Yep, that's pretty much it.
All of this is specific to the UK, but to clarify a bit, in the UK:
- A PPL will let you fly almost anywhere at all, but only in VMC, and in sight of the surface, and only during the day (we'll leave the definition of "day" for another thread!)
You can fly in Class A, but only Special VFR. And Special VFR only exists in a Control Zone. There are two Class A control zones in the UK where this is useful, London and the Channel Islands. Any other Class A, you won't be able to fly in with a vanilla PPL.
- A Night Qualification extends these priveleges to the night time. Note that there is no such thing as VFR at night in the UK, all flights must be IFR. But if you just have a vanilla PPL/Night then you are still restricted to VMC, even though IFR.
- An IMC rating lets you fly in Class D airspace and below in IMC, or out of sight of the surface (i.e. above the clouds). It is only valid in the UK. Since Class C isn't used in the UK, and class B is only used for the upper airspace, for all practical purposes you are correct in saying that it is valid in all airspace except class A, but that's not how it's actually defined. (And I suppose, theoretically, you might one day fly something which is capable of reaching Class B, in which case there is a practical difference.)
In addition to this, IMC holders have recommended minima for instrument approaches which are much higher than those for an IR. Although these limits are just recommendations, I don't think you'll find any non-IR holders who will ever go below these limits.
- An IR lets you fly in IMC in all airspace. It is recognised internationally. The recommended limits on approaches are also removed, so you can fly the approach to the limits of that particular approach.
That's a brief summary, lots of details missing, but should be enough for most practical purposes. Hope it helps.
FFF
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