(Michael) wrote in message . com...
(C Kingsbury) wrote
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.

My CFII did bring the topic up once. I asked how he dealt with it. He
basically said, forget about it, there's three dozen things that
actually stand a chance of killing you, and this ain't on the list.

Yes - that was true as long as private IFR was a rare thing. Of
course by that logic, we don't really need to worry about collision in
IMC even without flight plans - and indeed that's about how it is in
the UK, and sure enough there haven't been any.

Now that we're encouraging everybody and his brother to get an
instrument rating and scud running has become a dirty word, this may
all change. I certainly warn my instrument students about the risk.

I think there's probably a very substantial geographic aspect to this
also.

My training and flying are all in the Northeast centered around
Boston, where local practices make this situation perhaps more
hypothetical than in other parts of the country. You just don't have
that many people flying 700', 500' patterns at fields with ILSs, and
odds are if you're trying to get somewhere and it's real soupy you'll
pick a field with an ILS, they're common enough out here that there's
usually one not too far away. And a lot of the time that'll be Class D
or C.

For that matter, GPS Direct sounds like a nice idea too, but out here
you fly airways if you're trying to get somewhere. Would be nice to
get a GX-50 so I could pitch that coffee grinder ADF contraption once
and for all, though.

The thing I find surprising is how many students take their tests with
10 hours of actual. I've got about 22 or so (out of 50ish hours
working on the ticket) and that's almost enough to make me comfortable
with the idea of "gentleman's IFR" where you've got maybe 1000-1500'
overcast and are on top at 2500-3000', which does actually describe
what we get a lot of the year. But I know when I do pass I will not be
going out on low days without you-know-who next to me. Maybe I'm just
lucky to have a CFII who enjoys working with students on low actual
days...

Best,
-cwk.