On 8-Apr-2004, "Richard Kaplan" wrote:

I have met more pilots than I can possibly remember who have been
surprised either positively or negatively regarding how their expectation
of
airplane practicality differed from reality.

The fact is that no matter what someone may be advised weather
patterns, it takes the experience of actually renting a car to drive the
family home
from Thanksgiving dinner for it to hit home what the limitations of an
airplane are. Going on a family vacation by general aviation takes a
certain sense of adventure and spontaneity from a family which is more
realistically experienced than imagined; some kids love the adventure and
others do very poorly with sudden changes in plan. Some kids love flying
in an airplane and others don't. Some spouses are enthusiastic about
flying
but develop motion sickness; others are so thrilled at visiting family
easier that they become instant aviation enthusiasts.

I am not just guessing here... I have seen this happen many times.


Without IFR capability in the pilot and the airplane one cannot rely on
using an airplane for on-schedule X-C trips lasting more than a few hours.
That's not to say they can't be done safely -- IF a VFR-only pilot is
willing to wait out weather (maybe for several days) or settle for alternate
transportation home.

The situation changes significantly with an instrument rating. Really bad
weather may still disrupt your schedule, but there is a wide range of
weather conditions in which VFR flight would be suicidal while IFR is quite
safe. In the 30 years or so since I got my instrument ticket, I can recall
only one trip I couldn't complete due to weather. (Some delays, but only
once did I have to find an alternative ride home. That one was due to
widespread moderate to severe icing.)

-Elliott Drucker