SHould I bother getting my OTT rating ?

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MikeGolfEcho
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Re: SHould I bother getting my OTT rating ?

Post by MikeGolfEcho »

One fatality in 40 years seems pretty safe to me. It looks like EASA is introducing an 'en-route instrument rating' in Europe instead of an IMC rating. It looks like it's a slightly more useful version of an VFR-OTT rating that allows you fly en-route in IMC.[/quote]

I think that's a great idea in principle, but I'd bet it'll never happen. The constituent states will never agree on a format that will work across each individual country especially when it comes to how and who trains pilots (and to what standard in each country - ensuring each instructor in each country teaches the rating to the same level)? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the IMC rating in the UK isn't a good thing or that it doesn't work - just that other people in Europe don't think it's a good thing. Whether something is safe and whether something is considered safe is two different things. Don't give people knowledge... next thing you know they'll be thinking! And thinking leads to ideas... can't have that! :D

Also, I'd be interested to know where that statistic came from (1 death in 40 years)... how was that directly attributed to the pilot having/not having the IMC rating?
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MikeGolfEcho
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Re: SHould I bother getting my OTT rating ?

Post by MikeGolfEcho »

Apologies for digressing in my last post - to the OP if you have the money, but can't foresee an occasion for using the VFR OTT (and whether it's a good or safe thing as discussed at length here) why not consider broadening your horizons by putting the money toward a seaplane rating, or tailwheel and/or aerobatics lessons? Or maybe some soaring? If I couldn't see a time a VFR OTT would be useful for me, that's what I'd do!
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CpnCrunch
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Re: SHould I bother getting my OTT rating ?

Post by CpnCrunch »

MikeGolfEcho wrote:
Also, I'd be interested to know where that statistic came from (1 death in 40 years)... how was that directly attributed to the pilot having/not having the IMC rating?
If you do a google search for "imc rating fatal accidents" (without the quotes) you'll see that statistic on a few websites. They say it comes from CAA research. Apparently they checked all accidents that occurred in IMC where the pilot had an IMC rating, and there was only one fatality in 40 years.

As for descending through cloud: why not just do a 500fpm descending rate-1 turn over a known point?

I'm a little confused about the comment on icing: surely if the temperature at the top and bottom of the cloud is (say) 15C, there is no possibility of icing.
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