Above transition level
Thing
Does that mean that IMC holders can't fly IFR then?
...it's not a guarentee...
MJ
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Thing
You maybe up at FL95 on top Flying OCAS you start a descent to make a cloud break at 2000 feet to fly to a small airfield.
You enter cloud and are now in IMC descending so cutting many levels and not flying Quadrantles.
It happened to me with TICAS. Nothing showing transponding until a glider in cloud flashed past clearly visible in the cloud so very close.
i made a report on this near miss.
There is a risk but flying IMC/OCAS without radar and sometimes even with radar there is always that risk.
Flying OCAS IMC you try and reduce that risk as best as you can flying Quadrantles helps but its not an answer to all evils.
The only answer to that is to leave in CAS, cruise in CAS and arrive and land in CAS
Pace
You maybe up at FL95 on top Flying OCAS you start a descent to make a cloud break at 2000 feet to fly to a small airfield.
You enter cloud and are now in IMC descending so cutting many levels and not flying Quadrantles.
It happened to me with TICAS. Nothing showing transponding until a glider in cloud flashed past clearly visible in the cloud so very close.
i made a report on this near miss.
There is a risk but flying IMC/OCAS without radar and sometimes even with radar there is always that risk.
Flying OCAS IMC you try and reduce that risk as best as you can flying Quadrantles helps but its not an answer to all evils.
The only answer to that is to leave in CAS, cruise in CAS and arrive and land in CAS
Pace
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I think you would have a better chance if you were actually IMC tbh because the chances are you're not going to meet Joe Bloggs coming the other way flying VFR. I flew from the top end of Wales to the bottom end in total clag once at FL60 and felt as safe as houses. You know anyone else in there is going to be flying a level unless they are completely incompetent.
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I tend to fly quadrantals even when VFR, so that if I end up IFR then I am at the right level. Also as most airways are defined as FL then it ensures separation from CAS even with large pressure differences.
However, it is more complicated that it needs to be. Here is a typical real life scenario:
Take off on airfield QNH
Transit a MATZ at airfield QFE
Switch to RPS
Climb above transition alt and set 1013
Transit CAS zone, be asked to switch to their QNH and transit at 6000' QNH
Descend to 3000 on RPS
Contact airfield and be given QFE for landing.
Why oh why can't TA be uniform across the country, say 6k for the UK, and why on earth do I need QFE to land. I was once given QFE and I asked for QNH, and was told by the airfield to set "the fox echo"...
However, it is more complicated that it needs to be. Here is a typical real life scenario:
Take off on airfield QNH
Transit a MATZ at airfield QFE
Switch to RPS
Climb above transition alt and set 1013
Transit CAS zone, be asked to switch to their QNH and transit at 6000' QNH
Descend to 3000 on RPS
Contact airfield and be given QFE for landing.
Why oh why can't TA be uniform across the country, say 6k for the UK, and why on earth do I need QFE to land. I was once given QFE and I asked for QNH, and was told by the airfield to set "the fox echo"...
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ICAO Rules of the Air, the coming Single European Rules of the Air (SERA) and most older national rules are clear about this.
Above the transition altitude (or above 3000 feet AGL if no transition altitude is published for the airspace in question) VFR flights should use an appropriate semicircular VFR flight level. (Altimeter setting 1013 hPa.) ATC can of course assign different levels for controlled flights.
Above the transition altitude (or above 3000 feet AGL if no transition altitude is published for the airspace in question) VFR flights should use an appropriate semicircular VFR flight level. (Altimeter setting 1013 hPa.) ATC can of course assign different levels for controlled flights.
