Civil Use of Night Vision Devices - Evaluation Pilot's Guide, Part 1

This document was developed to aid in the evaluation of the use of night vision goggles NVGs by civil helicopter pilots. This report was used to prepare pilots to participate in the flight test program. The principal task was to determine if there are any unresolved safety issues that would preclude pilot use of NVGs during helicopter operations under Federal Aviation Regulations Parts 91 or 135. Certainly NVGs can enable a pilot to see better at night and to accomplish certain flight objectives. However, the question is, is safety degraded during any phase of the flight operation if pilots use these devices. Even if the use of NVGs dramatically improves operational effectiveness, current safety margins must be maintained or improved during all phases of flight. This report is one of three documents that were developed for evaluating the use of night vision goggles NVGs by EMS helicopter pilots