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Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 09:59:58 -0600
From: Snowbird <snbird@ibm.net>
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Subject: Re: more VFR night instrument flying
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Reece Pollack wrote:

> On Sat, 23 Jan 1999 16:03:17 -0600, Snowbird <snbird@ibm.net> wrote:
> >*Unforcast clouds happen*.  

> This is very true, and anyone who doubts it is a fool.
> One night when I was returning to DC from Ohio the forecast was a VFR
> pilot's dream. Clear skies, no clouds forecast, visibility
> unrestricted, and a wide temp-dewpoint spread. I spent the first half
> of the flight watching the lights of distant cities. Suddenly I felt
> like I was in the middle of a disco. Flipping off the strobes and
> turning on the landing light showed that I was in the middle of a very
> dense cloud. Had I been VFR this could have been catastrophic. As an
> instrument rated and current pilot operating on an IFR flight plan, I
> merely flipped the landing light back off and started logging actual.

One question: did you contact FSS and offer a pirep?  Pireps can
clue pilots who are still on the ground to the presence of clouds
several hours before the clouds show up on satellite and persuade
the wx briefers to change the forecast.  A pirep of unforcast clouds
is a definate gift to those who may be less well equipped to handle
a chance encounter!

One comment: a VFR encounter with unforcast clouds can be anything
from "not much of a deal" to a fatal accident.  It need not be
catastrophic.  It is in the control of the pilot, how prepared he
or she is to deal with the situation.  As we know, an instrument rating
does not confer automagic ability to deal with clouds unless the
plane is equipped with working gyro instruments, and the pilot is
current and capable.  Nor does the lack of an instrument rating
preclude ability to deal with an unforseen situation safely.

Snowbird

