Night flying can be much calmer — and beautiful, too

the Question: cockpit How during does a it night feel to flight be in when it’s completely dark outside and you can’t see anything?

— Deep, Norfolk, Va. Answer: Flying at night can be beautiful, but on a moonless night over the ocean when there is nothing to see, pilots concentrate on the internal sights within the flight deck. There is no difference in the feeling.

Q: Is it true that night flights are calmer than the ones at noon, especially in tropical climates?

— Fred Joseph, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

A: Afternoon heating can cause thunderstorms if the atmospheric conditions are right. While thunderstorms can occur at night, there are fewer of them.

Yes, night flights tend to be less turbulent than midafternoon flights because of atmospheric heating. Q: Is it easier to fly at night or day? — Jill Smith, no location given A: It is probably easier to fly during the day because of the improved visibility.

Q: What’s the prettiest city from the air at night?

— Joe Henson, Greenville, S.C. A: Hong Kong. It is a sea of neon surrounded by the black ocean.

Q: How rare is the phenomenon St. Elmo’s Fire?

— Alecx Rawson, Garden Valley, Idaho

A: It is pretty common. I have seen St. Elmo’s fire hundreds of times. At night, watching the liquid “fire” run up and down the windscreen is fascinating.

St. Elmo’s fire is luminescent discharge of static electricity visible when the static charge builds up as the airplane flies through precipitation. It can take various forms, sometimes miniature lightning and other times a glowing blue liquid plasma.