A new one for me - mixing vfr and ifr

Salty

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Salty
Leaving marathon Florida for a trip back home to the Tampa area, I wanted to head up the keys a bit under VFR and then pick up IFR for the trip home. So, I picked a fix on the low enroute chart as my departure point instead of an airport. Took a wild guess at departure time and filed. When done sight seeing, I headed for the departure fix and called up center.

Worked out better than I expected. Was pretty painless.
 
On a fun side note, I would have never thought to say this waypoint as “manatee” lol. MNATE
 
And if departure fix is near an airport, you’ll need to look up it’s departure/approach frequency, at that point it’s just like picking up clearance in the air.
 
I've departed completely IFR in VMC and asked for some maneuvering time for sightseeing. ATC just told me to let them know when I was ready to go on.
 

I probably would have pronounced it - em-nate But I frequently screw up the names... or like when they give me the actual name of a VOR fix that doesn't remotely correspond to its 3 letter ID... I'm like... can you please give me the ID?

Awesome tip, though. I may try this. Sort of like a hybrid of pop-up IFR and getting your clearance in the air....
 
I probably would have pronounced it - em-nate But I frequently screw up the names... or like when they give me the actual name of a VOR fix that doesn't remotely correspond to its 3 letter ID... I'm like... can you please give me the ID?

Awesome tip, though. I may try this. Sort of like a hybrid of pop-up IFR and getting your clearance in the air....
That's exactly how I said it and they knew what I meant. It wasn't until the second time they gave the fix to someone else that I realized it was the same fix I used.
 
We have some fixes around here that are clearly named for the little towns underneath them. I occasionally get a controller who isn't familiar with the area and gets very confused by my pronunciation.
Prior to the five-letter standardization, the point was probably named Manatee.

Near Santa Barbara we have LOBER which used to be Lobster.

That's interesting. I bet that's what happened here as well.
 
I probably would have pronounced it - em-nate But I frequently screw up the names... or like when they give me the actual name of a VOR fix that doesn't remotely correspond to its 3 letter ID... I'm like... can you please give me the ID?
It's like trying to decipher someone's vanity license plate.
EDIT: Maybe the FAA should consider mixing numbers with letters, such as MN8EE
 
Leaving marathon Florida for a trip back home to the Tampa area, I wanted to head up the keys a bit under VFR and then pick up IFR for the trip home. So, I picked a fix on the low enroute chart as my departure point instead of an airport. Took a wild guess at departure time and filed. When done sight seeing, I headed for the departure fix and called up center.

Worked out better than I expected. Was pretty painless.

I like it, good job. Weren't you the guy a year or two ago who didn't see the need for an IFR rating? If so, I bet you are glad you changed your mind.
 
I like it, good job. Weren't you the guy a year or two ago who didn't see the need for an IFR rating? If so, I bet you are glad you changed your mind.
I think that's overstating my stance. It was low priority for me, but I've always wanted to get it. However, I definitely see the benefits better from this side of the fence. Honestly, it would have been really difficult for me 2 years ago, but it was really pretty easy for me at this stage.
 
I think that's overstating my stance. It was low priority for me, but I've always wanted to get it. However, I definitely see the benefits better from this side of the fence. Honestly, it would have been really difficult for me 2 years ago, but it was really pretty easy for me at this stage.

That was my impression from a couple of posts at the time, regardless, I'm glad you came over to the other side. Nothing wrong with VFR only, but IFR opens up so many more days that I would sweat out as a vfr only pilot.
 
but IFR opens up so many more days that I would sweat out as a vfr only pilot

Got mine in December and can't wait for that first MVFR day when I can file and not have to cancel a trip just because it is is cloudy. I still have high personal minimums for approaches, but I really can't wait to be able to get above a layer and see the sun shining on what is a gray, cloudy day to the Earth-bound.

Right now, I haven't done much (any, really) IMC due to icing concerns. Oh, and my PFD is flaky... not good for IMC.
 
What surprised me was how much I enjoy it. Something about understanding and following the procedures, the rigidity of it, the cooperation with ATC.... tickles my brain.
 
Got mine in December and can't wait for that first MVFR day when I can file and not have to cancel a trip just because it is is cloudy. I still have high personal minimums for approaches, but I really can't wait to be able to get above a layer and see the sun shining on what is a gray, cloudy day to the Earth-bound.

Right now, I haven't done much (any, really) IMC due to icing concerns. Oh, and my PFD is flaky... not good for IMC.

Flaky pfd, not good. I think my mins will be +500 and 2 miles vis for ever.
 
My mins will probably be 1000 and 5 forever, from a planning perspective. But I'm comfortable going down to 500 if reality dishes that up.
 
So make me smarter - IFR in training guy here - absorbing everything I can. You didn't do a "pop up IFR plan", you filed prior to your trip, and just made your departure point a fix at some pre determined altitude? Why not just do a "pop up IFR plan" and not worry about hitting a time or a specific fix to start?

I never thought an IFR plan could start at somewhere other than an airport. Can you end an IFR plan some place other than an airport as well? I guess you could always just cancel it and go VFR if weather permitted. Can you "pause" a flight plane, buzz around VFR, and the pick it back up?
 
So make me smarter - IFR in training guy here - absorbing everything I can. You didn't do a "pop up IFR plan", you filed prior to your trip, and just made your departure point a fix at some pre determined altitude? Why not just do a "pop up IFR plan" and not worry about hitting a time or a specific fix to start?

I never thought an IFR plan could start at somewhere other than an airport. Can you end an IFR plan some place other than an airport as well? I guess you could always just cancel it and go VFR if weather permitted. Can you "pause" a flight plane, buzz around VFR, and the pick it back up?
That was also an option that probably would have worked out fine. By filing they knew about me, and there was less chance of them turning me down, which has been happening on occasion with the COVID situation reducing the number of controllers on duty.

You can ask for block altitudes, or really anything you want, and you’ll get it if they are not too busy. I felt this was the most simple way of getting what I wanted.
 
So make me smarter - IFR in training guy here - absorbing everything I can. You didn't do a "pop up IFR plan", you filed prior to your trip, and just made your departure point a fix at some pre determined altitude? Why not just do a "pop up IFR plan" and not worry about hitting a time or a specific fix to start?

I never thought an IFR plan could start at somewhere other than an airport. Can you end an IFR plan some place other than an airport as well? I guess you could always just cancel it and go VFR if weather permitted. Can you "pause" a flight plane, buzz around VFR, and the pick it back up?
As salty said, pop ups can be denied, meaning you have to contact FSS and file with them in the air and then go back to atc, all the while maintaining vfr. Even if the controller is willing, you're still taking their time and air time to go back and forth with the necessary information. It takes just a minute to file these days, and just because you file doesn't mean you have to open the plan. If there's ANY chance I'll need a clearance I'll file a plan. I usually just file airport- airport, but filling from a fix probably makes you easier to find, especially if the departure airport is a ways away.

Remember that you have a couple hours from your scheduled time before your plan is discarded, so filing from a fix like Salty doesn't mean you have to hit it at that exact time.

You can file TO a fix as well, which is not uncommon if going to a private strip, or just need a clearance for a short distance; say if your home field is clouded up, but your destination is severe clear.
 
Right after 9/11, we had just bought an IFR C-172. We either had to file because we were under a Class B shelf, or sit on the ground. Many times, I filed from our airport to a close by VOR, then cancelled IFR and proceeded VFR. Coming home, I filed from the same VOR to the airport. It may have been because the controllers were confused about all the new, temporary rules, but it worked out great. I was really blessed because I had passed my IFR checkride not too long before 9/11.
 
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