In July of this year STAR Flight became the first, and so far the only, civilian flight program in Texas to fly at night using night vision goggles (NVG’s). As this enhanced capability is fairly expensive (considerably north of $100K), you might ask yourself “is it worth the cost?” The answer is a resounding – yes!! Below we’ll discuss why NVGs have been so enthusiastically embraced by everyone here at STAR Flight and in the field – How they work – What are their limitations – and, are there any new requirements in the LZs.

First the big why. In a word – safety. Safety is something we take very seriously here at STAR Flight. It is because we take it so seriously that we have been accident free for over 20 years. It is no secret that the business we are in is a hazardous one. Consequently, the NTSB and the FAA published guidance early this year recommending night vision goggles as one way of mitigating many of the hazards associated with night flying in the EMS environment. Anticipating this, STAR Flight required NVG compatible cockpits in their new EC 145s, took delivery of ITT ANVIS 9 NVGs for both aircraft, and completed factory NVG training for all the crews. The pilots were then evaluated in NVG night operations by the FAA in June 2006. The FAA then issued a new Operations Specification to STAR Flight granting permission for STAR Flight to operate in lower weather minimums. As you can see, making the NVGs an operational reality was expensive and time consuming – we can now tell you it was worth every dime and every minute.

Watch a short video taken under NVG...

How do they work? Very simply they take available light from the stars, moon, and ground and amplify it thousands of times. Essentially they take the dark out of the night. Under a clear sky or overcast with some ground lighting they are pretty good. Clear sky with a high moon they are like daylight. However, if there is no light to amplify - as under an overcast in a rural area with no ground lights, pilots can mitigate this problem with lights from the helicopter. For the vast majority of our night operations, they are superb. We have already located individuals during night searches that would have been nearly impossible to locate without NVGs.

Any new LZ requirements? Usually no. These ITT ANVIS 9 NVGs, unlike earlier generations of NVGs, do not completely “wash out” when in the vicinity of bright lights. Doing your usual good job of light discipline in the landing zone will usually suffice. You know, don’t point any lights at the cockpit – vehicle headlights on low beam when pointed at the LZ, etc. However, a couple of points needed to be brought out. One, the NVG images are in varying shades of green, so colors are pretty much the same. We noticed that it is hard to tell law enforcement lights from fire and EMS lights. Also you might notice the helicopter may be harder to see inbound as it may not be as lit up as you are used to.

 To sum up, STAR Flight  is really proud and excited about the enhanced capability NVGs bring to our operation.