Pace
I don't think I agree with some of this.
In reality and this is how the Europeans see it
Where is the evidence for the alleged European perception
- by pilots
- by regulators
It is clear, from informal surveys, that a large % of European pilots would give their right arm for an "IMCR".
You are no doubt right about the regulators though.
it is a very low quality rating designed to get you out of trouble with minimal instrument training and exams.
I don't agree with that one. I had my 20hrs of IMCR training and at the end of that I was able to correctly fly absolutely every plate that you might have stuck under my nose.
When I started IR training (in Europe) I was flying Eurocontrol routes, with an IR instructor in the RHS to make it legal, and right from the start I knew every bit as much about "IFR" as he did.
Do the Europeans who dont have that rating want such poorly trained pilots in cloud risking a collision with commercial traffic? Because that is how they will percieve it.
Again... need to examine the detail. Enroute, GA flies in the big void between the MEAs (FL070 min, FL100 realistically due to routing issues) and practical oxygen ceilings i.e. about FL200, with a few at FL250. The routings don't get allocated to busy areas anyway. Only in terminal areas will the traffic potentially mix but they are under tight radar control and any monkey with a half decent plane can manage that. And nobody without a half decent plane will be flying IFR anyway - one of the many self limiting aspects of airspace usage.
The Europeans have their own IR and viewing the IMCR as a set of low standards far below their IR they are not going to accept it Europe Wide.
I agree, but that is no reason to describe the IMCR in the adverse terms.
It happens to be a bit of a throw-away qualification for many pilots, because the incentive you have to keep something is according to how hard it was to get it.
If, to get the IR, you have to spend well over £10k, a huge amount of residential hassle, give away your left bollo*k, etc, then you will keep it. So.... how many pilots with a valid IR can you see? Very very few - except high net worth private owners, and those using it for a living. Even most instructors let theirs lapse - until they get an airline job offer.
Whereas the IMCR has been much more accessible, as a natural post-PPL qualification which one can do at one's old PPL school. Just like the FAA IR is in the USA, actually
But it also means that a lot of people did it and did not look after it.
The key to getting a private IR which achieves any meaningful penetration in Europe will be
- a greatly cut down ground school
- doable in any PPL school (incl. checkride)
- demonstrated competence i.e. not the 50/55hrs minimum dual time
- training doable using a hood (not the stupid CAA screens)
This has all been done to death before but I just like to jump in when somebody has a go at the IMCR
It served me well for a few years, and I even got a written confirmation from the FAA that it was valid in an N-reg, so I was able to move the plane to N while training for the IR.