The night rating allows a pilot to fly an aeroplane in night visual flight conditions (VFR). Night is a pleasant time to fly because the winds die down, as does thermal turbulence. Flying under the stars is usually calm. As a recreational flyer, the ability to fly at night gives you more flying opportunities.
Night flights with this rating must be conducted with line-of-sight to the ground. There are fewer ground reference points; there may be a lack of a clearly visible horizon; there is an increased risk of accidentally flying into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) when flying at night as you cannot see the clouds clearly. For this reason, training is required for night visual flying.
Night flying training will improve your competence, enhance your confidence and add polish to your daytime skills such as traffic circuit flying and touch and go landings.