Do you as a member of the public want to trust your nice Grandmother's life to a pilot with only 15 hours training?
DFC you seem to have quite a low opinion of IMCR pilots. (see DFC bottom of P3 and Fuji Abound bottom of P1 expressing concern about IMCR pilots)
Can I point out that (IMHO) the deciding factor is 'currency' and not the rating you hold. I would agree that someone who obtained an IMCR eighteen months previously and hasn't bothered to maintain currency are deluding themselves if they think they can safely make it back from L2K in solid clag.
But at the same time this applies equally to IR pilots. There are plenty of CPL/IR jet jockeys at our club who would baulk at the prospect of a solid IMC trip, even with a known 800' base, or better, at the destination. On the other hand many of our IMCRs would relish the prospect and enjoy every minute.
This is probably because you jet jockeys fly on fully auto systems most of the time and so, like everyone else, the manual skills decay. A quick brush up in a simulator once a year doesn't compare with being banged around in the real thing every week.
Those CPL/IRs who are on top of the game have probably achieved this through keeping close links to their GA origins - not sim checks.
I know who I would rather trust my Grandmother's life with . . . any IR or IMCR pilot who flies at least 2 hours a month in the clag on manual ! (and not just someone in a shiny blue suit, epaulettes and a platinum IR badge)
