"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote
Seems rather weak to me. If the weather is good enough for pattern work
there wouldn't seem to be much need to hold.

Good enough is in the eye of the beholder. Not too long ago, I shot
the NDB into GTU. The bases were right at minimums - I was in and out
of cloud at MDA. Once I finally got the airport in sight (less than 2
miles out - and I've shot that approach several times so I know the
area) and started my descent to the runway, someone asked on the radio
what the bases were.

I gave an honest answer - "Right at mins, in fact I wasn't sure until
30 seconds ago whether I would get in or not."

As I fueled, I watched a plane take off and do pattern work...

Michael