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...

ON a (barely) related aside regarding my ignorance of IFR terminology:
I checked out in a 172 on Sunday, and while doing some landings at a
non-towered local airport that had some published IFR approaches I'd
hear planes calling their positions using IFR terminology.

I had NO CLUE where the planes actually were in relation to the
airport. I didn't know if they were two minutes out or ten. A bit
disconcerting when you want to take the active and fly the pattern. If
wishes were horses this beggar would ask that IFR pilots report their
positions (during VFR conditions) in a way us poor VFR only morons
could understand.

Might be safer for all ... maybe might maybe ...


By "this beggar would ask that IFR pilots report their positions (during VFR
conditions) in a way us poor VFR only morons could understand" you probably
mean distance in miles and the direction from the airport. The problem with
that is you don't know how the other pilot determined his distance from the
airport. Maybe he determined it with GPS or DME and the distance is quite
accurate, but maybe it's just a guess.

Here's an example. I'm an air traffic controller, I recall observing a 1200
code approach the Class C boundary as I was vectoring a Skyhawk for a
practice ILS. Right after I called that traffic to the Skyhawk I get a call
from an inbound VFR aircraft stating he's nineteen miles southwest of the
field. I issue a beacon code and watch as the unknown VFR changes to that
code, he's now a mile inside the Class C boundary, nine miles from the
field. This is not an unusual occurrence, happens with all types of
operators, this guy was even a local.

When I'm flying at an uncontrolled field and I hear another pilot use "IFR
terminology" to describe his position I know exactly where he is. When I
hear another pilot use a direction and distance from the field without
knowing how he determined his position I know where he THINKS he is, but not
where he ACTUALLY is. They may be the same point or they may be far apart.
There's no way to know.