briefing: If I’m below the clouds at 1100 feet, which should be prior to OYIVO, I’m two miles from 24. That’s plenty of room to cancel and continue visually, even in the pattern. If not, the approach will be NA—Not Appealing. Commence the missed and contact Center. And if you’re late and it get to be night at FEBRO, the approach turns into a pumpkin. It’d be legal to fly it VFR and a safer option than a DYI visual, but I for one would divert to the alternate and return in the morning (after sunrise).  

Lights, Please

Another approach-briefing item for night, or nearing it: runway lighting. Two-light PAPIs, runway end and runway lights are available for 6/24 and activated on the CTAF. NOTAM check: The PAPI on Runway 6 is out of service. That puts 24 on the winning side if winds allow. But no matter how good the airport lights are, they can’t prevent the visual illusions such as the “black hole” effect with dark surfaces on final to a lit-up runway. So get refreshed on human-factor nighttime hazards along with those on the ground. Speaking of lighting, how’s yours? If you’re one of those who tests the lights installed in the panel and around the cockpit every time, year-round, great. Even better, add checks for two portable lights (hand-held or headlamp) including a red-lens version and you’ll be well covered. I don’t include my cellphone in the two-light minimum because that’s the emergency backup—it’s awfully bright and cumbersome to use, but would do in a pinch.

After meeting the departure deadline this flight is a go, were it not for the alligators. I’ve been told they lurk in the muck of the Everglades, jaws open towards the sky, waiting for snacks to fall in. This is why you are flying to Arcadia, not me. I’ll watch from the safety of home with the badgers and wolverines. Anyway, the airboat tours might convince me to take a fall holiday there, in which case I’ll be sure to check out the surroundings accordingly. And given the time of year, it might be time to take the extra precautions for nighttime, especially for those places less well lit.