So, some of you seem to disagree with my view that good piloting skills should ensure you never end up in IMC with no warning.
OK, let's put to one side the issue of darkness, just for a minute. My comments have been centred on the big accident killer - certainly in Europe, and that is losing orientation and crashing in daylight, in poor weather; low cloud, drizzle rain etc.
Now I still maintain that, assuming you are a VFR pilot in a VFR machine, you should never get into IMC in these conditions, essentially by using the principles I have said earlier. And Banjo, if you read carefully what I said, that is to go lower and slower "and when you get too low turn round and go back, or land." Now if your view of when that point would be is a high hover over a field, that is a big worry. In Europe we have the 500ft rule if relevant and common sense judgement.
I think everyone here agrees that for a VFR pilot disorientation with lack of ground reference, is a very high risk situation. Exactly what happens in the final seconds before the accidents in such conditions.
But now I am puzzled. There are those of you who think such IMC situations cannot be avoided because they can be sudden, and who also accept that entry into such situations is highly dangerous. So what is it, just luck that determines when you have an IMC LOC accident? Perhaps we have found a clue as to why there are so many such accidents, because too many believe such situations cannot be avoided? I certainly would only want to travel with a pilot who believed our safety was firmly in his hands, catastrophic mechanical failure etc apart.
So please tell me, what actions/technique should pilots be employing to ensure they don't end up having these accidents? And it's no good just saying well they shouldn't go, because we all know weather conditions change en route, apart from anything else. What pilots here need is some good, practical advice as to how to handle such poor weather situations when they find them developing, and that's what I have tried to do.
Another tip, by the way, for the novices. When raining, always try and avoid bringing wet clothes into the cabin. A full complement of pax with wet coats will often provide moisture beyond the capability of the demister, leaving you in a virtual IMC condition. And get the screen fully demisted before you lift off.
Night flying? Well I have made comments earlier:
"Night poses greater risks of going inadvertent IMC, but then you've got to be much more cautious. Only follow routes with reasonable ground lighting, keep high, and always be wary of your visibility decreasing. If you could see a town 7 kms away and then it disappears, a big chunk of cloud has just got in the way. Descend until it returns in sight, then think sensibly what to do. Intermittent use of landing light to check for moisture is very valuable."
If you are not absolutely confident a flight can be safely carried out with sufficiently good reference to ground or ambient lighting to avoid IMC entry, you shouldn't be there as a VFR pilot in a VFR machine. The flight must be carried out by an IR pilot in an IFR machine.