Jay Honeck wrote:
At one time I had several meeting a year in Roanoke and Charlottesville,
VA. I have never been able to fly to a single one. My meetings were
typically in February or March and the airports were always socked in
for days. Been to ground school....IFR in 06 i hope.


The mean temperature in February (in Roanoke) is 37 degrees, with a bit
over 3 inches of precipitation (From 1948 - 2005) This means a fair
amount of that precip is either ice or snow.

I don't think an IR will help much at that time of year, unless your
aircraft has known icing capability.

I don't mean to denigrate the IR -- I've got 90% of the training done,
and it has made me a much more precise pilot -- but don't fool yourself
into thinking that the IR is going to make your flights that much more
reliable. With the level of aircraft most of us fly
(Beech/Piper/Cessna/Mooney spam cans), we run up against equipment
limitations as much as anything -- especially in the winter.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I don't think I would tackle hard IFR into Roanoke, much less flirt with
a freezing level upon completion of my instrument rating. I am
definitely a "spam can" pa32-260 pilot. But once, just once I would
like to avoid the truck traffic on I-81 through those rolling hills.
Your right though, slim chance in Feb., even IFR.