Air traffic control offers a smorgasbord of mostly legal ways to run the scud without running from the law. We’ll consider four procedures that blend IFR with VFR to expand system utility. They are: Visual approach, contact approach, VFR-on-top (OTP), and special VFR (SVFR). That last sounds like an item on the Airport Cafe menu: “I’ll have the special VFR with curly fries.”
In Iowa, where Paul spent much of his indentured servitude, it’s “Ketchup”. (laugh)
Thanks for a great tutorial on navigation using these “special” procedures. I’m posting it on the bulletin board at my FBO so that all may learn. Some younger pilots may need further tutorials as to who “Shemp” and “Curly” are (what? No MOE?) It is said that a writer should write for his/her intended audience–which would seem to indicate that this is meant for older pilots. We consider it a paean to the “cognoscenti”–we actually ENJOY these literary obscure references by “The Two Pauls!”
In the late 60s I flew our FBOs Instrument training Cardinal to Louisville to pick up some freight. I had a commercial Lic but no Instrument rating. I asked for and received a special VFR from an intersection West of SDF and got sequenced toward the old runway 01. The haze in that area was very common back then and it was difficult to judge vis but you could see the ground. I got vectored to the ILS and noticed that the ground had vanished. The approach controller said he didn’t have a strip on me and asked If I had filed a flight plan. I replied in the negative. He then asked if I had an Instrument Rating. Again Negative. He replied “continue your approach”. I saw the runway lights at about 300 feet and landed. A not so genial Fed met me on the ramp and gave me hell but I told him the wx was OK til I started down on final and I thought the safest thing was to fly the ILS and land. At the time I had passed the Inst Written exam and had maybe 8 or 10 hours under the hood. It was pretty dumb but I learned from it.
The charted visual flight procedures at KSFO are a case study in “FAA complexese.” Check out the conditional weather requirements and the charted “go-around” procedures.
“Another good use of a contact approach is where the official weather is less than 1000 or 3 but out the windshield looks like an easy visual approach.”
My best use of a contact approach flying a King Air–often, the weather is about 1,000’ broken and good visibility. From higher altitude, I know that the broken area is widespread, lots of holes–but the problem with holes is that if you cancel IFR, you have to maintain horizontal separation of 2000’–and at higher speed, that means you need a hole well over a mile in diameter. Requesting a contact approach allows you to fly “clear of clouds.”
Still need to keep a sharp lookout, though, there may be VFR traffic in the climb looking to go through those same breaks–though they SHOULD be maintaining cloud clearance minimums. Is it LEGAL? Yes–but to go back to another increasingly-obscure Iowa reference (“Ya gotta know the TERRITORY!”) (“The Music Man”). Navigation is on your own!
“Shortcuts” as explained by Paul are the aviation version of the old legal axiom–“A GOOD lawyer knows the law–the EXCEPTIONAL lawyer knows the EXCEPTIONS!” (smile)
Years ago I used a contact approach clearance to avoid flying through a thunderstorm at the outer marker on an ILS when on downwind I could see my home airport was clear VMC. When cleared I just flew a 1 mile base to final to miss the previously mentioned weather. Things you can do in a Caravan! When I started flying jets those companies did not have the ops spec allowing contact approaches, I am sure for obvious reasons. As Clint Eastwood said in one of his movie lines, “ got to know your limitations”.
So that was the secret message by Phil, ‘No Moe’. Moe from the three stooges must have been slapping his bald head. ‘No Moe, No Moe’…’No Moe, No Moe’…
I wonder what is says when it is played backwards ?
If I’m not on an instrument flight plan, I don’t like getting close to controlled airspace where I will be getting vectored (controlled) by ATC in less than favorable conditions. ATC can not see the clouds, and under VFR you as PIC must remain clear of the clouds.
I was flying in from the Bahamas to KFXE and passed through KFLL’s air space. I was at the cloud layer level when KFLL approach directed me into the clouds. I replied to the instructions to turn with, “un able I’m VFR and IMC to my right”… Approach was also directing departures. I heard the clearance for a large Delta aircraft directed my way. The controller gave me the same instruction, this time with kind of a panic tone. I responded NXxxx turning to heading XXX and announced I was IMC.
I was not instrument rated at the time, though I had passed my instrument written and did have enough hours for a check ride. I was not instrument rated, more important, I was not on an instrument flight plan and had no plans for going IIMC. But, there I was.
I could have chosen to take on the large commercial jet heading toward me. A large jet that could pop out of a cloud at any moment, or take my chances with the soft puffy cloud to my right. I picked cloud.
There has been lots of discussion about IIMC lately, and I’ve had this happen more than once.
I was lucky, unlike most pilots, I had spatial disorientation training at the FAA training facility in Oklahoma. Also, because I had just flown about 750 miles over the islands, mainly using my instruments to navigate, my instruments were set for instrument flight.
What if I had just taken off and my instruments weren’t set? When I’m going into controlled airspace I always prepare my instruments and myself as if I’m going IMC, even if I’m not on an IFR flight plan…
Our non-IFR strip’s location under the edge of a MOA coupled with a relatively high MVA in the “clear” direction precludes getting an IFR vectored descent into VFR conditions when the ceilings are 2000 AGL or lower. Fortunately there is a towered airport with IFR approaches only 7 miles away over flat ground, and getting a SVFR out of their control zone after a successful approach let me get home a number of times. Can be a powerful tool but definitely a “use with caution” one.
Good article but for me it created more questions than answers. I would like to speak with the author (and other CFIs) of the AV Web February 18, 2021 article by Paul Berge entitled “What’s So Special About Special VFR?”
I am open to suggestions as to forums for the discussion but will suggest the EAA Forum EAA IMC Club(http://eaaforums.org/forumdisplay.php?26-EAA-IMC-Club) although I doubt it is ideal because of limited activity and other issues.
