: I believe it does fit the definition of MVFR, but it isn't worth it to
: me to take the time to look up a reference to prove it to you. :-)

No problem. Plenty of other folks to look it up to correct me...

: Again, my comment was about the suggestion to, as I recall anyway
: without going back to the first post in this thread, fly at an altitude
: that was only 200' below the clouds. 500' below is the minimum in
: virtually all airspace. That was the legality I was talking about.

True. IIRC, where it gets sticky in a regulatory sense is 1200/700' AGL
uncontrolled airspace just about everywhere. Avoiding "controlled all the
way to the ground" areas like airports, scud-running at 1000' AGL with an 1100'
ceiling is still legal.

: : I'd rather fly IFR at a safe altitude and get around the ice, than scud
: : run in mountainous terrain just below the cloud bases and wonder when
: : the mountains and the bases will become one.
:
: IF there is IFR at a safe altitute without icing, I'll agree. For me,
: freezing level below MEA is almost without exception a no-go if I cannot go VFR. If
: SCT or BKN, or a very thin layer with well-known clear above (forecasts + pireps), may
: go IFR to VFR-on-top. Dodging icing in layered and unknown density is *legally* not
: an option in any non-deiced single, and *practically* REALLY not an option in my
: little Cherokee.

: I pretty much agree. I wouldn't have flown last Sunday without a pirep
: from a recently departed flight that was flying almost the identical
: route as I planned to fly. However, I will typically go up and take a
: look if I have reasonable outs.

I don't remember the particulars of what you said. Finding layers or clear
above? MEA above freezing level? I'm being lazy and not looking at the previous
posts too.

I understand the recent interpretations
: of "known" icing to mean "forecast" icing, but that is really BS in my
: opinion. If you adhere to that in the strictest sense, then you are
: virtually grounded in the northeast for a very large part of the year as
: icing is forecast on every cloudy day from virtually the ground up.

My take on it is that I fly for fun and transportation. I respect the laws of
people, but I will NOT try to violate the laws of physics. As far as legalities go,
what's safe isn't necessarily legal and what's legal isn't necessarily safe. If you
practice good judgement (i.e. you don't have an incident), the forecast vs. known
issue won't be a problem.

Actually, I believe that my '69 PA-28 is legal to fly in icing conditions
because it's old enough to have a POH that doesn't specifically forbid it. Of course
there's always the "careless and reckless" clause.

: If MEA is below the freezing level, I'll concur. In fact, I've stayed at
: altitude going IMC overflying west virginia at 8-9000' at the freezing level to see if
: I *would* pick up ice. When I did, I asked for lower, got it without delay, decended
: a thousand or two and ice cleared up... no problem.
:
:
: To each their own... I'm a lot more comfortable if I can see outside.

: Me too. If the windows are too dirty to see through to at last the
: wingtips, I won't fly! :-)

"Ba-dump bump... *ting* "

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
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