Approach lights a bit too dim?

[lgrochal]

Just made some "dense fog" ILS approaches and landings at PHOG, and to make it more interesting (um, OK, less distracting - I seem to have problems focusing on the instruments with fog puffs moving outside :) this time I made it a night landing.

Now, in theory (and correct me if I'm wrong), at night, in fog, approach and runway lights should be far more visible than during daylight (as a halo of light if not as a series of distinct light points). Now, PHOG has a standard approach light system, complete with strobe lights, but it wasn't visible at all (and the plane was within one dot from the glidepath all the time), and the runway edge lights were only visible when I was some 5 meters from them. Overall, I'd say the landing was much more difficult than a 'daytime' one. And my guess is it should be exactly opposite.

So... do I have it wrong and it's just as it should be or is it some problem with the way Flight handles lighs and fog?

[wlayton27]

I think it's the way Flight handles fog and not the way fog would actually look. When flying above the fog the airport lights are visible even in daytime, but as soon as you enter the soup, there's not even a glimmer down there until you're right on top of the runway (maybe 500 feet of visibility). I'm no expert on the matter, but I would have assumed that you would not be able to see the lights from above the fog if there is only 500 feet of visibility in the dense patches.

I didn't find night fog landings more difficult that daytime, but they certainly weren't any easier either.

[lgrochal]

I've been looking for some youtube videos to illustrate the difference.

Here's a dense fog daytime landing at Oslo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOFs-oa-bbc). Cat IIIa, so about the visibility we get in Flight with "foggy" weather preset.

And here's a video of a night landing at Auckland with Cat IIIb minimums. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTajYd3qugY) A lot of reflected light from the landing lights and then even more light from the ground.

Now, not being a pilot (let alone an IR one), I have no idea how this feels when you actually sit there in the cockpit. Hence the question.