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IMCR can be much more than a "get you home" rating; it allows you to fly safely on many UK days where VFR flying would be risky. But it's not "IFR-Lite".
Why not??? What is the actual operational difference? Having to work out Eurocontrol routings?
I expressed myself badly. I meant, it doesn't have to be an IFR-Lite; it's useful even at the more limited scope that I described.
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And it certainly isn't en-route IFR; I think that's pretty much irrelevant to UK flying.
Only because one "can" fly around the UK in Class G, at low levels. But a reasonably long trip is possible in the UK, south to Scotland can be 500nm. Why not fly it full IFR?
I put that badly too! I meant that IMCR enables you to fly on many days when you could not fly VFR. Jim Thorpe's en-route IFR rating doesn't, as unless the cloudbase is high enough to
guarantee it will remain above MSA then you can't use it. And if the weather is that good, you could fly VFR below.
But nothing wrong with long IFR trips in the UK on IMCR - I've certainly done that myself on many occasions. But I'm cautious to make sure that TAFs are good enough that I won't have to risk an instrument approach below my personal minimum of 800 feet.