gasax
It's not a matter of being proud of it; it is a matter of it being genuinely useful.
But the official view is that it is insufficent for flight in IMC (CAA's view)
Do you have a reference for the above? I know it is propagated in some sectors of the PPL training business but I believe that as a statement in isolation it is nonsense. You could say that a PPL is inadequate for flight in VMC, and for the UK airspace you would be right - for the 12hr/2yrs pilot which make up a chunk of the ex-PPL crowd. A PPL is certainly inadequate for flight down the PPL minima, 3k horiz. viz. and is not really adequate for night flying except in very bright conditions. Does that mean the PPL is no good?
You are only as good as your recent currency on type etc, and there is no reason why a pilot with the currency, flying a suitable plane (which is NOT easy to get on self fly hire) should be any less safe than an IR flying the same route etc. If the IMCR is taught as it has been by some; an NDB hold or two and in 15 hrs, that's not good enough but if it is taught by an instructor who knows better then it is every bit good enough.
True about the IMCR dropout rate (most I know have lapsed), but IMHO that only reflects the ridiculous PPL dropout rate. And what causes that? I have a pretty good idea but it's another very long story. But there are plenty of expired IRs around too; half the old instructors I know have lapsed IRs but can teach the IMCR because of grandfather rights. A lot of the younger ones have lapsed IRs too, because they have been waiting for the airline jobs for too many years, but they can teach the IMCR because they got one. Apart from currency, are these people somehow better?
The sad thing, which few instructors will tell you, is that you also need to get a decent plane, which means either getting into a decent group (NOT mostly VFR pilots; such groups tend to disagree when it comes to "nonessential" maintenance like getting the ADF fixed) or buy something yourself. I fly about 150hrs/year in a new £200k plane, IFR or IMC whenever necessary or desirable, and do instrument approaches regularly. I believe that's good enough.
A couple of AAIB reports tell you no more than someone flying with a GPS, flying into a hill in on very straight track, is an example of why GPS should not be used.....
The issues have little to do with the IMC Rating itself; more to do with lack of currency, poor training, and lack of available planes on which the DI doesn't drift a degree per minute and the horizon isn't about to fall out of the dashboard
