Night Rating
Extend your flying beyond sunset. A short, focused course that teaches you to fly safely at night — and that PPL holders need to fly as pilot-in-command after dark.
About the course
Your flying doesn’t have to stop at sunset
Night flying is a different world: fewer visual cues, new illusions and a different approach to planning. The Night Rating teaches you to handle it safely, so a late return from a cross-country is no longer a problem.
In Zimbabwe a pilot needs either a Night Rating or an Instrument Rating to act as pilot-in-command at night. It’s a visual rating — it doesn’t allow flight under instrument flight rules.
What it lets you do
- Act as pilot-in-command at night (visual flight rules)
- Lets PPL holders fly at night
- Adds night experience that counts towards your CPL
- Note: flying in cloud or under IFR needs an Instrument Rating
Before you start
- Hold a pilot licence (PPL or higher)
- A valid medical certificate for that licence
- Be current on the aircraft type you’ll train in
Minimum experience
| Dual night instruction | 5 hrs |
|---|---|
| Flights as pilot-in-command | 5 |
| Take-offs & landings as PIC | 5 + 5 |
Minimums from the Civil Aviation (Personnel Licensing) Regulations, 2019 (S.I. 176 of 2019), section 70.
Your training journey
How the course runs
Night theory
Night vision and dark adaptation, illusions, aircraft and aerodrome lighting, night navigation and emergencies.
Dual night circuits
Take-offs, circuits and landings at night with your instructor.
Night navigation
Dual navigation at night — planning, lighting and keeping your bearings over sparsely lit country.
Solo night flights
Your five flights as pilot-in-command, then instructor sign-off and the CAAZ application.
Ground school
What you’ll learn
Exams & test
Training is completed with your instructor at our ATO, and we handle the CAAZ application with you. Ask us about any flight check CAAZ requires for initial issue.
Validity: 24 months. Renew it with 5 take-offs and 5 landings at night as pilot-in-command in the previous 6 months.
Recency: to fly at night you need 3 take-offs and 3 landings at night in the previous 90 days.
Why it matters
Trained to understand, not just to pass
“In the absence of all other standards, maintain your own.” — the standard we hold ourselves to.
A licence is the start, not the goal. What counts is how you handle the moment something doesn’t go to plan — and that comes down to how deeply you were trained.
Over the years, Guthrie-trained pilots have gone on to fly for — and reach the senior levels of — some of the world’s most recognised airlines, including Cathay Pacific, Emirates and Qatar Airways, and to serve as chief pilots for corporate operators and private families.
Training at Charles Prince (FVCP)
A focused course that fits around you
Five hours of dual night instruction plus your solo night flights — it fits around work and family.
Every night lesson is flown with your own instructor beside you.
A CAAZ Approved Training Organisation (certificate 0006), also approved by the Ministry of Higher Education (0162/98). Training here since 1995.
Questions
Frequently asked
Do I need a Night Rating with a CPL?
CPL training already includes night flying (5 hours as pilot-in-command, with 10 night take-offs and landings), and night flying is a CPL privilege.
Does a Night Rating let me fly in cloud?
No. It’s a visual rating. To fly in cloud or under IFR you need an Instrument Rating.
How do I keep it current?
Renew every 24 months with 5 night take-offs and landings as pilot-in-command in the previous 6 months, and keep 3 night take-offs and landings in the last 90 days to stay current for night flying.
Request information
Ask us about the Night Rating
Tell us where you are now and what you’d like to achieve. We’ll come back with the next intake, a training plan and costs.
Fly beyond sunset
Ask about Night Rating dates and we’ll fit the training around your schedule.