Jeff wrote
My instrument ticket has been very useful to me. Even in my little arrow.

It seems like my attempt at subtle humor (at the expense of some
posters) fell flat for lack of understanding. Yes, at times an
instrument rating can be useful, even in a light single. I've
actually made a couple of business trips IFR that couldn't legally be
done VFR in a TriPacer - and that's about as little as it gets; way
smaller and less capable than an Arrow. It may not be the rule, but
it can happen.

My point is that those of us who actually use our instrument ratings
for flying weather that can't be flown VFR on a regular basis have a
fundamentally different outlook on getting the ticket than those who
rarely use the rating in anger. We understand that passing the
checkride is just a relatively trivial adjunct to learning the
necessary skills for surviving in the weather, and it would simply
never occur to us that someone who needs to disable an instrument to
pass the checkride has any business flying weather in the first place.

Therefore, I made the implicit assumption that anyone recommending
that course of action must have already bought into the idea that an
instrument rating wasn't something you use to fly in weather.

But it's just not funny if you have to explain it.

Michael