I do have sympathy with the view that if you cant afford to pay for a safety pilot or extra training maybe you should pack up . The problem i think , is that on a good vfr day you probably should not need a safety pilot . ( IF you do , then how come you have a licence ???) therefore you only need one when the weather is poor or could be crap enroute .... In that circumstance the safety pilot would need to keep you away from the fluffy stuff before you get too close or into it ...thats fine but it does not actually help you on the next trip where you expect good vfr but stumble too far into it .....THIS is the point where things go tits up and you have no tool in your box to deal with it . Why ? Because your training kept you out of it ....then your safety pilot kept you out of it . Now 200 hrs later and cockier, you STILL are totally unprepared for the day it happens . This day will be the first time you have EVER been at the controls in cloud/mist/heavy rain with a misted up shield/or even flying into a low sun over water . ( all of these mean going onto instruments for a period of time ) I would love to have a show of hands and see how many ppl,s have flown in actual ifr in cloud ...my guess is maybe 10% . I think this is a shocking statistic ( if true ) and is one of the main areas that the training lets us down . There are plenty of days that one could ( forget the rules) practice flying in cloud in your own R22, R44, 206 etc quite safely with an instructor and i believe that 10 hrs actual would definitely save lives . The first time i flew my machine in cloud i would have DEFINITELY lost it in 30 secs if alone ( i have always found flying on instruments with a hood and instructor v easy !!! 180,s NO problem . 360 with no loss of height NO problem ) After about 2 hrs of actual i dont feel at all confident but i at least have given myself a chance .
FACT. If you fly one day you may possibly end up in cloud even for a second or two . FACT. you have a better chance of keeping it together if you have experienced it at least once before . Look at the statistics and tell me the old way is working .