For the last time:
1. In the UK, the IMC Rating and the IR are both 'IFR ratings'.
2. Filing a Flight Plan is NOT required for ANY flight outside CAS in the UK -there is NO SUCH THING as ATC 'clearance' outside CAS.
3. Safe separation in IMC is only available with a radar service. It is the responsibility of the aircraft commander to request either a RIS or RAS at the time with the ATCRU with whom communication is established.
4. Stick-and-rudder skills are comprehensively tested in simulated or actual IF by Examiners in both the IR and IMC Rating Skill Tests.
5. The IMC Rating does not permit flight in Class A airspace, the IR does.
6. Because the procedures are DIFFERENT in the UK to the US, re-training US-trained PPL holders IS essential. Perhaps I should have said 'further training'; this is not meant to imply that US pilots are necessarily inferior.
7. 'Nit-picking about definitions' is not what we've been doing in this thread. It is VITAL to know and understand the REQUIREMENTS for flight in the UK and especially for safe flight in cloud and/or reduced visibility. It is also essential that pilots understand the privileges of their licences and associated ratings.
8. In case you missed it, A FLIGHT PLAN GIVES NO GUARANTEE OF SAFE SEPARATION IN IMC IN THE UK!!! Nor can ANY 'clearance' be given outside controlled airspace.
Have a nice dayee........
[This message has been edited by BEagle (edited 05 February 2001).]