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“I’m not IFR rated because, because weather where I fly is too good”. Two commenters answered my “Are you IFR rated ?” readers poll this way, and to be fair this surprised me. I always lived in places where clouds are frequent all year round, and icy in winter. While I understand the “good weather” argument for not being IFR rated, I don’t fully agree with it.

Flying in IMC condition is one of the privileges, but it is not the only one. Depending where you fly, airspace structure can impose serious restrictions to VFR navigation. Julien, I know that Australia is a vast continent. JB, I don’t know in which part of Spain you fly, but I guess that airspace around Madrid or Barcelona is rather crowded, and the respective TMAs probably impose some deviations and indirect routes. Military airspace and other danger areas which are not always can also make VFR routing complex.

The IFR routes are not always direct, but flying the airways makes the planning, and in-flight navigation easier. No need for visual landmarks, no hard times to find the town north of the roads crossing with a castel on the east side, … IFR navigation is all VOR / NDB based, not to mention GPS. Even better, ATC frequently takes over the navigaton task, using radar vectoring. I imagine that many VFR pilots fly using the same means - except vectoring - when not flying super-easy routings like “around the lake”, “along the river”, or “beach on the right hand side”, in large areas away from controlled airspace.

Another thing I personally like in IFR is the simplicity of the approach and departure procedures. Flying holdings, track reversal procedures, VOR, NDB and ILS tracking are the building blocks of all approaches. No need to identify VFR reporting points, which is sometimes an art, if not a lottery. IFR navigation is so easy that it can become boring…

My longest flight to date was from Geneva (LSGG) to Biggin-Hill (EGKB) - click here to read more about it - and flying it IFR made the routing and the crossing of various TMAs en-route very easy. I was on the right seat on the VFR flights home, and negotiating all the crossing clearances kept me busy. Navigation was all VOR and GPS based, as flying accurately between restricted airspace using map, compass and clock over the vast areas of green in central France is not exactly easy

Flying IMC in a light aircraft is not always easy, nor possible. Without on-board weather radar, any forecast for embedded thunderstorm is a no-go. As some commenters correctly pointed out, entering or flying close to a thunderstorm in a light aircraft is simply not an option. Even airliners avoid them, so this is not the subject. I don’t exactly know on what the excellent record from François is based (thanks for it, indeed), but I guess that we’re talking mostly about a de-iced and radar equipped twin. Possibly pressurized ?

This discussion is not over, you can raise your voice via comment on this post, on or the original “Are you IFR rated” post. But please, as I mentionned there, I won’t approve any comment tending to oppose these two different ways of flying in an aggressive way.

PS: I’ll periodically post new reader’s polls. If you want to suggest one, contact me to submit your question.

If you’re not a newcomer to this blog, you certainly know that I’m a private pilot with an instrument rating. But what about you ? If you’re a private pilot as well, I’d like to know whether you’re instrument rated or not, and why.

The why particularly applies to those of you who don’t held an IR ticket. I know many possible reasons:

• Lack of time ?
• Money ?
• No FTO where to train in your area ?
• No IFR aircraft ?
• No IFR airport ?
• You think there is too much complex theory ?
• Or that getting the rating is too complex ?
• May be too complex to maintain ?
• Getting an IFR rating is useless ?
• Flying IFR in small planes is dangerous ?

There are probably other reasons, so feel free to add yours to the list. If, on the other hand, you’re instrument rated, you probably know why. I however would like to know the reason that decided you to get it.

If you don’t mind, I also like to know from which part of the world does your license comes. I already know what to expect, but it will be a confirmation. And who knows, may this will help other pilots to join the IFR club. This is my (no longer) secret (naive ?) hope behind this post: encouraging more pilots to get this wonderful rating.

I’m indeed ready to discuss all of objections you could have against the fact of getting IR rated. Not only because it is safer, but also because it enlarges the range of what is possibly to fly, and improves flying skills. I’m not trying to criticize VFR pilots, nor to say that IFR pilots are somehow superior. Any comment in that direction will be deleted. The last thing the aviation community needs is one (more) internal conflict.

Now, please let us know if you are IFR rated or not, and why. If you prefer do to that in a more confidential way, you can also send me your answer per e-mail, via the About page.

Thanks in advance.

Aircraft are changing owners, being sold and bought by private owners, clubs, schools, or financial organizations who rent them back. Some of the aircraft I knew for years changed hands, and simply vanished from my small world. This post is my personal attempt to know what they became. If you have any information about the, please leave a comment !

HB-HFV - A blue AS-202 Bravo. I flew it as a student pilot.

HB-PDZ - A Piper Archer II (PA28-181). I’m not sure, but some hints suggest that this one is now flying in the United Kingdom.

HB-PPR - A Piper Arrow (PA28R-201). I never flew it as pilot, but was on board as passenger on some IFR flights. Is it still IFR certified ? It was sent to Lugano (Locarno ?) for a while, but then I lost its track.

HB-PNJ - Another Piper Archer, version III (PA28-181), with the nice overhead panel, giving its cockpit a nice airliner look.

HB-PEJ - This is one of the Saratoga I flew the most (PA32R-301). An excellent IFR aircraft, who recently left Geneva.

HB-XJZ - Do you know where is now this Robinson R22 Helicopter ?

OE-DAB - Diamond made this plane available in Lausanne for a couple of weeks, while one of the DA40-TDI there was undergoing a long maintenance phase.

F-GZMP - I flew this DA40-TDI with G1000 in Cannes, but it also changed owner since then.

Another aircraft I flew also left the Swiss aircraft register. The AS202 Bravo HB-HFI crashed in the Alps, killing two on-board, under still unexplained circumstances, the investigation is not yet finished.

Are you also looking for aircraft you knew and who know fly somewhere else ? Feel free to post a comment about it, and join your voice to mine.