Each pilot is different, but there are only two sets of pilots for at least one question- “Flying day vs night: which do you prefer?” There is a lot of debate between pilots, as to which is better, flying during the day or flying during the night.
As a general rule, most pilots prefer flying during the day, as this allows for easier (and safer) flying. When a pilot is flying during the day, they have more visibility (naturally), and thus rely more on their eyes and their knowledge of the aircraft, rather than relying on the avionics and computers to guide them.
Why do pilots prefer flying day vs night?
Easier to see the runway, you probably don’t think of this when you are traveling, but seeing the runway is one of the most important parts of taking off. At certain airports, with certain aircraft, the pilot must push the aircraft to its limits to take off, before the pilot runs out of runway.
If a pilots visibility was diminished, for example, a lack of sunlight (because it is during the night), a pilot will need to make a split-second judgement as to whether he/she believes the aircraft will take off with the amount of runway left. This is because the pilot can’t see the exact end of the runway, only the lights at the end of it.
It’s more fun, most pilots tend to agree that the flight as a whole is more fun when flying day vs night. As a general rule, the passengers are awake, and have been for a few hours, this means that they won’t be a pain on the flight, and cause the pilot and cabin crew problems.
This allows the pilot and co-pilot to make a few more jokes than they would otherwise, as they don’t have to worry about the passengers in the back of the aircraft. This allows them to be a bit more relaxed, and generally nicer at the end of the flight, even on long haul flights.
Less likely to be blinded by a laser pen. During the night, a few people like to aim laser pens at aircraft, whilst this is often meant harmlessly, this can be quite a dangerous thing for both the pilot and the passengers on board. There are thousands of horror stories pertaining to laser pens being aimed at aircraft.
During the day, these people generally aren’t around to aim laser pens at aircraft, whether they are at school, work, college etc. The laser pen itself is also less effective during the day, as it is often too bright outside, so the laser pen isn’t really picked up.
Spot the weather easier. The weather is everything to pilots, pilots flying day vs night find it easier to spot bad weather, such as thunderstorms, further away. This allows them to change trajectory, and avoid the bad weather, if not entirely, the worst parts of it.
When they fly in the night, pilots struggle to see weather that they are about to fly into. This means that you are more likely to experience turbulence on night flights, opposed to day flights!
The view is far better than at night. Most pilots agree that the view when flying during the day is far better than when flying during the night. Whilst you can see the lights of towns, villages and cities at night, you can see everything in much more detail during the day!
In the day, you can see the intricacies of the terrain, but during the night, you miss it completely, and just fly over it! You often can’t see the stars when you fly at night either, or at least, not as much as you’d think.
It’s easier to sleep at night than it is in the day. When you fly at night, the pilot is forced to sleep in during the day. Sleeping during the day is much harder, as our bodies were designed to sleep at night, when it is dark. This means that most pilots prefer to sleep during the night, as our bodies were designed to.
Rely less on avionics during the day. When a pilot is flying day vs night, they always pick day, as they can rely more on their ‘trustworthy’ senses (ie. eyes, ears etc.) whereas, when they fly at night, they are forced to rely more on their avionics and in-flight systems.
This is a dangerous factor for many pilots, as they have been taught to always use their eyes and ears to make sure everything with the aircraft is how it should be!
Why do some pilots prefer flying at night vs day?
Low amount of travel. Due to the fact that most pilots dislike flying at night, most airlines reduce the number of night-flights they operate, this leads to a low amount of travel.
When pilots are asked about similarities when flying day vs night, they always talk about ‘scanning’. This refers to searching for other airborne aircraft in the local area, if they see another aircraft, it is their job to try to stay out of its flight path. The other aircraft is meant to do the same. Due to the low levels of traffic, pilots don’t need to do as much scanning as there aren’t many aircraft in the local area (although most pilots still scan regularly).
The air is much smoother. Due to the low levels of travel during the night, and the cold breezes that tend to happen at night, many pilots tend to find it easier to fly at night than they do during the day.
This is because there isn’t as much friction against the wings, which allows the flight to be smoother, and hopefully without turbulence.
Low levels of radio use. Because there is very little traffic in the skies, some pilots prefer flying during the night than flying in the day, as the radios are less cluttered. According to our survey, when asked “flying day vs night?” Those who answered ‘night’ put radios as their main reason behind it.
Pilots are forced to make frequent calls to air traffic control in order to maintain their course, and keep the local aviation authority up to date.
Passengers are asleep. During night flights, most passengers attempt to get a few hours of sleep in, this makes the flight more enjoyable, as most passengers will be too embarrassed to wake everyone up, by having an argument with a flight attendant.
If you are a pilot, do you agree with this? Which do you prefer: flying day vs night and why? Tell us in the comments!