Was in a similar situation
Aircraft : C172 With GPS IFR APPROVED
Was instructor on board for IFR Cross country..
Route: Bakersfield CA to Torrance CA
Torrance was reporting 1000 SCT and TAF actually predicted
Broken to scattered clouds for arrival.
Enroute Just over burbank noticed Alternator Failure ..
Instruments Unreliable .. Battery Was Draining Out.
Communication was starting to get scrambeled.
And to add to it Torrance became Overcast ..
Entire Southern California Stretch became OVC and the nearest VFR airports were on the other side of the mountains which themselves rise upto 9000 feet ..
SOCAL vectored me to Final APPR
and infact brought me down until 1000 feet but runway/airfield was not in sight .
I was transfered to Torrance Tower with whom I confirmed that I was on the extended centreline. Tower also informed me that an aircraft which landed before me called in the ceiling to be 700 OVC. So I asked the tower to give me a call about 10 seconds before I hit the 2 DME point.
With some basic calculations I predicted that the Aircraft can safely be at 600 feet when 2 DME out on an approach and decided to go down safely until that altitude.
Tower called me 2 DME Out I started a comfortable 400 FPM descent and entered IMC at about 1000 feet and was out by 650 feet and the runway stood there infront of me majestically lit !
p.s. today i dont get to do these things on the BUS !
