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Old 31st Oct 2008, 13:35
  #54 (permalink)  
Gomer Pylot
 
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I agree that pilots should be IFR qualified, and AFAIK most, if not all, companies require an IFR rating for EMS pilots. Having the aircraft IFR qualified would also be advantageous, both for inadvertent IMC and for safer cruise in VMC. I know that Sikorsky, and perhaps others, have demonstrated IFR approaches to a hover, to confined landing areas. With the proper equipment it might be possible to do roll-your-own instrument approaches to scenes, provided you can be assured of getting accurate coordinates. However, the present regulatory environment won't permit that. Bureaucracy always moves slowly, and permission to do Part 135 IFR approaches and departures from ad hoc locations isn't going to happen any time soon, nor are most companies willing to pay for the capability. I hope it happens sometime, but in the short term, a decade or so, it ain't gonna happen.
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