No reason you can't do both. To do your instrument training all you
need is the pitot/static and transponder check. I did all of my
instrument training in an old Beech Musketeer with only a pair of
KX-170Bs. For your checkride, all you need to do is three types of
approaches (and a hold and some other basic stuff), and if you get a
'VFR' plane with a glideslope (a great many do, even many old 150s),
you'll do a localizer approach, a VOR approach, and an ILS approach.

Would I take in the soup for real? Not for any length of time. But to
earn your rating, you don't need dual Garmin 430s. The hardest thing
about instrument training isn't the approaches. It's developing the
skills that will keep you from killing yourself. It's managing to stay
upside-up. And those skills can certainly be developed in a VFR plane.

Getting your instrument ticket is an excellent idea, even if you
aren't planning on using it much. If you don't stay current, it is
dangerous to be in the clouds, but regaining currency is relatively
easy. It does help make you a better pilot, and it is certainly a very
valuable 'insurance' policy.

Id do both...buy a good VFR plane with enough instrumentation to do
your IFR training (most have it already), and get your rating in it.
If you later find the need to do hard IFR flying on a regular basis,
you can look at other options down the road.

Cheers,

Cap,


TTA Cherokee Driver wrote in message ...
I'm a 160-hour PPL and a club member. My club is great and economical,
but availability and flexibility are becoming big drawbacks, so I'm
toying with the idea of buying a plane.

It's hard to justify on strictly financial terms because the club is
such a good deal, but how many times can you schedule a plane for a
Saturday flight, have to reschedule for Sunday because of wx but whoops,
can't because all the planes are booked for Sunday. Or even schedule a
morning flight, but because of AM fog have to postpone a couple of
hours, but still have to be back by noon because someone else has it
right after you, so you might as well not go since the fog didn't lift
till 11:00. Etc.

So I've been thinking of buying a plane for the sole purpose of
improving my availability & flexibility. Other than that I am delighed
with the club. Because of my job and other responsibilities, if I'm
going to do a significant amount of flying I'm going to need
availability and flexibility without having to plan everyhing way ahead.
Also because of that, and also because of reluctance to get into bed
financially with others, I don't think a partnership is the way to go,
though I haven't ruled it out, but for argument's sake let's say it's
ruled out.

Since this is a philosophical discussion, assume if I buy on my own I
will have to buy a VFR airplane to get a decent one that's affordable.
If I buy a VFR airplane that would rule out getting an instrument rating
because I'm obviously not going to rent airplanes for over 40 hours of
IFR training if I just bought one.

I keep putting off starting my IFR training, so while I think it would
be good to do it's clearly not something I'm burning to do.
Availability and flexiblity has something to do with putting off the IFR
training too, it took me 2 years and 80 hours to get my PPL because of
those kinds of issues and I don't want to repeat that with an IFR rating.

I'd like to hear people's thoughts on having the hypothetical choice of
getting an IFR rating while continuing to rent, versus buying and
committing to being VFR-only for the forseeable future. I'm in North
Carolina, where the weather is VFR reasonably often but not so often
that it's a no-brainer like it would be in AZ or FL or some such place.

TIA