IFR just 5.4% of the time

On Feb 28, 10:54 am, Thomas Borchert
wrote:
Robert,

I've only had to cancel a very small number of trips because the IFR
was not duable (usually ice). However, I've had lots of trips that
would have been canceled VFR but 0.1 hours of IFR made the trip work.

Exactly. Plus, you just don't have to fret weather decisions as much.
All this doesn't mean at all you're flying in clouds for hours or
approaches to the minimums.

Very true. The VFR pilot stresses about his trip before hand more
often. The IFR rating is worth it even if it just means you are more
confident the trip will go as scheduled.

-Robert

On Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:26:17 -0800, Robert M. Gary wrote:

Exactly. Plus, you just don't have to fret weather decisions as much.

Depending upon how you mean this, I'm not sure I agree. I look at the
weather just as much as a VFR pilot. I just look at it a little
differently.

In a way, being VFR-only is *less* work. "Nope, I cannot fly in that" is
a quicker decision than for someone that IFRs.

[...]

The IFR rating is worth it even if it just means you are more confident
the trip will go as scheduled.

As long as one doesn't expect it to yield certainty, I agree with this.

I recall a funny realization when I learned to drive. I was excited to be
able to get places far more quickly than I could by bike. But, once I was
driving, I was immediately even more frustrated by the travel time needed
to get from A to B.

I realized that I'd unconsciously expected travel time to drop to zero.

I also remember being stuck under a ridiculous cloud once, pre-IR. It was
just barely illegal to t/o and fly the perhaps mile or less to get clear
of it (and would have been legal has the airport had no approach {8^).
Everywhere around us was clear sky.

Even the cloud was embarrassed.

- Andrew

"Andrew Gideon" wrote in message
I realized that I'd unconsciously expected travel time to drop to zero.

Ahhh.... the famous "Greed for Speed" disease! This happens when we step up
to faster airplanes also! After sitting 3-4 hours in the Aztec, my wife
always teases me that she want's a VLJ so we can get places faster. My
response is always "You find a way to pay for it, fuel it, insure it, and
maintain it, and I'll fly it." That usually slows her down.

One thing we've learned by running "dream numbers" is how truly expensive it
becomes if you want to fly faster than 200ktas with a full fuel payload of
over 1000 lbs.

Jim