"Ron Rosenfeld" wrote in message
...

And if the tower folk were properly trained, which is what I've been
trying
to get you to contribute to, you would not have received that instruction.

Well, I think it comes down to philosophy. I think it's just as much a
pilot training issue. The instruction was terrible, but
technically/procedurally correct as far as I have been able to establish.

I now know what I can do to additionally ensure the safety of any flight I
undertake, which is to always depart IFR using an ODP when available. That
removes the controller training level from the risk equation.

Tangentially, here are a couple of other 'best practices' (or personal
minimums) to avoid other safety traps I've noticed.

1) Never cancel IFR until a landing is assured (i.e., after landing), or
airport/nearby activity is enough that an unsuccessful approach will be
immediately noticed. (Credit to United Airlines: learned while listening to
channel 9 landing in a severely remote area late at night).

2) Decline visual approaches at night.