"Teacherjh" wrote in message ...

It can be legal VFR and be bad enough to have to fly by
instruments. The FAA allows this to count.


Where does the FAA say that this counts?


It is what the regs literally say. All they say is you have to be in instrument conditions. Doesn't
say anything about flight rules. This was affirmed in the following opinion by FAA counsel.

To answer your first question, actual instrument conditions may occur in the case you described a moonless night over the ocean
with no discernible horizon, if use of the instruments is necessary to maintain adequate control over the aircraft. The
determination as to whether flight by reference to instruments is necessary is somewhat subjective and based in part on the sound
judgment of the pilot. Note that, under Section 61.51(b)(3), the pilot must log the conditions of the flight. The log should include
the reasons for determining that the flight was under actual instrument conditions in case the pilot later would be called on to
prove that the actual instrument flight time logged was legitimate