IFR stands for Instrument Flight Rules and, without instrument qualification, pilots cannot operate under IFR. Without an instrument rating, you'll cancel too many flights or endanger safety when trying to complete your trip. And because weather conditions can be so unpredictable, it's hard to make firm plans: arriving on Tuesday morning can easily turn into an arrival on Friday night. Even if you don't travel in IFR hard, instrument classification allows you to go through a thin layer to reach the top or fire an instrument approaching when the ceiling drops unexpectedly.
Therefore, pilots must understand that, before investing in the qualification of instruments, they must know that they are making a commitment to remain competent and not just to obtain an initial certification. This time, I knew there were problems before the flight. I had a nighttime chat in lower Manhattan and planned to sleep through the night and fly home the next day; however, the forecast changed at dinner time and it was expected that there would be at least three days of IFR weather starting at dawn the next morning, so as a VFR-only pilot, I would have been stuck for quite some time. CJ wrote: “The most important question is whether you are a safer pilot with the knowledge and experience associated with instrument training.
Instrument classification gives you additional tools to deal with a dangerous situation, but it can also increase the chances of exposing yourself to a dangerous situation in the first place (just as airbags make some drivers more reckless). I have been flying cross-country without instrument certification for 4 years, between obtaining a pilot certificate and obtaining instrument qualification. After holding my private license for 11 years, I just passed my instrument verification a couple of weeks ago. If a pilot obtains an instrument qualification, but never or very rarely submits an IFR flight plan, it is very likely that that pilot will not master the instruments, and it will probably not be in force from a legal point of view, unless he flies simulators or regularly receives a double instruction in the IAPs.
The ATC does not control a VFR flight and usually only suggests, and does not command, a change in direction or altitude. Ice is, of course, a big problem in my place of residence, and I know that flights will continue to be canceled or postponed between October and May (maybe the 1st of every month), but even in winter, my instrument assessment gives me a good enough dispatch rate to fly Hope Air flights and generally not have to cancel with patients. The flight tracking is fantastic, but I live in the Chicago area and the only words I heard as a VFR pilot from the Chicago TRACON were: “The radar services are finished, the VFR shouts. The most important question is whether you are a safer pilot with the knowledge and experience associated with instrument training.
After coming out of that situation safe and sound, I fully committed myself to obtaining my instrumental qualification. Under this FAA standard, a pilot can operate an aircraft with an IFR flight plan even if the aircraft is not certified by the IFR, as long as the operation is performed in VMC.
