VFR and IFR

[damo1089]

I'm starting training next year, but I'm just wondering what the differences between the two are.
My thoughts are that if you are flying VFR, you fly in relation to the ground, on clear days, under clouds, and if you fly IFR, you could put curtains on your windows and fly from one place to another by only looking at your instruments. How accurate are my assumptions?

Could one 'decide' that they wanted to fly IFR from VFR mid flight?

I'm also curious as to whether VFR pilots read instruments at all? I'm asking this because I read that a VFR pilot crashed into the sea during foggy weather. How hard is it to read an altimeter and/or vertical speed indicator?

Thanks :)

[Gearup2]

IFR- are a set of regulations and procedures for flying an aircraft where navigation and obstacle clearance is maintained with reference to aircraft instruments, while separation from other aircraft is provided by ATC (in most situations anyway)

VFR-the pilot is ultimately responsible for navigation, obstacle clearance and traffic separation using the see-and-avoid concept. I.e. fixing your position by the map to ground technique which generally means you need to have 3-5 km Visibility and remain clear of cloud (Reasonably good weather).:ugh:

There is many variations/scenarios and rules for both but you will learn the in's and outs in your training. You can upgrade to IFR mid flight or downgrade to VFR mid flight.

You will soon work out how to use the VSI and ALT not hard at all.

Good luck with your flying:ok:

Gearup

[Victor India]

damo,

Gearup has given a good summary, but I'd like to add that the reason a VFR pilot might flight fly into the sea in foggy weather is not because he cannot read a VSI or altimeter. In fact, he most certainly should be able to read both if he has passed ANY flight test, including first solo (strictly VFR).

More important in flying in crappy weather is that you can interpret and set attitudes by reference to the attitude indicator/artificial horizon (many different names for similar instruments), and also that you can maintain attitude control of the aircraft for the duration of the flight (perhaps many hours?) with primary reference to that instrument and the power setting. This takes lots of practice and a dedication to disciplined 'scanning' of the instruments, and these techniques should be taught thoroughly during instrument flight training. A good ballpark figure I use is 80% time spent on the PFD, 20% for other instruments and ALL other tasks in the aircraft. This changes somewhat with a good autopilot, but regular scanning still needs to occur.

The absence of good skills in this area will rarely lead to fatality in visual flying but will most certainly lead to serious accident/fatality in IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions).

Good luck with your career.

VI

[PyroTek]

How hard is it to read an altimeter and/or vertical speed indicator?
VSI/ALT could have been broken, due to possible static vent blockage, or reading wrong due to being set incorrectly.:ok:

[overhere]

I think you'll find that VFR pilot flew into the sea in Vic due to turning out to sea in low vis conditions and lost total reference to a visual horizon. As a VFR pilot he unfortunately probably didn't have a scan rate quick enough to pick up the descent at low level prior to impacting the water.

Pyro - you don't "set" a VSI and even if a static vent was blocket the AH will show an attitude change away from S&L - as will the ASI and in the case of that accident the DI as the aircraft made a right turn out to sea.

Even though VFR pilots are given training in Instrument flying as part of the GFPT it would be foolish to rely on that very limited experience to enter IFR conditions.

[AussieNick]

reading an ALT or VSI or any of the flight instruments isn't the problem in cases such as that, its a pilots inability to believe and trust what the instruments are telling him and to ignore what his sense of balance is telling him, called the leans, which you will learn alot about when you start your training

[Ovation]

My thoughts are that if you are flying VFR, you fly in relation to the ground, on clear days, under clouds, and if you fly IFR, you could put curtains on your windows and fly from one place to another by only looking at your instruments.

Any time while IFR in VMC you should maintain a traffic lookout exactly as you would on a VFR plan.

You might see a VFR target climbing or descending through your level in Class G or E airspace, or it might be a big yellow crop-duster opposite direction same level (8,000 ft) as was my experience about 10 yrs ago.

I never assume any other aircraft's transponder is (a) working or (b) switched on.

[Atlas Shrugged]

big yellow crop-duster opposite direction same level (8,000 ft)

****! They must grow some big crops in SA! ;)

[ReverseFlight]

I think there's a big difference between flying under IFR and inadvertent entry into IMC conditions.

If you were flying VFR and suddenly encounter IMC conditions at Inverloch, you should rightly be feeling stupid to tell Centre you're switching to IFR - that just smacks of bad planning. You should contact Centre and get them to help you. You really should have been having an out behind you all the time. Worse comes to worst, a one-minute level rate one turn, preferably seawards (I experienced that once during my PPL days).

IFR flights require meticulous pre-flight planning over specific routes. Sure you can ask Centre to vector you all the way to Merimubula, but I find that somewhat irresponsible, handing the plate over to ATC and throwing away your map altogether, not to mention your responsibility to your passengers.

It's all about airmanship, really.

[Tarq57]

Gearup2 and others above have summed it up quite well.
There are also quite a number of rules applicable to VFR flight, including different visibilities/distance horizontally and vertically that must be maintained from cloud in different categories of airspace.
The instrument rating, allowing one to fly IFR, is a separate license endorsment, that one learns after learning to fly VFR. The aircraft also has to be appropriately equipped with the correct instrumentation and backup systems. So it's not just a matter of "changing from VFR to IFR", without the appropriate rating and aircraft, and a bit of planning as well.
Unfortunately there are always accidents where VFR rated fliers, for all sorts of reasons, fly into weather conditions that are outside their abilities.
("Get-home-itis" is a common one.) Such accidents are usually fatal, as they tend to involve a loss of control of the aircraft, low level, due to a lack of visual reference. One of the most famous of these was JFK Jnr.'s crash near Martha's Vineyard a few years ago.