Definition
A night flight training method in which the cockpit and instrument panel lighting is intentionally extinguished or covered to simulate a complete electrical or lighting failure, requiring the pilot to fly the aircraft and read the instruments using only a handheld flashlight.
Plain English
A practice exercise where the instructor turns off or blocks the cockpit lights at night so the student has to fly using only a flashlight, as if the airplane's electrical lighting had failed.
Context Anchor
Seen in night flight training, especially when preparing for lighting failures, poor outside visibility, or a dark landing area.
Derivation
From 'blackout,' meaning a sudden loss of light or visibility. The name reflects what the exercise simulates: the cockpit going dark in flight.
Why Pilots Care
Teaches pilots to avoid spatial disorientation and loss of control when night visual cues disappear unexpectedly.
Grounding Statement
The essential idea is: practice the dark situation before it happens for real.
Intuition Check
Blackout training does not mean training until a pilot blacks out or loses consciousness. Here, blackout means a dark or reduced-light flight situation.
Example Sentence 1
During blackout training, the instructor covered the panel lights and the student flew the pattern using a flashlight to scan the instruments.
Example Sentence 2
After several blackout training sessions the pilot became comfortable maintaining altitude and heading without any outside lights or horizon.