Flying Drones at Night Under Part 107

You may fly a small drone at night under Part 107 without a night waiver when two conditions are met: the remote pilot in command has completed qualifying updated knowledge testing or training, and the aircraft has flashing anti-collision lighting visible for at least three statute miles. The light must have a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision.

Those two conditions open the door to routine night operation. They do not replace the rest of Part 107. The pilot must still maintain visual line of sight, meet weather minimums, obtain controlled-airspace authorization when required, check flight restrictions, yield to other aircraft, comply with Remote ID, and address operations over people or moving vehicles.

Night changes what the pilot can see, how the aircraft appears, and how quickly a marginal situation can become confusing. A professional plan should therefore distinguish the legal entry conditions from the broader go/no-go decision.

The two legal gates for routine night flight

14 CFR §107.29 is the controlling federal rule.

The remote PIC must meet the §107.29 knowledge condition

The remote PIC must have completed an initial knowledge test or training, as applicable, under §107.65 after April 6, 2021. The updated test and FAA recurrent courses include night-operation knowledge.

A pilot whose most recent qualifying knowledge event predates that change must complete a qualifying FAA knowledge event after that date before a night operation. The FAA currently provides recurrent training online. The pilot must also remain generally current under the 24-calendar-month rule.

As a professional recordkeeping practice, keep the course completion or test evidence available in the program's training record. For the complete initial and recurrent process, see How to Get a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate.

The aircraft must have qualifying anti-collision lighting

The small unmanned aircraft must have lighted anti-collision lighting that:

• Is visible for at least three statute miles.
• Flashes.
• Has a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision.
• Remains illuminated during the night operation.

FAA Advisory Circular 107-2A says the remote pilot may rely on a manufacturer's statement that a light is visible for three statute miles. It also makes the remote PIC ultimately responsible for verifying that the light is operational, has the required visibility, and has an adequate flash rate at the operating location.

That final phrase matters. Fog, haze, precipitation, terrain, buildings, orientation, mounting position, and an obstructed lens can affect conspicuity. A product label does not excuse launching with a blocked, damaged, discharged, or improperly mounted light.

Night, civil twilight, and daylight are different periods

Part 107 uses an aviation definition of night. Under AC 107-2A, night is the period between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight, as published in the Air Almanac and converted to local time.

Except in Alaska:

• Evening civil twilight runs from sunset until 30 minutes after sunset.
• Morning civil twilight runs from 30 minutes before sunrise until sunrise.

In Alaska, use the civil-twilight period defined in the Air Almanac rather than the 30-minute period.

Anti-collision lighting is also required during civil twilight. The special post-April 6, 2021 training condition in §107.29(a)(1) is written for night operation, but a pilot still needs current aeronautical knowledge to exercise remote-PIC privileges at any time.

Use an authoritative sunrise and sunset source for the exact location and date. Do not estimate from how bright the horizon appears or from the time at a distant city.

When the light can be dimmed

Section 107.29 allows the remote PIC to reduce the intensity of the anti-collision lighting when operating conditions make that reduction in the interest of safety. The pilot may not extinguish it.

AC 107-2A gives the example of a bright strobe near the pilot interfering with the ability to observe the aircraft's location, speed, attitude, or altitude. Other operational concerns can include glare reflected by fog, a nearby surface, or a light-colored structure.

This is a safety judgment, not a way to avoid the three-mile equipment requirement. Start with a compliant installation. If intensity is reduced in flight, retain enough conspicuity to support collision avoidance. As a professional practice, document the reason when the change affected the mission.

Rules that remain fully in force

Night flight does not create a separate operating envelope.

LAANC authorization can include night operations at participating airports when the request fits the system and applicable grid. FAA DroneZone remains the route for other Part 107 airspace authorizations. If the mission needs an operational waiver and controlled-airspace authorization, the operator may need both.

A UAS Facility Map altitude is not permission to fly. It is a planning value used in the authorization process.

Build the night decision before arriving on site

A strong night mission begins while there is still time to change the plan.

Confirm the legal basis

Identify the operating rule, pilot, aircraft, location, time window, airspace, and any approval. Verify the pilot's recurrent-training date rather than merely checking that the person owns a certificate card.

Confirm aircraft registration, Remote ID configuration, and operations-over-people eligibility when relevant. Read every condition in a waiver or authorization. A waiver may authorize deviation from the lighting provisions in §107.29(a)(2) or (b), but not from the §107.29(a)(1) knowledge condition. It may also add training, reporting, or crew conditions. Separate controlled-airspace authorization may still be required.

Survey the site with night conditions in mind

When practical, inspect an unfamiliar site in daylight and again after dark. Daylight helps reveal wires, branches, antennae, guy wires, cranes, uneven ground, reflective surfaces, and possible emergency landing areas. The night review shows which hazards disappear into the background and which lights create glare or visual confusion.

Record:

• The launch and recovery area.
• Planned and contingency flight paths.
• Maximum obstacle elevations and horizontal buffers.
• Nearby airports, heliports, hospital routes, and known low-level aircraft activity.
• Public access points and methods for keeping nonparticipants out of the operating area.
• Sources of electromagnetic interference or control-link obstruction.
• Lighting that could be mistaken for the aircraft.
• Safe locations for the pilot and visual observer.

The site plan should work if a display fails, the light becomes unreliable, the link degrades, or the aircraft cannot return to the planned landing point.

Set limits stricter than the legal minimum when needed

Three statute miles of regulatory flight visibility does not mean every three-mile-visibility mission is supportable. The aircraft, obstacle environment, background illumination, mission path, pilot experience, and weather trend may require a larger margin.

Establish limits for sustained wind, gust spread, precipitation, visibility, ceiling, temperature, battery reserve, crew fatigue, and distance before launch. Use the aircraft manufacturer's current limitations. A small handheld anemometer describes conditions near the instrument; it does not show wind at every altitude or point on the route.

Use official aviation weather products for the larger picture and a site observation for local conditions. Note the observation time because a forecast or METAR can become stale while the crew sets up.

Inspect the light as part of the aircraft

Treat the anti-collision light as safety equipment, not an accessory added after the ordinary preflight.

Check:

• The claimed visibility and flash behavior.
• Mounting security and whether the airframe or payload blocks it from relevant directions.
• Lens condition and contamination.
• Charge or power source.
• Control mode and the possibility of accidental deactivation.
• Effect on compass, GPS, command link, payload, cooling, or aircraft balance.
• Added weight and its effect on performance.
• Power draw and the resulting flight-time reserve.

AC 107-2A specifically tells remote pilots to consider whether the lighting reduces power available for flight and whether the planned duration should be shortened.

A manufacturer's statement can establish the equipment basis for the three-mile claim, but the remote PIC remains responsible for verifying operation and visibility at the location. An improvised observer check at a chosen distance is not a substitute for that documentation and a site-specific check for obstruction, mounting, weather, and local visibility.

Prepare the pilot's vision

FAA human-factors guidance explains that dark adaptation takes time and that bright light can severely degrade it. In a drone operation, phone screens, vehicle headlights, work lights, and a controller display that is brighter than necessary can reduce the ability to detect dim hazards and other aircraft.

Before launch:

• Reduce unnecessary white light in the operating area.
• Set displays to the lowest level that remains usable.
• Position vehicles and crew lights so they do not shine into the pilot's eyes.
• Allow time for the crew's vision to adapt after exposure to bright light.
• Use lighting that supports ground safety without washing out the flight scene.
• Discuss visual illusions, fatigue, and each crewmember's fitness for duty.

AC 107-2A warns that reduced lighting and contrast can make it difficult to determine the aircraft's location, attitude, altitude, and direction. The anti-collision light is intended to improve conspicuity to other airspace users. It does not automatically give the remote pilot enough visual information to satisfy VLOS.

If the aircraft becomes only an ambiguous flashing point, reduce distance or terminate the operation before required visual information is lost.

Brief the crew around clear triggers

The remote PIC is the final authority, but a visual observer can improve scanning and workload management. Under §107.33, the remote PIC, visual observer, and person manipulating the controls must maintain effective communication and coordinate to scan for collision hazards and maintain awareness of the aircraft.

Agree on plain-language calls before launch:

• Traffic direction and relative altitude.
• Obstacle warning.
• Loss of visual reference.
• Light failure or obstruction.
• Command-link degradation.
• Low battery and landing trigger.
• Unauthorized person entering the area.
• Immediate land and emergency land commands.

Identify who watches the aircraft while the remote PIC checks a display. Confirm how the team will communicate if radios fail. High-visibility clothing and site-control lights can protect the ground crew, but they should not create glare or suggest that bystanders are participating in the operation.

Night launch checklist

Use this launch aid for a standard Part 107 operation. Read every applicable waiver and airspace-authorization condition before flight.

Required by rule

• Pilot: The remote PIC has a Remote Pilot Certificate, current privileges under §107.65, and an applicable post-April 6, 2021 knowledge test or training event for night operation. Keep the certificate and identification readily accessible.
• Aircraft and light: Registration and marking are current; the aircraft is in a condition for safe operation; and its anti-collision light is operating, unobstructed, supportably visible for at least three statute miles, and flashes fast enough to avoid a collision.
• Preflight and limits: Complete the §107.49 assessment and briefing. Maintain VLOS, at least three statute miles of flight visibility at the control station, required cloud clearance, right of way, and applicable speed and altitude limits.
• Permissions: Satisfy applicable ATC authorization, flight-restriction, operations-over-people or moving-vehicle, and Remote ID requirements.

Conditions and exceptions

• Civil twilight: The lighting clauses apply. The post-April 6, 2021 night-knowledge clause is written for night, although §107.65 recency applies whenever a pilot exercises remote-PIC privileges.
• Controlled airspace: Prior ATC authorization applies in Class B, C, D, and airport-designated surface Class E airspace. Stay within its location, time, and altitude terms.
• Waiver: A waiver may authorize deviation from §107.29(a)(2) or (b) lighting, not the §107.29(a)(1) knowledge condition. Follow every waiver term.
• Visual observer: A visual observer is optional. If one is used, the communication, visibility, and coordination duties in §107.33 apply.

Professional recommendations

• Survey an unfamiliar site in daylight and after dark for wires, obstacles, glare, public access, and alternate landing areas.
• Check the light's documentation, mounting, lens, power source, aircraft effects, and impact on flight-time reserve. Use aircraft and program limits stricter than legal minima when conditions warrant.
• Brief dark adaptation, display and vehicle-light glare, visual illusions, crew calls, lost-link behavior, light failure, low battery, and alternate landing.
• Record the aircraft and light configuration, checks, times, weather, any intensity reduction and reason, anomalies, and corrective action.

Remote-PIC judgment

• Reduce light intensity only when the remote PIC determines that doing so is in the interest of safety. Never extinguish the light during a standard-rule night operation.
• Do not launch when required evidence, permission, aircraft performance, or operating conditions are unsupported. Delay, redesign, or cancel when residual mission risk is unacceptable even though the legal minima are met.
• Reassess in flight and land or terminate for loss of required visual capability, light failure, traffic conflict, worsening conditions, or an unsafe aircraft condition.

In-flight and postflight discipline

During flight, continually compare actual conditions with the assumptions used for launch. Terminate or land if the aircraft can no longer be observed as required, the light fails, weather deteriorates, another aircraft creates a conflict, an unbriefed person enters the hazard area, or the system is no longer in a condition for safe operation.

After landing, record the flight and any deviation while details are fresh. A useful night entry includes:

• Pilot currency confirmation.
• Aircraft and light configuration.
• Preflight light check.
• Actual launch and landing times.
• Weather and visibility observations.
• Crew and communication method.
• Lighting intensity reduction and reason, if used.
• Anomalies, aborts, public interaction, or corrective action.

Part 107 Flight Logs: Required Versus Recommended explains which records are generally mandatory and which are professional practice.

Night flying under Part 107 is routine only in the regulatory sense that a special night waiver is no longer normally required. Operationally, darkness still deserves deliberate preparation, conservative limits, and a crew willing to stop when the visual picture is no longer clear.