KRs in IFR
I have been flying SOFT IFR for about 10 years and VFR only for about
5 years before that and all I can say is ANY aircraft regardless of
how equipped is a VFR ? Day aircraft if the pilot is not competent
for IFR.
The type of aircraft, instrumentation and navigation systems just
does not make much of a difference if the PIC is not proficient in
using the equipment he / she left the ground with. That also includes
the various GPSs available today as aids for VFR operation. Google
Cory Lidle and East River Crash. I pulled the same stunt in a rented
172 while messing with a panel mounted GPS I was not experienced with.
Fortunately a charter pilot in the Hudson ratted me out by tail number
and JFK Approach ?politely? gave me vectors back to the Hudson and
a number for me to call after I landed.
I have owned either whole or in part a 152, 172 and a PA38 (yes Jeff
Scott) and flew all of them as a single pilot in soft IFR. Why you
might ask? To create OPTIONS for when things did not go the way I
planned or when I wanted to fly at night with poor visibility of the
horizon.
I plan to make my KR2 IFR capable with the type of equipment I am
comfortable with steam gauges (yes it is heavier than the new glass
cockpit stuff). I still maintain my IFR Currency and let my favorite
CFII beat me up under the hood frequently. Should you do the same????
That?s up to you, but know and evaluate the risks. I have made
modifications similar to Jeff Scott for stability and some of my own
creation as this is experimental aviation, but in my case the KR2 is
built as a single. Even if I was built like Langford and I am NOT it
still would be a single place EXPERIMENTAL aircraft
Gary Shubert
