On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 15:51:32 -0800, Jeff wrote:

I read allot of NTSB reports, you see allot of ATP rated pilots who "know
the area" and cancel IFR only to end up in the NTSB report for crashing.

the SAFE thing to do is to call center/ATC and tell them visibility just
went below VFR minimums and you would like to know if you can get a
instrument clearance from them.
I have done this in the past and had no problems, but you never can tell
untill you ask. the other option would be to call FSS on your radio and file
the IFR flight plan.

snip

I've been shooting practice approaches in just barely legal conditions
when things turned to crap in a hurry.

A quick call.... Ahhh MBS approach, things are going down hill in a
hurry and we are not going to be able to maintain VFR. We'd like to go
IFR and land if possible. We received a wait one while they quickly
handled a couple other planes and came back with a clearance.
Admittedly we could have scudd run for home (which is only 11 miles)
but in this particular case we were already being vectored for the
ILS.

Yes, my car was back at 3BS, but we had an ILS with vectors and
ceilings were well above minimums which are 200 feet. Staying VFR the
11 miles and getting into 3BS was not a sure thing. Yes, we could
have filed, but at that moment it was in doubt whether the VOR had
minimums or not (a tad over 500 feet)

We landed, parked and a couple cups of coffee later were ready for
departure as things were clearing up.

It's been my experience, although some what limited, that ATC is going
to do their darndest to get you on the ground and out of the soup as
soon as they can. They do not want a statistic in their area any
more than you do.

OTOH I was IFR on top of a deck (which was no more than a couple
hundred feet below us most of the time, but above us once in a while-
I was not IFR to on top) when I heard a King Air call in to
Minneapolis Center asking for a pop up. Minneapolis Center was busier
than the proverbial cat on a marble floor and hauling dirt two miles.
They promptly sent them to FSS to file. There was a brief pause and
they replied. About 5 minutes later the King Air was back saying they
could not contact FSS. ATC was clearly not happy (you could hear it
in the controller's voice) as they could have filed on the ground with
a clearance limit. It was also apparent they had climbed on top and
then called, to any one in the area. There were no holes in the
whole area with ceilings at less than 1000 and tops at 7000 to 8000
plus. That time they let them file.


Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com