"Andrew Gideon" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:28:19 +0200, Thomas Borchert wrote:

At the "soft" end of
that range, even a less proficient IFR pilot can save the day where a
VFR-only pilot can't.

I'm not as sure that the line between soft and hard is that hard.

A friend recently experienced an electrical failure in 300' (or worse)
IMC. That's clearly hard.

I'd a flight a couple of days ago where the ceilings were around 4000'
where there were ceilings. 20 or 30 miles from the destination, we left a
bunch of clouds for sudden CAVU.

Definitely soft, right?

But there were times when we were cotton-balled en route. That, plus the
bumping we were getting, could (I think) have caused a less proficient
pilot (not that I'm all that hot an IFR stick myself {8^) to have "lost
it". Sure, dropping below was always an option. But had that
hypothetical pilot not exercised that option...

I can still envision bad things happening.

All that said, I've also been forwarding that article to a number of
friends. I've at least one co-owner that's quite forceful in his belief
that traffic is the ultimate safety device. Of course, he *is* instrument
rated already ...

Yet, the GA crowd, which is overwhelmingly (?) non-IR, has the highest
accident rates. Nealy 3 1/2 times their nearest "competitors".

Accident Rate Comparisons (U.S. Fleet)
Accidents per 100,000 hours (For 2005)
Corporate aviation(1) 0.08
Fractional jets 0.14
Scheduled airlines 0.17
FAR 91 business jets(2) 0.32
FAR 135 business jets 0.47
Business aviation(3) 0.73
Non-scheduled airlines 0.94
FAR 91 & 135 business turboprops 1.61
All air taxis 2.0
Regional airlines (4) 2.01
General aviation 6.6

1. All aircraft types flown by salaried crews for business purposes.
2. Business jets professionally and non-professionally flown.
3. All aircraft types, owner flown.
4. Regional airlines were re-classified in 1997 by the FAA causing rate
increase.
Source: Robert E. Breiling Associates

--------------------------

Notice the numbers and notes for "Business Aviation". Mostly IR'ed, but they
fly a LOT.


--
Matt Barrow
Performance Homes, LLC.
Cheyenne, WY