The Cessna 120-140 Association Forum

Hey, CFI's, a question: Do you ever include night landings when doing an indorsement (vs initial)? I don't intend to do any initial students. Debating the worth of a landing light. Never thought about it, until two of the airplanes I'm zeroing in on don't have them. Strobes, position lights, instrument lights, no landing light. Airfields I'd use have lighted runways. Guess I could just run with that and use the runway lights peripherally for altitude awareness, treat it like a seaplane glassy.

Scott,

I'm a CFI that activity provides the tail wheel endorsement to individuals who ask me for one. To answer your question, no I don't include a night checkout for the endorsement. Truth be told, I've never been asked by any client to provide them a night checkout in a tail wheel airplane. I think if you want to include night time in your instructing utilizing a tail wheel airplane, that's purely your choice. Night instruction in a tail wheel with an individual seeking the endorsement certainly would offer a rounded approach to flying a tail wheel, and give an individual confidence in both day and night operations.

In my opinion a landing light during night operations is certainly an advantage. I too also operate from airports with lighted runways; however, I've also seen deer and coyote near or on the taxi ways during night operations. Personally I like to see what's ahead rather than meet something in the dark like some type of FOD. I've seen some strange parts from bolts to muffler pipes out on both a taxiway and runway. If you evidently do zero in on a 120/140 type that doesn't have a landing light, a light unit can be added in the future.

Mike

Mike, thanks for your thoughtful replay. Putting in one later appears to be major surgery in a rag wing airplane. That being said, it won't prevent me from buy the right airplane if it doesn't have a landing light.

Here in north GA, we've got deer, bears, coyotes...you name it.

I agree with Mike. Mine fortunately came with 150 landing and taxi lights. I installed LED bulbs and keep them on even during the day. I fly a lot in and around a Class B and it does help others to spot me so that's an extra bonus. My base airport is also know for a lot of wildlife on the runway.