Greg Farris wrote in
:

Here are some "general" tips for safe, single-pilot IFR, gleaned from
Larry Bartlett's refresher course. These tips do not represent the
"meat and potatoes" of the video course, but are thrown in at a couple
of points as generalities. How many agree with these :

1) No Single-Pilot, single engine IFR in IMC at night

I'm not sure I understand this. Assuming you have a decent portable
light system in your flightbag - I carry a ring of red and green LED
lights in my bag, along with a larger green flashlight, a white
flashlight, and several green glow sticks, and keep at least one either
roped around my neck or my wrist when flying at night - IMC or not.
Enroute IFR/IMC at night seems fine. S-P approach to minimums at night
is a different story... But I don't even think there's all that much
difference between flying through soup at 3000' when the top of the
white stuff outside your window is light by the sun or the moon. Either
way, most of it will be lit by your strobes and landing light...

2) No S-P Multi-engine IFR with MEA's higher than the aircraft's
SE performance

Makes sense, but no ME.

3) No S-P IFR in IMC without dual vacuum sources, and strong
preference for dual alrternators.

Agreed.

4) Keep VFR weather within range of the aircraft at all times, and
know where it is

Kinda agreed. Always know your out. Not sure "real" VFR is necessary
though. An airport with 800-1000' ceilings and 5+ mi visibility is
probably enough for us guys in the flat NorthEast. Even if it means
flying an extra hour or more out of the way (assuming you will have the
fuel for it). Of course, I also carry a handheld radio with CDI and
spare batteries, so if I have some sort of catastrophic electronics
failure, I can still navigate IFR to find my way...

5) Avoid S-P circling approaches in IMC, and definitely not at
night or close to minimums

I don't really get the risk here. If you break out on a non-precision
approach and can circle to land, you are probably within 200' of VFR
pattern altitude anyway, and it's just doesn't seem like that big of a
risk. Actually, a precision Circle to land, which I think will create
more like a 500' - 600' pattern, seems more risky. But at 800', if you
lose sight of the runway while circling, even if you dip a bit on your
way up on the missed, you've got a lot of room to dip before hitting the
ground...

Admittedly, I also fly planes that have excellent avionics - IFR
approved moving map GPSes and autopilots, so perhaps I am slightly more
aggressive because of that. Admittedly, without the excellent avionics
and autopilot, I might be much more conservative about flying S-P IFR.