FNG,
My flying instructor (at least, the one who instructed me for most of my course) took my into IMC and VFR-on-top to do radio nav - not quite as much fun as aerobatics I'll grant you, but doing radio nav on top was excellent because as well as real IMC experience, it meant the nav-aids were the
only way to navigate.
That IMC experience was worthwhile. But it certainly wasn't the same as flying through the nasty stuff with my next instructor. This definitely was not intentional on her part - we just got stuck the wrong side of the weather, and that was the only way back.
Had I been on my own I'd have had no choice except to divert.
Flying instruments through a thin layer of stratus, or a puffy little cumulus, is certainly not the same as flying through rainclouds a few miles from CB in my limited experience!
Good point about getting a taster for the IMC rating. I have to admit I was impressed by the cloud-scape when I was VFR-on-top. I'm not sure that I will go for the IMC rating, though - I can't see myself keeping current enough to be safe, especially since most of the more "interesting" planes are not IMC-rated.
FFF
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PS - never tell some one "Under no circumstances....." because they will - FNG you know what I'm talking about!
