How Quickly Things Can Turn!

three-eight-hotel wrote:
I don't think it would have been considered VFR in IMC... [...]
I probably had visibility of 2-3 miles through the haze,

In most areas, 2 miles viz is IMC, or at least not VMC. You can't see
aluminum ahead fast enough.

Jose

Gary Drescher wrote:
: oups.com...
: I popped up to 3,000 ft and was amazed
: at how hazey it was towards the west. I stayed at 3,000, and always
: had visual reference to the ground, although it was very hazey and I
: really couldn't see much at a slant-distance. Having flown this dozens
: of times, I knew right where I was going [...]
: I continued on, always making sure I could see
: down, and having the out to turn around as I mentioned before.

: It sounds like you're describing a VFR flight in IMC. Or have I
: misunderstood you?

Might be, might not be. Playing the legal card here isn't helpful. As anyone
who's flown in the haze can attest, the visibility of 2.9 miles vs. 3.1 miles is not
something that is easily determined in flight. One is illegal, one is legal, and they
are both indeterminable in flight.

Was it MVFR? Sure. Was it IMC? Possibly. Remember that it's also very
possibly to legally fly under VFR in legal VMC and still require instruments to
control the aircraft (night, OTT with strange clouds below, etc). Unlike ceilings,
visibilities are not as clear-cut in determining when the conditions are IMC vs. VMC.

Chill.
-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

wrote in message
...
Playing the legal card here isn't helpful.

My main intent is to play the safety card.

As anyone
who's flown in the haze can attest, the visibility of 2.9 miles vs. 3.1
miles is not
something that is easily determined in flight.

Todd's estimate was 2-3 miles, not 2.9. More importantly, his description of
his view corresponds to 1-2 miles (or even less).

Remember that it's also very possibly to legally fly under VFR in legal
VMC and
still require instruments to control the aircraft (night, OTT with
strange clouds below, etc)

Sure, but under those conditions you still have adequate visibility to see
and avoid other aircraft. That's precisely what's different in the situation
under discussion.

--Gary