On 2005-12-29, Ron Rosenfeld wrote:
Are you implying you would not feel comfortable flying night IMC, which is
what is described in the NTSB report? Or are you implying something else?

I can't (obviously) speak for Hilton but there is night IMC, and then
there is other night IMC.

As a preamble - but I find it odd that in training, huge emphasis is put
on instrument approaches. You do approach after approach after approach
as if it's the real thing, but not so many departures. Personally, I
find the approach a piece of cake. You have time to mentally prepare
yourself for it as you start getting close to your destination and
assess what's happening, and everything happens relatively slowly.
You're already in the 'IFR groove' so to speak when you're starting
the approach.

Departure on the other hand I find _much_ higher workload, single pilot
IFR (especailly at night), especially in a high performance plane (less
so in a C172). Things are happening quickly, and at least when I lived
in Houston, it seems that you rarely got the clearance you asked for and
had some sort of re-route just about when you'd levelled off at your
initial altitude, meaning another climbing turn. Plus the effects on
your inner ear seem to be the most pronounced at this point too (by the
time you're on an approach, you're usually 'in the groove' so to speak).
Night IFR plus mountains has to be higher workload still as there are
even more fsck ups that can lead you to be smeared over the ground - in
the flatlands, a minor navigational error is unlikely to kill you.

Personally, I wouldn't do single pilot IFR at night in the mountains
while solo, let alone with the added distraction of having family
members along for the ride.

--
Dylan Smith, Port St Mary, Isle of Man
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