"Barry" wrote in message ...
Pilots should be aware that HIE is not at all unusual in this regard -
it's
very common to have an MDA below 700 AGL with no surface Class E.

Yup. I think this would be useful to mention in the instrument-flying
curriculum. I don't recall my CFII ever bringing it up, nor seeing it in the
FAA's Instrument Flying Handbook or Jepp's Instrument/Commercial Manual. Of
course, it's deducible from a combination of approach plates, sectional
charts, and basic piloting knowledge--but it seems important enough and
unobvious enough to warrant an explicit warning.

On the other hand, I don't recall reading of any collisions due to MDAs
below Class E, so perhaps it's not much of a problem.

--Gary