Wade Hasbrouck writes:

"scheduled" is poor choice of words, as to the FAA, that inferes "airline"
"air taxi" or "on demand operation", which is strictly prohibited under Part
91 of the FARs (part under which Private Pilots operate). In the eyes of
the FAA a "planned flight" is different than a "scheduled flight" (scheduled
implies that it occurs regularly and is "for hire" or "on demand")

I wasn't using the FAA's dictionary. Scheduled meant marked on a
calendar, written in a planner, or just memorized as something one
plans to do.

No form of transportation is perfect and 100% reliable.

But aviation is unusually vulnerable to weather. That's why so much
of modern aviation seeks to reduce the effects of weather.

Do you even know what Fligh****ch and EFAS are? Have you heard of Pilot
Reports? You make it sound like once you a Private Pilot is in the air he
is all alone and helpless.

I think it's safe to plan as if you'll be alone. You aren't really
likely to be alone and helpless, but having contigency plans for that
possibility cannot hurt. I might have any number of ways to know and
avoid bad weather, but I have to be prepared to handle bad weather if
I encounter it.

Depends on when you fly... Fall/Winter (October - March) is definitely
"tougher" because of the weather. Spring/Summer are nice. afternoons,
Evenings, and nights in the Fall/Winter are generally better than mornings.

It was okay last night, although my flight ended tragically for other
reasons related directly to the sim. I almost landed safely. I'm not
sure if I survived.

Again you are inferring that the Private Pilot can ignore FAR Part 91 and
FAR 61.113 when they want to help out friends. If a friend comes to me and
says "I have a wedding or job interview to go to, could you fly me there?",
this would most likely be considered a violation of 61.113, and would be
illegal for a Private Pilot to do.

So where does one draw the line? Is it against regulations to say yes
to any request for a plane ride? After all, that would be planning
the flight, in a sense.

I make it perfectly clear to my passengers, that I am the one responsible
for the safety of the flight, and if at any point I see that it is not safe
to go or continue, I will terminate the flight, and ask before they get in
the airplane (alot of times before I even book the plane) if they can deal
with the possible dissappointment and/or hardship of not being able to go or
complete the flight, and if they can't, we don't fly. I am not an airline,
I am not an air taxi, I am not an on demand operation, I am a private pilot
who wants to go someplace with some friends, and see it as a convient form
of transportation to take my friends and myself places that we want to go,
and if the weather doesn't cooperate, we have a backup plan either an
alternate route or ground transportation if we really want to go.

That's fine, but it just emphasizes how unsuitable GA is for practical
transportation in most cases. You don't have to worry about that with
a car. Commercial airlines don't worry about it excessively, although
it's occasionally a factor.

For instance, if I am going flying in two weeks, I will keep
an eye on the long range forecasts, starting about 10 days out from the
flight.

A ten-day forecast isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

FAA could still consider this as flying for compensation, which is
prohibited under Part 91 and FAR 61.113. FAA has said that compensation
doesn't have to be monetary in nature to violate FAR 61.113. If I am taking
friends and family on a trip they must realize, that there is always a
possibility we might not be able to fly or that we may need to stay longer
at our destination, otherwise again we don't fly and we find a different
mode of transportation. If a friend comes up to me and says "I need to go
somplace, can you fly me there?" and I do the flight (even if I pay for the
flight), that can still be considered a violation of FAR 61.113.

No FAR is violated if you just go by car, or by commercial airline.

Going "because you really want/need to" will more than likely get you
killed, becuase you are no longer thinking rationally about the situation
and results in poor judgement.

Maybe, but for the umpteenth time, this just emphasizes how
impractical GA is for transportation.

Do you actually think your typical airline captain has his eyes glued to the
instrument panel when it is VMC outside the plane?

I think a lot of them doze off a bit during long flights.

What are you implying?

That a 747 captain should be able to afford his own plane.

If you are flying IFR in the simulator, don't you know what the IFR minimums
are?

I don't know anything that requires a chart, as I don't have charts.

Just because you are on an IFR flight plan, doesn't mean you can land
in zero visibility, especially at a place like TIW, as many airports have
some minimums where if you don't see the runway at a given altitude, you are
required to execute a missed approach.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to reduce the visibility while I
was en route. I could have executed a missed approach, but for what
purpose? Everything was in the same condition. I was not equipped to
land anywhere with only a hundred feet or so in front of me. Do I
just stay in a holding pattern until the weather improves or I run out
of fuel? It's a serious question.

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