Waiting for it to get a little bit darker before going flying. I try to get to the field early enough so that I'm not doing a preflight by flashlight. One can miss things in the dark that will pop out by daylight.
It probably helped that I had flown earlier. The transponder light was out; my mechanic recommending climbing up high enough so that Kansas City Center could see me, so see if the bulb was out or if the unit was out. ZKC could see me, with a good altitude readout. All I need to know.
The bright moon helps a bit. At least I can tell the difference between forested land and fields if the engine quits. I can't see if there are any significant obstructions or power lines, though. I'm less willing to take that risk than I once was.
I shot four landings on this flight and four the night before. The first few were kind of sketchy. All were straight, but a couple were more "arrivals". If MAC has a seismograph, they might have seen one or two.
