Before you start the engine, make sure all necessary equipment and supplies needed for the flight, such as charts, notepads, and flashlights, are accessible and ready for use.

Use extra caution when starting the engine and engaging the rotors, especially in dark areas with little or no outside lights. In addition to the usual call of “clear,” turn on the position and anticollision lights. If conditions permit, you might also want to turn the landing light on momentarily to help warn others that you are about to start the engine and engage the rotors.

Landing lights usually cast a beam that is narrow and concentrated ahead of the helicopter, so illumination to the side is minimal. Therefore, you should slow your taxi at night, especially in congested ramp and parking areas. Some helicopters have a hover light in addition to a landing light, which illuminates a larger area under the helicopter.

When operating at an unfamiliar airport at night, you should ask for instructions or advice concerning local conditions, so as to avoid taxiing into areas of construction, or unlighted, unmarked obstructions. Ground controllers or UNICOM operators are usually cooperative in furnishing you with this type of information.

Before takeoff, make sure that you have a clear, unobstructed takeoff path. At airports, you may accomplish this by taking off over a runway or taxiway, however, if you are operating off-airport, you must pay more attention to the surroundings. Obstructions may also be difficult to see if you are taking off from an unlighted area.

Once you have chosen a suitable takeoff path, select a point down the takeoff path to use for directional reference. During a night takeoff, you may notice a lack of reliable outside visual references after you are airborne.

This is particularly true at small airports and off-airport landing sites located in sparsely populated areas. To compensate for the lack of outside references, use the available flight instruments as an aid. Check the altimeter and the airspeed indicator to verify the proper climb attitude. An attitude indicator, if installed, can enhance your attitude reference.

The first 500 feet of altitude after takeoff is considered to be the most critical period in transitioning from the comparatively well-lighted airport or heliport into what sometimes appears to be total darkness. A takeoff at night is usually an “altitude over airspeed” maneuver, meaning you will most likely perform a nearly maximum performance takeoff. This improves the chances for obstacle clearance and enhances safety.

When performing this maneuver, be sure to avoid the cross-hatched or shaded areas of the height-velocity diagram.

In order to provide a higher margin of safety, it is recommended that you select a cruising altitude somewhat higher than normal. There are several reasons for this.

First, a higher altitude gives you more clearance between obstacles, especially those that are difficult to see at night, such as high tension wires and unlighted towers. Secondly, in the event of an engine failure, you have more time to set up for a landing and the gliding distance is greater giving you more options in making a safe landing. Thirdly, radio reception is improved, particularly if you are using radio aids for navigation.

During your preflight planning, it is recommended that you select a route of flight that keeps you within reach of an airport, or any safe landing site, as much of the time as possible. It is also recommended that you fly as close as possible to a populated or lighted area such as a highway or town. Not only does this offer more options in the event of an emergency, but also makes navigation a lot easier. A course comprised of a series of slight zig-zags to stay close to suitable landing sites and well lighted areas, only adds a little more time and distance to an otherwise straight course.

In the event that you have to make a forced landing at night, use the same procedure recommended for daytime emergency landings. If available, turn on the landing light during the final descent to help in avoiding obstacles along your approach path.

At night, the outside visual references are greatly reduced especially when flying over a sparsely populated area with little or no lights. The result is that you tend to focus on a single point or instrument, making you less aware of the other traffic around. You must make a special effort to devote enough time to scan for traffic. You can determine another aircraft’s direction of flight by interpreting the position and anticollision lights.