Originally Posted by
Mr. Vice
2) Know the safety altitude and if it is above the base of controlled airspace for each leg:
The ideal options in poor weather should be to step around, turn around and finally if caught out accept it and carry out a low level abort to a safe altitude. Once you make the decision that the weather is unfit and you cannot turn around or step around the weather then level the wings transfer to instruments, forget EVERYTHING else and get yourself straight and level above safety altitude. I would much rather have to apologies on the telephone to an ATC agency for an infringement then to find myself in the side of a hill due to not wanting to abort into controlled airspace, neither situation ideal but one is certainly better than the other.
Very good point. The decision of transferring to instruments and climbing into IMC is a tough one but in some cases the only one. The question then would be if the pilot would be competent of flying in IMC for the first time and in an already tense situation.
Often times, the VFR/GA pilot gets caught in trouble because of a lack of assertiveness. I've read accident reports that involve a Controller telling a GA pilot off by saying something like "Unless it is an emergency, you can't do this or that", replied by "Uhhhm, okay, sorry to bother, I'm leaving your airspace, bye" and then the guy goes to crash somewhere else. The guy didn't want to admit he was in an emergency for whatever reason, pride, embarrassment, whatever, but it cost him his life.
VFR into IMC is an emergency situation. It is appropriate to declare an emergency, to squawk 7700 and all the drill. Climb into CAS if you need to. Don't "request", just "inform" of what you're doing. They will separate the IFR guys from you.