Daylight Operations and Civil Twilight Rules
14 CFR 107.29 draws a precise legal line between three lighting conditions ? daylight, civil twilight, and night ? and the requirements are not what most people assume. Civil twilight is often thought of as "basically still daytime," but under the current rule it carries the same anti-collision lighting requirement as full night. This lesson defines all three periods precisely and explains the current lighting and training requirements; Module 14 covers night operations in additional depth.
Daylight: no special lighting requirement
During standard daylight hours, a Part 107 flight only needs to comply with the base operating rules already covered in this module ? no anti-collision lighting or special night-specific training is required. Daylight, for this purpose, is the period outside of both civil twilight and night as defined below.
Civil twilight: precisely defined, and NOT lighting-exempt
Civil twilight is defined as the 30 minutes before official sunrise through official sunrise, and official sunset through 30 minutes after official sunset (Alaska uses the definitions in the Air Almanac instead, due to its more extreme latitude-driven twilight variation). This is a common point of confusion: many pilots assume civil twilight still counts as "daytime" for regulatory purposes since it's technically before/after full darkness. It does not ? 107.29 requires the exact same anti-collision lighting during civil twilight as during full night.
The anti-collision lighting requirement (night and civil twilight)
For both night and civil twilight operations, the small unmanned aircraft must have lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles, with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision. The remote pilot may reduce the lighting's intensity if they determine that doing so is in the interest of safety given the specific operating conditions ? but the light can never be extinguished entirely; dimming is permitted, turning it off is not.
Training requirement for night operations
Beyond lighting, night operation requires the remote pilot in command to have completed an initial knowledge test or training, as applicable, under 14 CFR 107.65, after April 6, 2021 ? meaning the training must specifically reflect the current night-operations knowledge added by the 2021 rule, not an older pre-2021 test or training cycle. This ties night-flight authorization to a pilot's recency status (Module 1, Lesson H) as well as their lighting compliance.
Historical note: this is NOT the pre-2021 rule
As covered in Module 1's history lesson, night operations under the original 2016 version of Part 107 generally required a waiver. That changed with the rule effective April 21, 2021 ? any night-operation waivers issued before that date became invalid after May 17, 2021, since the underlying rule they authorized deviation from no longer existed in its old form. If you see older material describing night flying as "waiver-only," it is describing a rule that has not been current since 2021.
Real-world scenario: a sunset real estate shoot
A pilot begins a real estate photography flight at 6:45 PM, with official sunset at 7:15 PM. The pilot needs to determine when civil twilight begins ? 30 minutes before official sunset, or 6:45 PM in this example ? and realizes the flight is scheduled to launch right at the edge of that window. To stay compliant, the pilot equips the aircraft with anti-collision lighting from the very start of the flight rather than waiting until it visually "looks dark," since the legal civil-twilight threshold is time-based, not a subjective lighting judgment.
Daylight, civil twilight, and night as defined by 14 CFR 107.29, with lighting requirements marked.
View Larger| Period | Time window | Anti-collision lighting required? | Regulation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | Outside civil twilight and night windows | No | 14 CFR 107.29 |
| Civil twilight (morning) | 30 minutes before official sunrise to official sunrise | Yes, visible 3 statute miles | 14 CFR 107.29 |
| Civil twilight (evening) | Official sunset to 30 minutes after official sunset | Yes, visible 3 statute miles | 14 CFR 107.29 |
| Night | Outside civil twilight, after evening twilight ends | Yes, visible 3 statute miles, plus 107.65 training after Apr 6, 2021 | 14 CFR 107.29 |
| Mistake | Why it happens | Correct understanding | Regulation / source |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Civil twilight counts as daytime, so no lighting is needed." | Assuming twilight is a form of daylight since it isn't fully dark | Civil twilight requires the same anti-collision lighting as full night under 107.29. | 14 CFR 107.29 |
| "Night flying still requires an FAA waiver." | Outdated pre-2021 rule still repeated in older material | Since April 21, 2021, night flight is permitted directly under 107.29 with training and lighting ? no waiver needed. | 14 CFR 107.29 (current) |
| "I can turn off the anti-collision light if conditions seem safe." | Confusing the intensity-reduction allowance with a full shutoff | Lighting intensity may be reduced for safety reasons but the light may never be fully extinguished. | 14 CFR 107.29 |
Do I need a waiver to fly at night or during civil twilight?
No, not under the current rule. Both are permitted directly under 14 CFR 107.29, subject to the anti-collision lighting requirement (both periods) and the 107.65 training requirement (night specifically).
What's the difference between civil twilight and "regular" twilight?
Civil twilight is a precisely defined astronomical period ? 30 minutes before sunrise through sunrise, and sunset through 30 minutes after sunset ? not a subjective description of dim lighting conditions. It has a specific legal meaning under 107.29.
Can I reduce my anti-collision light to its dimmest setting and call it compliant?
Yes, as long as it remains visibly lit and the reduction is genuinely for safety reasons given the operating conditions ? the rule only prohibits extinguishing the light entirely, not dimming it.
Test Your Knowledge
Answer the questions below to check your understanding. Every answer can be found in the lesson above.