NVG Operations Trivia #41-63
The following 60+ questions, posted in 20 question sets, focus on NVG operations.
- Q: What affects do shadows cause?
A: Shadows can improve depth perception and provide dimension to terrain, but they can also mask or hide terrain that could otherwise be seen in the light conditions.
- Q: What are obscurants and when can they be encountered?
A: Obscurants can be encountered rapidly and block light transmission to the NVGs. These should be anticipated and avoided. They may require an immediate transition to an instrument scan. Obscurants include clouds, fog, rain, snow, dust, smoke and mist from rotor wash.
- Q: What are inadvertent IMC cues?
A: NVG inadvertent IMC cues are loss of detail, halos and scintillation.
- Q: What are inadvertent IMC actions?
A: Control (announce IMC and fly the aircraft), Altitude (maintain altitude or climb as the situation dictates), Communicate (attempt to contact ATC when the helicopter is stabilized and headed away from danger (terrain or high traffic areas).
- Q: Aside from the sound execution of the IIMC immediate action items what else is critical to the safe recovery from IIMC?
A: If there is potential for IIMC, a preplanned course of action is critical. This will change throughout the flight and should be rebriefed whenever the situation or course of action changes.
- Q: What is flicker vertigo?
A: When flickering light creates nausea, vertigo, etc.
- Q: What is fixation?
A: When you ignore orientation cues and fix your attention on an object or goal.
- Q: What provides false horizons?
A: Cloud formations, terrain and some lights may provide a false horizon.
- Q: What is confusion with ground lights?
A: When you confuse ground lights with stars or reflections of lights in the water.
- Q: What is relative motion?
A: When moving surrounding objects create the sense that your stationary object is moving.
- Q: What are altered planes of reference?
A: Climbing as a line of mountains or clouds approach.
- Q: What are height and depth perception illusions?
A: The brain misinterprets spatial cues—such as linear perspective, relative size, or lighting—leading to false judgments of distance, altitude, or elevation. For example, pilots landing on a narrower-than-usual runway or over a dark, featureless area, may perceive they are higher than they actually are, leading to dangerous low-altitude approaches.
- Q: What are size and distance illusions?
A: The brain incorrectly perceives an object’s size or distance due to misleading depth cues, context, or visual constraints. For example, pilots may misjudge altitude or distance during approaches due to unusual runway widths or slopes.
- Q: What is autokinesis?
A: Visual perception in which a stationary, small point of light in an otherwise dark or featureless environment appears to move. This illusion can cause pilots to believe a stationary light is moving, potentially leading to dangerous, unnecessary, and disorienting flight maneuvers. To prevent this illusion, focus the eyes on objects at varying distances and avoid fixating on one target. Maintain a normal scan pattern.
- Q: What is a reversible perspective illusion?
A: Causes the brain to misinterpret 2D night visuals—such as city lights, aircraft navigation lights, or runway lights—as 3D. This misperception leads to spatial disorientation, making pilots unable to distinguish if another aircraft is approaching or moving away, or if they are in a high or low attitude.
MH60T Night/NVG trivia
- Q: The TRAKKABEAM white light shall not be operated below __ feet AGL/AWL?
A: The white light shall not be operated below 50 feet AGL/AWL because FOD, dust, fog, etc. can cause excessive feedback, which may blind or disorientate the flight crew or ground crew.
- Q: Do not operate near or point the TRAKKABEAM light beam at flammable material, gases or liquids. The light energy is capable of igniting flammable material or causing an explosion within ___ feet?
A: 10 feet.
- Q: How many TRAKKABEAM lenses are there?
A: 6 total – 2 clear, 1 amber, 3 IR (compatible with NVGs and the ESS). The amber filter may help crews to see better through mist.
- Q: How do you adjust brightness on the wet compass?
A: The pilot flight instrument rheostat (if the wet compass light is “not working” try to adjust the rheostat).
- Q: what are the two light settings on the search light?
A: Normal and IR.
- Q: Why doesn’t the BRT/DIM toggle switch work?
A: The MSC NVG switch needs to be in NVG for the BRT/DIM toggle to dim the MFDs.
- Q: What else does the MSC NVG switch being in the NVG position do?
A: If there is AC power and a fire is sensed or the T handles are tested, the fire T handles will illuminate momentarily in red then switch to NVG compatible green.