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August 21, 2017 will see a total eclipse of the sun across large sections of the United States, generally between about 10a.m. and 2p.m. (depending on location and timezone)

If one is flying during the eclipse, are there considerations, other than sudden transitions to darkness and then to light, that should be taken into account?

Do Pilots flying during this time need to be Night Current?
Can time logged during the eclipse be logged as Night Conditions?

abelenky
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  • Good point; I edited the question to ask about other considerations such as temperatures and winds. – abelenky Apr 26 '17 at 21:11
  • Related – Pondlife Apr 26 '17 at 22:43
  • @kevin The other question is about the UK, this one is US – Pondlife Apr 26 '17 at 23:37
  • @Pondlife that's true but the accepted answer provides the US regulations as well. – fooot Apr 27 '17 at 01:01
  • @fooot Yes, I'm just not a fan of "that other question has the answer even though it's actually a different question". In this case it's probably reasonable enough (the other question does mention the US, although it's secondary) but it's the principle of the thing. Maybe I'm overthinking it :-) – Pondlife Apr 27 '17 at 01:21
  • Hmm... In its current state, this does not seem like a duplicate to me. The answer to the other question answers part of this question, but not all of it. Similarly, there's information that would be relevant here that would not answer the other question (temperature, wind, etc.) – reirab Aug 21 '17 at 19:31

1 Answers1

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Do Pilots flying during this time need to be Night Current?

No, that time does not fall within what the FAA considers "night"

The FAA defines night currency in FAA FAR 61.57

FAA FAR 61.57

(b) Night takeoff and landing experience. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, no person may act as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying passengers during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset and ending 1 hour before sunrise, unless within the preceding 90 days that person has made at least three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset and ending 1 hour before sunrise, and—

Can time logged during the eclipse be logged as Night Conditions?

Nope, same reason as above it does not fall in what the FAA considers "night".

Dave
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  • So if the Sun were to suddenly disappear during the day, then despite being in eternal night, the FAA would call it "day" because the sun never set? :D – Nick T Apr 27 '17 at 00:15
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    @NickT I guarantee you that, if that ever happens, FAA regulations will be the least weird thing going on! – Cort Ammon Apr 27 '17 at 00:34
  • To log night time, the flight needs to occur between evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight, as published in the Air Almanac, converted to local time. - FAR §1.1 – wbeard52 Apr 27 '17 at 03:03