Gary Drescher wrote:
: oups.com...
: I popped up to 3,000 ft and was amazed
: at how hazey it was towards the west. I stayed at 3,000, and always
: had visual reference to the ground, although it was very hazey and I
: really couldn't see much at a slant-distance. Having flown this dozens
: of times, I knew right where I was going [...]
: I continued on, always making sure I could see
: down, and having the out to turn around as I mentioned before.

: It sounds like you're describing a VFR flight in IMC. Or have I
: misunderstood you?

Might be, might not be. Playing the legal card here isn't helpful. As anyone
who's flown in the haze can attest, the visibility of 2.9 miles vs. 3.1 miles is not
something that is easily determined in flight. One is illegal, one is legal, and they
are both indeterminable in flight.

Was it MVFR? Sure. Was it IMC? Possibly. Remember that it's also very
possibly to legally fly under VFR in legal VMC and still require instruments to
control the aircraft (night, OTT with strange clouds below, etc). Unlike ceilings,
visibilities are not as clear-cut in determining when the conditions are IMC vs. VMC.

Chill.
-Cory

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