IFR just 5.4% of the time

wrote:
Matt Whiting wrote:

If you are flying the minimum IFR altitudes, it still should not be a
problem, unless there is a chart error.

Matt, you have provided a great leadin to what I think got missed in
this discussion. Yes, flying the minimum IFR altitude is ok...
PROVIDED you can MAINTAIN that altitude.

One of the most insidious things about mountain flying is the wind!
You can be going DOWN (or UP) over 2000 FPM in the laminar flow and
not feel a thing! This can be a VERY BAD (TM) thing at night.

As you remember, in the mountains, the minimum IFR altitude is only
2000' above the highest terrain in the area. But, at 2000 FPM down,
you are at mountain top level in one minute.

4000 FPM down is not uncommon. Day or night!

I profess that until you are flying at over 18000 MSL, AND you can
overcome a 4000 FPM downdraft, IFR in the mountains should be
avoided.

Conversely, VFR in the mountains, day or night, if you choose your
route carefully, and the winds are less than 25 knots at mountain
top level and you and stay about 2000' above the canyon floor, you
are rarely out of gliding distance to a survivable landing spot.
Not an airport, but a survivable landing spot.

Yes, hence the M in MEA, MOCA, etc. It isn't necessarily a RECOMMENDED
altitude! :-)

Matt

Matt, you have provided a great leadin to what I think got missed in
this discussion. Yes, flying the minimum IFR altitude is ok...
PROVIDED you can MAINTAIN that altitude.


I was night IFR over the Appalachain Mountain in Tennessee when the
Knoxville controller asked me to 'say altitude' - the usual controller
speak for, 'what are you doing, dip**** ! '...
I was in a 300 hp Super Viking at full power and best rate of climb
and the IVSI showed me as going DOWN at 1300fpm...
All I said was, 'unable to maintain altitude'...
He replied, 'roger that'...
I finally punched out of the down vortex and started back up to
assigned altitude having lost a hair over a thousand feet... Even
though I still had approximately 1500' of clearance when I broke out,
my heart was pumping!
I later did some reading on mountain flying and found I could have
handled it better by not trying to climb out of the down draft... The
problem is that your IFR reflexes - and IFR regs - will prompt you to
hold your target altitude, the opposite of what the mountain experts
say to do...

denny

Mxsmanic wrote in
news
Jay Honeck writes:

Flying IFR is almost always uncomfortable. Even when it's smooth,
it's absolutely no fun for the passengers, whose only real reward for
putting up with GA is the view. (Well, and the time savings over
driving, of course.)

Most of the instrument rated pilots I know try to avoid flying IFR as
much as I do, only using the rating when necessary to pop up (or
down) through unavoidable IMC. This, of course, leads to a lack of
proficiency, and the unavoidable fact that they really aren't
prepared for flying in hard IMC.

This is exactly what Mary and will use the rating for -- a safety
outlet -- and is one major reason why we fear that we might just end
up just dangerous enough to kill someone.

What about flying IFR at night? If it's dark enough that you can't
see much outside, you get the benefits of IFR without many of the
dangers of IMC. You can just fly regular night flights IFR and
maintain your currency that way, and yet you won't be stressed by bad
weather to worry about.


Well it's always IFR where you are, up your own ass.



Bertie