Which of these is cheating?

Mxsmanic wrote in
:

Is maintaining a specific altitude important under VFR, or is it okay
to drift over a broad range? I admit that I don't necessarily see a
compelling reason to fly at 6000 rather than 4000 (or vice versa) in
most cases, or anywhere in between.

For the most part, when flying VFR, it doesn't matter all that much.
However, constantly climbing and descending is inefficient, uses more
fuel, and it's just plain unprofessional. There are indeed situations
where the pilot's ability to precisely hold altitude WILL be
important; if you don't fly that way all the time then how can you
expect to do it when it's *really* necessary?

Most [good] pilots pride themselves in being able to handle their
aircraft efficiently and precisely... which means holding to the
chosen altitude... and also (per another part of this thread) not
turning with just rudder. On your flight simulator you can't feel
it... but in a real plane, if you turn with just the rudder, it plain
feels (and is) sloppy. It's also dangerous... a skidding turn at low
altitudes (often a pilot who's afraid to bank to much at low altitude,
while he's too low and slow on approach) can turn a relatively simple
stall into a spin, which have claimed many lives.

-Dana
--
--
If replying by email, please make the obvious changes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If people behaved like governments, you'd call the cops.