"Bravo8500" wrote in message
om...

In a recent FAA sponsored seminar that I attended, a retired Tower
Controller mentioned in his presentation that IMC flight in Class G
airspace without a clearance was actually legal as long as the
aircraft and pilot were both instrument qualified. In other words if I
wanted to I could take my current IFR rating, hop into a current IFR
aircraft, and fly all I wanted to in IMC as long as I remained in
Class G (uncontrolled) airspace.


No clearance is required, no clearance is even available, but you still must
adhere to the instrument flight rules.



I had never really thought of being
able to do this so it was a little shocking to hear. After I got home
that afternoon, I thought to myself that if that were the case, then
when I'm at MDA on my local uncontrolled airport's NDB approach, and I
don't see the runway but can see directly underneath me, I could
legally slip down below MDA to try to bust out. Why? At MDA, I'm below
the 700 foot floor of the Class E airspace which puts me in Class G.
This would be the case at almost all uncontrolled airports that have
published instrument approaches. Does this sound right?


It sounds right as long as you have VFR conditions at the MDA and remain in
VFR conditions to your destination. You can't fly along within 700 feet of
the surface in IMC in Class G airspace, FAR 91.177 still applies in Class G
airspace.