David Megginson wrote in message ...
"Guy Elden Jr." writes:
It may be legal to fly in instrument conditions with two VORs and an
ADF, but is it really safe if you're the only pilot in the plane,
weather is forming all around you, and you have to hand fly the
plane?

Why wouldn't it be safe?

With all respect, David, I think you and "Maule Guy" are
letting Troller Chick (*aka Lynne Miller* -- remember
"Slav Inger is getting a tattoo" and "throw out that
checklist" etc etc) get it mixed for you.

There's a distinction between proficiency/capability and
safety. And safety is a continuum, where safe/unsafe are
a matter of personal limits.

For example, obviously it's possible to complete a night
IMC flight safely in a single-engine plane equipped with
VOR and ADF. It's possible to be proficient with these
navaids and to know your position with a fair degree of
certainty. Yet some people would argue that night IMC
in a single engine plane is not a safe trip for pax, and
they have an inarguable point IMO. If the fan quits in a
SE plane, your options are strictly limited, no matter
how proficient and capable and situationally aware you are.
Night, IMC, and night IMC both decrease your options.

If someone's personal limits don't allow them to take
pax IMC in a single, I have no argument against their view
even though my own personal limits differ and we fly our
daughter SE IMC.

There's a similar issue with GPS. Yes, it's possible
to know exactly where you are w/ 2 VORs and an ADF,
but single pilot IMC, there's no question it's higher
workload-- may require retuning stations and resetting
radials with the possibility for undetected error which
this entails. And this is true no matter how proficient
and capable you are with the equipment.

GPS adds situational awareness and capability. Thus
it adds safety. If you start smelling smoke, a handheld
GPS gives you the option to slap the master switch off
while maintaining the ability to navigate. If the fan
quits, it will take you to the nearest airport at the
touch of a button. IMO it's just as inarguable that
GPS adds safety and that it's a perfectly reasonable view
to say "I wouldn't fly pax in IMC without it" -- and this
has absolutely nothing to do with VOR/ADF proficiency.

Now, a multiengine plane and the continued proficiency to
fly it safely are a significant capitol investment.

But a useful handheld GPS can be had for a couple hundred
bucks. Maybe less if you shop carefully for a used unit.

So don't dismiss the viewpoint that it's unsafe to fly pax
IMC without a GPS. Think about your plans if you start
smelling electrical smoke in IMC (BTDT), or if the engine quits,
or even if you have a vacuum failure or wx is forming around
you and you have to scurry for an airport in a hurry. That
GPS adds a lot of safety "bang for the buck" and I have no
argument against the viewpoint of someone who wouldn't leave
home IMC without it.

Best,
Sydney