UK UK Night Flying

[Dreampilot]

Night flying is not easy. Yes you can see the lights on your drone further away but you cannot see the threats to it at all. If night flying was so easy why do real pilots need extra flying training to fly at night? I think you need both a good Ops Manual and some training. But I would not want to pay a fortune or do a test. I see training would be good. With an instructor not an NQE perhaps. But at least an NQE would get the procedures sorted.

 

[BCF]

Night flying is not easy. Yes you can see the lights on your drone further away but you cannot see the threats to it at all. If night flying was so easy why do real pilots need extra flying training to fly at night? I think you need both a good Ops Manual and some training. But I would not want to pay a fortune or do a test. I see training would be good. With an instructor not an NQE perhaps. But at least an NQE would get the procedures sorted.

I accept the points you make and agree but, nowhere I can find, does it say that you cannot fly at night without special CAA permission. Again, am I missing something?

 

[Iceboxvideo]

Hello to everyone on this thread.
I'm now looking into preparing my ops manual for night operations.
A BBC satellite truck operator who has done his PfCO for news work mentioned to me the other day that it will cost £1500 for him to do his course with 'Heliguy' to obtain these night operations permission, I did mention that I'm sure thats not the case. Just wondering has anything changed since the last comment on this thread ?

 

[The Editor]

Hello to everyone on this thread.
I'm now looking into preparing my ops manual for night operations.
A BBC satellite truck operator who has done his PfCO for news work mentioned to me the other day that it will cost £1500 for him to do his course with 'Heliguy' to obtain these night operations permission, I did mention that I'm sure thats not the case. Just wondering has anything changed since the last comment on this thread ?

I'm afraid Mr Satellite Truck News Man is talking out of his bottom.
It costs nothing to acquire night permissions for PfCO holders other than the amendment fee to the ops manual where you will need to write in the additional safety procedures etc.
Some (many) NQE's troll out a load of mumbo jumbo and tell you you need another flight assesment and you need NQE sign off etc etc.
You simply need to amend you ops manual with a well written safety case and pay the CAA ops manual amendment fee - that's it.

 

[Eyeup Aerial Solutions]

What the editor says. It'srelatively easy. However, if £1500 crosses my palm I'll help you out .

 

[The Editor]

However, if £1500 crosses my palm I'll help you out .

You didn't used to work for EuroUSC did you?

 

[Eyeup Aerial Solutions]

No, but I'm seeing some of their handiwork coming
through on some OSC consultancy I'm doing and some of the statements in the OM do make me chuckle.

 

[NickU]

I think the BBC ops guy is confused.. .£1500 was/is Heliguy's full PfCO course fee. They'e not among the select group of wefleeceyou companies that offer 'night ops courses'

 

[Mad_angler1]

I am writing my ops manual now and am writing in night ops from the start, I see no logical reason why with additional safety requirements and procedures this has been seen as being so difficult, you just putting in additional specific safeguards and procedures for that.

What I have learnt Is most ops manuals have been written to over complicate everything, there is no way in hell half of the ops out there even know the procedures they are meant to be following, it’s been a real eye opener looking at some samples I have seen.

I have written procedural and compliance documents for years and the one thing that almost all company’s fail on in any audit is not following their own procedures, regardless if they are actually required in law or not.

The rule with any document like this is A keep it relevant and B do what you said your going to do, if your going to add additional requirements that go beyond what ever your trying to comply with then you need to know them and follow them, keep it simple and realistic, see one the other day that was less than 10 pages and it had gone through the CAA no problem at all, it’s was exactly what it needed to be for that operator.

I have been involved with some Gas Safe related stuff over the years and honestly some of the procedures some very large companies choose to write in was insanity and they then shock horror did not follow them and are found to be none compliant.

 

[Iceboxvideo]

I'm afraid Mr Satellite Truck News Man is talking out of his bottom.
It costs nothing to acquire night permissions for PfCO holders other than the amendment fee to the ops manual where you will need to write in the additional safety procedures etc.
Some (many) NQE's troll out a load of mumbo jumbo and tell you you need another flight assesment and you need NQE sign off etc etc.
You simply need to amend you ops manual with a well written safety case and pay the CAA ops manual amendment fee - that's it.

That's what I thought, thank you