Night operations — Part 107 practice questions

10 practice questions on night operations from the FAA remote pilot knowledge test, each with the correct answer and why it is correct.

1. 01

   What anti-collision lighting does 14 CFR 107.29 require for night operations?

   • Lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collisionCorrect
   • Steady white lighting visible for at least 1 statute mile
   • Lighting visible for at least 5 statute miles in all directions
   • No lighting, provided a visual observer is used
   Why

   Visible for at least 3 statute miles, flashing at a rate sufficient to avoid a collision. Both halves matter: a steady light at one mile fails the distance and the flash requirement at once, and no visual observer arrangement substitutes for lighting the aircraft carries.

2. 02

   Is anti-collision lighting required during civil twilight?

   • Yes, the same lighting required at night applies during civil twilightCorrect
   • No, lighting is required only after the end of evening civil twilight
   • Only if the operation is conducted in controlled airspace
   • Only if the operation is conducted over people
   Why

   Yes — 107.29 covers civil twilight on the same terms as night. Outside Alaska that means the 30 minutes before sunrise and the 30 minutes after sunset, so an operation finishing "before dark" may still be inside the requirement. It applies regardless of airspace or what is underneath.

3. 03

   May a remote pilot dim the anti-collision lighting during a night operation?

   • Yes, the intensity may be reduced in the interest of safety, but the lighting may not be extinguishedCorrect
   • No, the lighting must remain at full intensity at all times
   • Yes, and it may be extinguished entirely if it interferes with the camera
   • Only with a certificate of waiver issued under 107.200
   Why

   Dimming is permitted where safety calls for it; extinguishing is not. The distinction matters because the usual motive for turning lights off — they are spoiling the shot — is precisely the motive the rule declines to accommodate. No waiver is needed to dim.

4. 04

   Why is a daylight survey of the operating site recommended before a night operation?

   • Obstacles that will be invisible at night can be identified and their positions memorizedCorrect
   • Airspace authorization is only issued during daylight hours
   • Anti-collision lighting cannot be tested after dark
   • The preflight inspection required by 107.49 may not be performed at night
   Why

   Because wires, poles and branches that are obvious at noon are invisible at ten at night, and depth perception is degraded exactly when you would need it to spot them. Walking the site in daylight converts obstacles into remembered positions, which is the only form they will take once it is dark.

5. 05

   A remote pilot checks a phone at full screen brightness midway through a night operation. What is the consequence?

   • Dark adaptation is lost and must be regained over roughly 30 minutesCorrect
   • Dark adaptation is unaffected, since the screen is not a flashing light
   • The aircraft's anti-collision lighting becomes harder for other pilots to see
   • Depth perception improves because the eyes have a nearby reference
   Why

   Dark adaptation built over about 30 minutes is undone in a moment, and has to be rebuilt over another 30. That the light is steady rather than flashing is irrelevant — it is brightness that resets the rods. Reducing screen brightness beforehand is the cheap fix.

6. 06

   How is night defined for the purposes of the regulations?

   • The period between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilightCorrect
   • The period between sunset and sunrise
   • The period beginning 30 minutes after sunset and ending 30 minutes before sunrise
   • Any period when the ground is not illuminated by natural light
   Why

   Night runs from the end of evening civil twilight to the beginning of morning civil twilight, per the Air Almanac. Sunset and sunrise are the wrong boundaries — they sit roughly 30 minutes outside them, which is the twilight band that 107.29's lighting requirement also covers.

7. 07

   How does the visual line of sight requirement of 107.31 apply at night?

   • It applies unchanged, so the aircraft's lighting must let the pilot keep it in sightCorrect
   • It is suspended at night in favour of the lighting requirement in 107.29
   • It is satisfied by watching the aircraft's position on the control station display
   • It applies only within 400 feet of the control station at night
   Why

   Unchanged. Darkness does not suspend it and the control station display does not satisfy it — the pilot must still see the aircraft with unaided vision. In practice that makes the lighting do double duty: it warns other aircraft, and it is what keeps the aircraft legally in sight.

8. 08

   Why do many small unmanned aircraft use different coloured lights at the front and rear?

   • So the remote pilot can determine the aircraft's orientation when the airframe is not visibleCorrect
   • To satisfy the 3 statute mile visibility requirement of 107.29
   • To identify the aircraft's registration number from the ground
   • To signal the aircraft's remaining battery state to observers
   Why

   At night the airframe is invisible and the lights are the only cue to which way the aircraft is facing — which matters enormously, since the controls are relative to the aircraft's nose. It is an orientation aid for the pilot, unrelated to the 3-mile visibility requirement or to identification from the ground.

9. 09

   What does a remote pilot need in order to operate at night under the current rule?

   • The anti-collision lighting required by 107.29 and current training covering night operationsCorrect
   • A certificate of waiver issued under 107.200 for every night flight
   • A visual observer stationed at the aircraft's maximum range
   • Prior authorization from Air Traffic Control regardless of airspace class
   Why

   Since the 2021 amendment, night flight needs no waiver: the aircraft carries 107.29 anti-collision lighting and the pilot holds current training covering night operations. No ATC authorization is implied — that is an airspace question, unchanged by the time of day.

10. 10

    A remote pilot at night sees a green light on the right and a red light on the left of an approaching aircraft. What does this indicate?

    • The aircraft is heading toward the observerCorrect
    • The aircraft is heading away from the observer
    • The aircraft is crossing from left to right
    • The aircraft is stationary, such as a helicopter in a hover
    Why

    Position lights are fixed to the airframe: red on the left wingtip, green on the right, white at the tail — so green-right and red-left describes the aircraft's own sides no matter which way it is pointing. What tells you the direction is how they appear from where you stand. Facing an aircraft nose-on, its sides are reversed relative to yours, so you see red on your right and green on your left; watching one recede, the sides agree with yours and you see green on your right. A white light with no colour beside it is the tail, and that is the view of an aircraft going away.