Ever wonder what it would be like to strap a few thousand dollars worth of night vision goggles to your helmet and go flying? Well, I didn’t either until a few weeks ago. I’ve got to say it’s pretty amazing how much you can see with those things…even on nights when there is no visible moon. As the instructors are keen on saying, “they don’t turn night into day.” Very true, but the goggles do have the ability to greatly increase the situation awareness of the crew. The picture above is a great example of what it looks like to fly on goggles.Imagine you’re flying toward the perpendicular ridgeline in the middle of the image (notice the trees on top of the ridge and the open field below it – good pilots are always looking for safe places to land in an emergency). Bear in mind that without the goggles, you may or may not be able to see any of these terrain features. If you’re wondering, the bright white spots beyond the ridge are the result of an artificial light source (like a city) called “blooming.” The goggles work by amplifying existing visible light and near infrared energy, and “blooming” is the equipment protecting itself from damage. Phenomenon like this is why we spend so much time studying performance characteristics of our equipment.
One other downside is the reduced field of vision. As the photo clearly shows, you’re basically looking at a tiny, green, circular representation of the world around you. That’s both good and bad. For example, I had no idea how much I relied on my peripheral vision to judge airspeed and altitude (particularly during the critical takeoff and landing phases) until I started flying on goggles. Because of this, students spend the first few flights in the landing pattern learning to hover again and fly a proper pattern.
The last three flights involve low-level navigation routes around the local area. After all, the best way to learn the inherent benefits and limits of the equipment is to actually use it! And who knew aviation wasn’t only about sounding cool on the radio and looking good (see below)? This block of flights was probably the most challenging for me because it was my first experience with the equipment. That being said, I’m happy to report successful completion of the Advanced Rotary Wing syllabus Thursday night. The “winging” is set for July 2nd at NAS Whiting Field.
