• If You Are Having Trouble Logging In with Your Old Username and Password, Please use this Forgot Your Password link to get re-established.
  • Hey! Be sure to login or register!

Night Vision Goggles for Aviation purposes

skagwaypilot

Registered User
Texas
Let me start this thread by referring to a paper prepared by NASA for the FAA - if you are on an analog line, this will take a few minutes to download.

http://www.hf.faa.gov/docs/508/docs/vfNVG_equipment.pdf

In my limited experience with Night Vision equipment, I've found it difficult to walk while wearing NV goggles and I have never tried flying, either as passenger or pilot. Needless to say, I don't recommend that you attempt it and anyone trying to pilot an airplane by reference to NV devices does so at his/her own risk.

Most of the devices I sell, as the paper states, are unsuitable for aviation purposes. A year or two ago, there were goggles available which, with proper training, could be used to enhance your vision at night while piloting an aircraft. The Iraq war has made new aviation grade goggles of this quality unavailable. Used ones may be found on the market but will be VERY expensive.
 
Information on Night Vision

If you are interested in information about Night Vision equipment, please visit my web site at:
http://www.nightvisionstore.com
there are links that explain how it works and the various generations available.
Let me add that I will be happy to offer substantial discounts to pilots... we've got enough expenses as it it..
 
NVGs

I am not sure what you would use the goggles for in a super cub!! Maybe the border patrol or something like that. I have over 500 hours crawling around the tops of trees or the desert floor with those things strapped to my head, and another 1000 with just a single monocle over my right eye with a FLIR image. Technology keeps improving for them all the time. Missions like Iraq will bring about more improvements over time but it will be several years till it filters down to the public.
 
Re: NVGs

Elkhorn said:
I am not sure what you would use the goggles for in a super cub!! Maybe the border patrol or something like that. I have over 500 hours crawling around the tops of trees or the desert floor with those things strapped to my head, and another 1000 with just a single monocle over my right eye with a FLIR image. Technology keeps improving for them all the time. Missions like Iraq will bring about more improvements over time but it will be several years till it filters down to the public.
Elk... WoW!!!!
That must have been interesting!
One thing I've noticed is that with goggles, you have no peripheral vision.. and peripheral vision helps keep me upright (at least I think it does).
A monocular leaves one eye with conventional vision. so it seems to be a bit more natural.
What were you doing and in what kind of aircraft?
 
NVGs

You do have some peripheral vision depending on the type of goggles. But in an aircraft it was needed to be able to crosscheck the instruments and systems. In order to compensate you have to scan left and right a lot to make up for the reduced field of view. Your eye typically does a lot of scanning in the day and even more at night. With the goggles you have to incorporate a lot more head movement in order to pick up the cues.
I just retired from flying AH-64s and before that flew OH-58s and UH-1s. I started out in PA-18 105 Special many years back though.
 
If you are serious about flying on NVG's, look at getting some helmet mounted ANVIS-9 goggles. Then, convert all the cockpit lighting to NVG friendly lighting (more than just green bulbs), and get NVG filters for your digital radio displays. With that combo, flying on NVG's is viable and safe.
 
I've never heard of using night vision goggles for commercial aviation. Well, another one of my activities is hunting and when it comes to purchasing NV optics and other gear I visit this site https://www.prgdefense.com/. Maybe you'll find something decent here.
 
Ag operators here use them for night aerial application. The guy that started that is an Apache pilot in the guard.
 
If anybody is thinking about trying NVG ops, STOP! Go back and read the posts by the pilots that have used them for real world flying, whether military or civilian. These guys have been TRAINED in NVG ops. Most of my NVG time is 'walking in the woods' stuff, but I have driven wheeled and tracked vehicles under nods. NO ONE should operate any type of vehicle, on the ground or in the air, unless you've trained for it. It is NOT as easy as strapping a set of NVGs and moving out. Different models, styles, and types of NVGs have different limitations. You'll need to learn the NVG, then train with some one qualified. Myself, I can train you to drive a vehicle with NVGs but am in no way qualified to train a pilot for them.

That being said, NVG capability is amazing. In clear air, even lower priced models allow you to see lots of details as the most common styles of NVGs use light amplification. If you operate in smoke or dust, thermal styles will give much better picture as they rely on heat signatures instead of light (but much more expensive).

Web
 
You might also consider that you need an STC for all the lighting on the aircraft (internal and external) that shows the aircraft has NVG compatible lighting before even starting. As stated above there is training requirements.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You might also consider that you need an STC for all the lighting on the aircraft (internal and external) that shows the aircraft has NVG compatible lighting before even starting. As stated above there is training requirements.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s a fact.

Red/orange light is very bright under NVGs. Enough that it’ll wash out anything else in your field of view if it’s bright enough.

Also, any panel viewing needs to be under the goggles, but your panel can’t be so bright that it washes out your goggles when it’s in your field of view.

Also, minor detail, but you’ve got a super limited field of view through the goggles (40 degrees or so) and have to replace eye movements with head movements. And you can only focus the goggles to one distance. Everyone I know puts them to infinity, which means you can’t focus clearly on anything that’s real close to you. Inside the aircraft for sure.

About half my time is NG time in case you need a qualifier for this.
 
I would love to have my PA-12 converted to to NVG use! Not really practical and cost prohibitive but man, would that be really fun. I took a quick peek at the regs and adding a RADALT is required for Part 91. I currently fly the white phosphorus versions on the AN/AVS-9's for my "day job"... actually more like my "night job"...
 
Unless there’s an outsized mission priority backed by a government sized logistical tail, any added benefits to NVG in GA would be far outweighed by increased risk. Our safety record sucks as it is, why would we introduce a threat?
 
I got to fly NVG’s from the 70’s until I retired in 1993. The early ones were full face shield and strapped to you and your helmet. On the back was a lead weight bag to balance the weight of them. There was no vis. Other than the goggles, they would go black if hit by lights. Also one crew flew into a cloud and when the visible light got too little they just shut off. That happened at about 200’. When the hit the weight did bad things. At the end the NVG’s were just two tubes and you could see the instrument panels under them. They were excellent, we flew low level night formation in the Cobras. Had to stay really tight because if you got loose you could lose other aircraft and then everybody was blasting along with a lost ship out there. Days gone by.
 
I got to fly NVG’s from the 70’s until I retired in 1993. The early ones were full face shield and strapped to you and your helmet. On the back was a lead weight bag to balance the weight of them. There was no vis. Other than the goggles, they would go black if hit by lights. Also one crew flew into a cloud and when the visible light got too little they just shut off. That happened at about 200’. When the hit the weight did bad things. At the end the NVG’s were just two tubes and you could see the instrument panels under them. They were excellent, we flew low level night formation in the Cobras. Had to stay really tight because if you got loose you could lose other aircraft and then everybody was blasting along with a lost ship out there. Days gone by.

I just got back from an NVG flight a few minutes ago... I fly an LE and Medevac mission. We're using the L-3 M4949's which is the AN/AVS-9 equivalent with white phosphor. No more green black, think back to your old black and white TV! Really love the white phosphorus goggles. I've flow the greens a few times since we switch to the white and the difference is amazing. Slight more fatigue after about 3-4 hours but well worth the performance.
 
Back
Top