Lowering cloud base rising terrain

[Fuji Abound]

"You seem to contradict yourself. If setting off into a 500ft overcast IFR is very hard then how is doing the same thing unplanned equal or less of a risk......isn't the risk greather?"

I dont mean to be personal but it is difficult to have a constructive discussion if you dont want to read what is said. It still seems to be quite clear that I was not talking about setting off into a 500 foot overcast in isolation. I was considering a combination of factors that would make an IFR sector very tough even for an experienced pilot. In fact, and if there is any risk you are a commercial pilot with not a lot of SEP IR time, way above your ability to cope even if you had planned for it - and that is a constructive comment because I have had CURRENT high hours commercial pilots fly in a SEP IMC without an auto pilot and found the going very tough - and before you say it, that is why I have consistently said you must be SEP CURRENT.


"However the CAA and AOPA and every other safety organisation warns us not to fly VFR into IFR unless it is an emergency and then warn us that we risk a sizeable chance of not making it."

Is that another sound bite? Where do they say instrument rated pilots should not transition VFR to IFR. In fact I am even more sceptical because I suspect they would say "transition from VMC to IMC" since transitioning from VFR to IFR may mark no change what so ever in the met conditions.


"I disagree. Getting an instrument rating will give a different skill set and in some cases a bit more knowledge. It will not improve your ability as a pilot it will usually take a poor pilot and enable that pilot fly operate poorly both VFR and IFR!"

One suspects the reason why an increase in the instrument time for a PPL was introduced in the syllabus was because the CAA felt a pilot would be better able to cope with certain conditions. A different skill - yes, a more skilled pilot -definitely yes, therefore a more skilled pilot, ???????


"What is the rate of loss of control (VFR and IFR) and CFIT incidents on private flights like sine the IMC than before the IMC?"


I dont know - please enlighten us.


"Actually as stated previously, that is not the case even in the sim where as I said a large number of them killed themselves by omitting something as simple as switching on the Pitot Heat!"

I am a great believer in actually reading the research that was done. Unless I have missed something the researchers did NOT take a bunch of SEP CURRENT IR pilots.


"even if it will make your flight illegal?"

Now that really does take the biscuit. I dont mind people being rude or simply not knowing what they are talking about - all part of the fun on these forums but I do worry about the suggestion of doing something illegal. Please enlighten all of us?


As I said previously I have learned a great deal from this forum. As a new pilot it gave me much encouragement to do things like take on an enjoy instrument flying. Yep, I would be the first to accept the risks of instrument flying are greater than flying in good VMC but then so is flying a greater risk than driving your car. Flying is risk management at its best. Yep, as a very old and wise pilot once told me there is only one thing better than four engines and that is five.

However because of what I have gained from this forum I cannot accept postings that give such an unbalanced point of view and far more importantly appear to be supported by quotes taken out of context. That only discourages other new pilots from for example gaining an instrument rating - which IMHO is a very bad thing.

Constructively tell me I am wrong by all means, tell us of your own experience and we can have an interesting debate.

WR - I think on the whole we do respect each others opinions and certainly should. However as I have tried to explain opinions which are supported by research or information misquoted is dangerous as are unsupported suggestions we are behaving illegally.

I wholly take your other points and as I said before I respect any pilot who prefers never to fly on instruments for whatever reason. Frankly, as much as I enjoy instrument flying, I would far rather watch the scenery go by if I had to chose only one or the other.

Finally to stick my neck out if I were a CURRENT IR pilot I can think of very very few situations I would not climb IMC to the MSA in the circumstances you describe. One would be a serious risk of icing, another a risk of embedded CB's and the last not knowing what was ahead before I reached MSA. The first two I would want to know about before I ever set off and I would like to think I definitely would not have gone if either were a risk and I even might have to go IMC. That only therefore leaves the third - which is a problem as you say only resolvable at the time.