Depends how you look at it Centaurus.
Sure, most pilots spend their time in IMC on autopilot these days, but I believe you still need those instrument flying skills, to ensure that what the autopilot is doing, is what it should be doing and everything is all working out as it should be. I've seen even the most advanced autopilots, do things that they shouldn't be doing.
The thing is, where does it say that IF time should only be logged while hand flying anyway? The company I work for, recommends the use of the autopilot for as much of the flight as possible to reduce pilot workload, among other things. If I could only log IF for the times that I were handflying, then it'd take me a month to log 0.1 IF!
Imagine the consequences because of lack of recency.
It depends on what that pilots experience is. It could be 6,000hrs of airline flying, which could be difficult to prove 600hrs of instrument flying time. However, if it were say 6,000hrs of previous turbo-prop experience, then there's a fair chance that they could well have near 600hrs IF time (sitting right in the weather a lot of the time). That said, I believe that as a rough proportion, IF time shouldn't exceed anymore than 10-12% of someone's total time.
I'll give you an example. Last week, I did a 7.8hr day. Of that 7.8hrs, which was in a turbo-prop, I only saw the ground during take off and landing, plus a bit more on descent into one of my destinations. Therefore I thought it quite legitimate, to log 6hrs IF.
The other thing, and this'll really open a can of worms. It's a dark, black, outback night. No visible horizon, very little ground lighting, you're completely reliant on your instruments. IF time? I can't see why not....
morno
Last edited by morno; 31st May 2013 at 11:52.