Mon Apr 19, 2021 2:46 pm
#1841438
Inspired by this viewtopic.php?f=5&t=118436#p1841403...
It was an eye opener to me first time I went out in anything less than 10km visibility. Sadly, it seems that few instructors take their students up in or let students solo in visibility of less than 10km and therefore students have not experienced what that actually means.
As a result, the newly fledged PPL holder may well plan a trip in 3-4 km visibility, because you can, right?
Yes, you can, but it is not necessarily advised.
At those visibility levels, navigation becomes much more challenging and a lookout will feel claustrophobic. Add to that the potential sun angle and the greying out effect looking towards the sun and it is very easy to find oneself very occupied and potentially overloaded. What would be a pleasant flight in CAVOK is not so in the lower reaches of the VFR limits and can be quite challenging if not directly dangerous. It's also not very rewarding for passengers.
I wish more instructors would take students down to legal VFR limits to demonstrate what low visibility means to avoid bad surprises early on.
Just a thought...
It was an eye opener to me first time I went out in anything less than 10km visibility. Sadly, it seems that few instructors take their students up in or let students solo in visibility of less than 10km and therefore students have not experienced what that actually means.
As a result, the newly fledged PPL holder may well plan a trip in 3-4 km visibility, because you can, right?
Yes, you can, but it is not necessarily advised.
At those visibility levels, navigation becomes much more challenging and a lookout will feel claustrophobic. Add to that the potential sun angle and the greying out effect looking towards the sun and it is very easy to find oneself very occupied and potentially overloaded. What would be a pleasant flight in CAVOK is not so in the lower reaches of the VFR limits and can be quite challenging if not directly dangerous. It's also not very rewarding for passengers.
I wish more instructors would take students down to legal VFR limits to demonstrate what low visibility means to avoid bad surprises early on.
Just a thought...
We all live under the same sky, but we don't all have the same horizon.