Night Flying Home Page

What is RC Night Flying?

Read this page to discover what RC night flying really is and how it is done. This is the brief introduction version.
NOTICE: The opinions and ideas expressed here are solely those of the author. Any enjoyment derrived from the ingestion, inspiration or implementation of this information - as well as any potential mishaps or problems incured through the practice of the activities described herein - belong solely to you. In other words, if you use any of the suggestions, guidelines or any other information presented here, you do so at your own risk. But please, keep the risks to a minimum. The idea here is to have fun!

What is RC Night Flying?

As you may have guessed, RC Night Flying is the act of flying a radio-controlled model airplane at night! At first, you may wonder how this is possible. Apparently, a number of RC enthusiasts (myself included) have pondered this problem and have come up with some varied and creative solutions. Some solutions are deceptively simple, whereas others are rather complex.

I do not know when the practice of night flying began, but I would assume it has been rather recent in the history of model aviation. With advances in technology producing more powerful engines and lighter components, it is now possible for a small aircraft to carry the additional components necessary to illuminate an aircraft in flight.

That is the real problem: how to illuminate an aircraft in the dark. After all, if you can't see it, you can't fly it. I have heard stories about people attempting to light up their airplanes in the sky from a light source on the ground, or flying in a lighted baseball or football field, or lining up automobiles along the runway so their headlights would light up the runway. This, to me, is not night flying - at least not in the true sense.

Night flying is a practice and an art that stands on its own. When flying a model airplane, all that should be involved is the airplane and the pilot. So, as it turns out, the best way to illuminate an aircraft is to put lights on the aircraft. And in order to do this, one needs a light source, and a power source (to power the lights). If your power source is a battery pack, it is not advisable to use the same batteries to power your lights that are being used to power your receiver! This is an accident waiting to happen.

One of the simplest (yet least elegant) solutions is to use chemical light sticks to light up the airplane. This has the advantages of being economical (light sticks are cheap), quick to set up, and they require no power source. Their disadvantages, however, include additional weight to the aircraft, disruption of the airflow over the aircraft surfaces (increasing drag and altering flight characteristics), and limited life span. Light sticks will not shed enough light on the aircraft to make the actual airframe visible in the sky, so all you will see will be the light sticks. Therefore, it is important to arrange the light sticks - and enough of them - in a particular pattern so that you can discern the orientation and heading of the aircraft in the dark.

One's perspective of an aircraft in the dark is much different than during the day, because during the day you can see the aircraft. At night, all that is visible is a pattern of lights. The first few flights at night should be simple ones (take off, fly around in circles, and land), because the first few flights will be lessons in orientation. And it is important to be very familiar with flying an aircraft during the day before taking the same aircraft up at night. This way, it makes it easier to predict where the plane should be headed and how it should be oriented after issuing control inputs. You will need to be able to predict the movements of your aircraft until you become familiar with the new perspective that the nighttime offers.

Flying with light sticks is probably the simplest (or at least the quickest) way to get started. Finding someone to go with you who has done it before is particularly beneficial, especially if they have a night fly plane ready to go and are willing to let you fly it. After you try night flying, you are destined to get hooked on it, and then after some practice, you can progress to more elegant and advanced lighting systems and configurations.

The bottom line is, if you can make your aircraft (or its outline) visible in the dark, then you can fly it. I suppose you could fly at night using a pair of night vision goggles, but this is something I have not yet tried (but would love to).

The section about How to Get Started will go into more detail about how you can actually try night flying for yourself.

The section on Understanding Visibility provides information regarding how to configure a lighting system on a model aircraft for maximum visibility and efficiency.

Also, keep in mind that Night Flying Safety is of utmost concern, perhaps even more so at night than during the day.

From the Night Flying home page, you will find links to other information regarding safety, products, my personal night flying history, advanced topics and other information.

Just remember: night flying is not only possible, it's fun!

Copyright 1999-2003, William Hubbard
09/28/2003