On Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 10:09:46 AM UTC-5, Tango Eight wrote:
On Monday, April 27, 2015 at 8:32:13 PM UTC-4, son_of_flubber wrote:
Am I missing something?

Yes. You (and a few others) are missing (intentionally or not, I don't know) that VFR into IMC in soaring flight is ***100% avoidable***.

The guy that gets swallowed by cloud or found himself above a solid overcast has either failed to learn the meteorology appropriate to the conditions he's flying in or willfully chosen to continue flying despite the signs of developing hazards. That goes for rapidly descending cloudbase associated with storms as well as all the things that can go wrong in wave systems. Yeah, I've been swallowed by cloud. Yes, I had plenty of warning (clouds were forming and dissipating all over, the risk was 100% obvious) although the actual event (lennie formation) was astoundingly sudden.

Blind flying instruments and piloting skills extend a modicum of emergency capability to those who willfully or ignorantly venture into very avoidable conditions where the prospect of forced IMC is real. If your primary objective is safety, then you forgo the adventure, perhaps even deal with the inconvenience of a landing away from your intended destination to avoid developing hazards. If instead you want to twist the dragon's tail a little, then by all means arm up -- but arm up on the most important stuff first (that would be meteorology), have a plan for when things go bad (gyros and know how to use them) and please don't think of yourself as a victim of anything other than your own judgement when mother nature treats you roughly.

-Evan Ludeman / T8

Mostly agree. Twisting the dragon's tail (flying too close to cloudbase, in a wet wave with clouds below, etc.) can get you eaten big time.

But so can a really hazy day, when the horizon slowly disappears...sort of a "boiling a frog" scenario.

100%? To me, that would imply never taking off, and just watching cat videos on Youtube...

But yeah, it all boils down to airmanship, knowing your environment, and preparing for what you may encounter.

Kirk
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