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Night ops: the three nights
There is no single legal night. Three rules run on three different clocks: logging night time uses civil twilight (§ 1.1), night passenger currency uses one hour after sunset (§ 61.57(b)), and position lights come on at sunset (§ 91.209). Each definition is quoted verbatim below, with the night fuel reserve and the night equipment list alongside.
1 · Logging night — the civil-twilight clock
§ 1.1
REGULATIONWhat “night” means anywhere in 14 CFR that the rule does not supply its own clock — including the night flight time you log.
“Night means the time between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight, as published in the Air Almanac, converted to local time.”
§ 1.1
The window: End of evening civil twilight to beginning of morning civil twilight — a published astronomical time, not an offset from sunset.
2 · Passenger currency — the one-hour clock
§ 61.57(b)(1)
REGULATIONWhether you may act as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying persons at night without three recent night landings.
“(b) Night takeoff and landing experience. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, no person may act as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying persons during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset and ending 1 hour before sunrise, unless within the preceding 90 days that person has made at least three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset and ending 1 hour before sunrise, and—”
§ 61.57(b)(1)
The window: 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise — the same window bounds both the flights the rule restricts and the landings that count toward it.
3 · Position lights — the sunset clock
§ 91.209(a)(1)
REGULATIONWhen the position lights must be lighted.
“No person may: (a) During the period from sunset to sunrise (or, in Alaska, during the period a prominent unlighted object cannot be seen from a distance of 3 statute miles or the sun is more than 6 degrees below the horizon)— (1) Operate an aircraft unless it has lighted position lights;”
§ 91.209(a)(1)
The window: Sunset to sunrise — this clock opens a full hour before the § 61.57(b) window does, and the rule carries its own Alaska alternative.
Do not assume the three clocks tick in a fixed order. Sunset precedes sunset-plus-one-hour by definition, so the lights window always opens before the currency window — but where the end of evening civil twilight falls between them is astronomy, moving with latitude and season. Look the times up for your field and your date.
4 · What the three landings must be
§ 61.57(b)(1)(i)–(ii)
REGULATIONThe § 61.57(b)(1) sentence quoted in band 2 ends “and—” and continues straight into these two conditions:
“(i) That person acted as sole manipulator of the flight controls; and (ii) The required takeoffs and landings were performed in an aircraft of the same category, class, and type (if a class or type rating is required).”
§ 61.57(b)(1)(i)–(ii)
5 · VFR fuel: the night reserve is 45 minutes
§ 91.151(a)
REGULATION“(a) No person may begin a flight in an airplane under VFR conditions unless (considering wind and forecast weather conditions) there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing and, assuming normal cruising speed— (1) During the day, to fly after that for at least 30 minutes; or (2) At night, to fly after that for at least 45 minutes.”
§ 91.151(a)
6 · Night VFR equipment
§ 91.205(c)
REGULATION“(c) Visual flight rules (night). For VFR flight at night, the following instruments and equipment are required: (1) Instruments and equipment specified in paragraph (b) of this section. (2) Approved position lights. (3) An approved aviation red or aviation white anticollision light system on all U.S.-registered civil aircraft. […] In the event of failure of any light of the anticollision light system, operations with the aircraft may be continued to a stop where repairs or replacement can be made. (4) If the aircraft is operated for hire, one electric landing light. (5) An adequate source of electrical energy for all installed electrical and radio equipment. (6) One spare set of fuses, or three spare fuses of each kind required, that are accessible to the pilot in flight.”
§ 91.205(c)
Set your own night numbers
The regulation sets the floor. Your ceiling, visibility, wind and fatigue limits for night flying are yours to set — before the flight, not during it.
Personal Minimums Sheet — a fill-in worksheet with a separate day/night column for exactly this reason.
Badges.REGULATION quoted from 14 or 49 CFR.FAA GUIDANCE quoted from the AIM, an AC, or an FAA handbook — advice, not law.POH/AFM your aircraft’s own records govern.TECHNIQUE our voice — how to think about it.Text outside quotation marks is ours, whatever badge sits nearby.
Source. Quoted verbatim from 14 CFR at eCFR issue date 2026-08-24, retrieved 2026-08-31. Frozen artifacts: reference/ecfr-14-cfr-{1.1,61.57,91.209,91.151,91.205}-2026-08-24.xml. Check against the current text before relying on it.
This is a study aid. The actual twilight and sunset times for your field on the day you fly come from the Air Almanac or your EFB, not from any table — look them up, and verify the regulation itself before you rely on anything here.
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