PLT220: Night and High Altitude Operations
What code PLT220 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Night and High Altitude Operations before your checkride.
Recall flight operations - night and high altitude operations
What this means for your checkride
Night and high-altitude operations add hazards. At night, vision relies on the rods, dark adaptation, and off-center viewing, and depth and distance cues are poor. At high altitude, reduced oxygen brings hypoxia, so supplemental oxygen and awareness of the time of useful consciousness matter.
Both regimes carry physiological and visual traps, so the FAA tests night-vision technique and the oxygen and physiological demands of altitude.
Pilots treat a clear night as easy. Loss of the horizon and few visual cues make illusions and disorientation more likely, so the instrument scan and lighting discipline matter more, not less, at night.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.