Good IFR write up .. the other IFR

Good read. I resorted to the "other" IFR a few weeks ago over the central valley of CA, due to a bunch of layered clouds down to <2,000' AGL. over the Fresno area. At one point I just decided to scrap the plotted course and follow SR99 (which is a major highway) for a while. I figured if I stayed above 500' AGL I should hopefully be clear of all the crop dusters. o_O
 
Is I follow the roads the same as scud running?
 
I find it especially useful over the mountains. MEA over the mountains tends to put you into the oxygen levels and possibly into ice. Roads usually don't go over peaks but rather through passes and other lower elevation points.
 
Now that I think of it I did,follow the roads on my trip to Alaska over the al can highway.
 
asicer said:
I find it especially useful over the mountains. MEA over the mountains tends to put you into the oxygen levels and possibly into ice. Roads usually don't go over peaks but rather through passes and other lower elevation points.
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Just gotta watch out for those tunnels...
 
asicer said:
I find it especially useful over the mountains. MEA over the mountains tends to put you into the oxygen levels and possibly into ice. Roads usually don't go over peaks but rather through passes and other lower elevation points.
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so you take the low road? HA
 
Jeff Oslick said:
No, scud running is violating VFR cloud clearance, ground clearance and/or visibility requirements.
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I thought scud running was done at the minimums praying that the weather doesn't get worse mid trip causing you to fly into IMC.

Interesting take on landing on roads, something a lot of pilots say is not a good idea in an emergency because of traffic.
 
asicer said:
I find it especially useful over the mountains. MEA over the mountains tends to put you into the oxygen levels and possibly into ice. Roads usually don't go over peaks but rather through passes and other lower elevation points.
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And some go through tunnels. :eek:

edit: I see someone else mentioned that as well
 
jaymark6655 said:
I thought scud running was done at the minimums praying that the weather doesn't get worse mid trip causing you to fly into IMC.

Interesting take on landing on roads, something a lot of pilots say is not a good idea in an emergency because of traffic.
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There is nothing inherently unwise about flying at minimums, but you need to be aware of all of the conditions of flight, i.e., night, terrain, changing weather, and your ability and willingness to make a 180 degree turn.
 
jaymark6655 said:
High wings can come up with any argument they want, they will never look as cool as low wing and looking cool is rule #1.
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Put bush wheels on anything with a low wing and land it on a gravel bar in any river, and it still won't look half as cool as the rattiest old ragged out Super Cub sitting next to it. (Mostly because the SC will still be flyable, whereas the low wing is river trash.) ;) Low wing airplanes were invented for people who are afraid to look down. High wing pilots look down on everyone else. :)
 
Okay, this might be relevant to this thread. My 2nd CFI said for training and checkride, pick a big flat empty Minnesota field (when in MN that is). But in real life you have maybe 3 possibities: it's frozen solid stubble and will probably flip, it's muddy wet and it with eventually dig in and flip and you might get lucky and not flip.

A few weeks ago about 30 miles from our airport a turbine Air Tractor lost the engine, went down in the field and supposed flipped end over end a couple times. Proving CFI's case #2 above (unfortunately). And for some Minnesota serious pilot badassness...the ag pilot got out, got a ride back to the airport and kept flying....but I digress (but that is badass).

Back to my story, so during training CFI said dont forget about roads once you're done with training. Okay, Got it.

Fast forward to last week. He gave me this puppy dog look when he saw I was going flying alone and could probably start some IR training with him. So I ask him if he's flying tonight. Mega Bummed look. Then he explains he's meeting another pilot to fill out a accident report.

They were in an experimental and the fan stopped. Went for a road. Wing clipped a post. Spun it and tipped it over and then down the ditch into the.......field. No one was hurt.

I just figure a road is so narrow especially when I think my narrowest runway was maybe 40ft but it was probably 50ft and felt like 40ft.

Should probably get a Cirrus...only way to be sure :(
 
Normal roads are 12 foot lanes with about a 1 to 2 foot edge (~28 feet wide) if I remember correctly, some narrow country roads can be 10 foot lanes with no edge, hopefully on those there will be a ditch with trees on the other side of the ditch far away from the road and no powerlines if one is lucky. Narrowest runway I have landed on was 30 feet, afterwards instructor said, "now you won't be afraid to use a road in an emergency."
 
Drive a country road, looking at both sides: trees, mailboxes, road signs, power poles, fence posts. Try counting how many power / phone / cables cross the road in a half mile . . . .

Landing on a 28 foot wide road isn't that hard. But my wingspan is 36 feet, lots of stuff in the way even if I dodge all of the lines going through the trees and across the road.
 
Traffic you have to judge at the moment, I imagine (haven't ever actually done it, knock on wood). I can land pretty close to typical freeway traffic speed, which helps. At least as big a problem is that roads often have power lines/poles pretty close to them, and they can be hard to see until you get fairly close.
 
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