Hi Mike and others,
I must apologize, I didn't realize the the IFR question was UK based
when I made my comments. We very lucky in the US for the freedoms we
have in that regard.
Having IFR capability has really turned my Europa into a very capable
touring machine. Two, 3.5 hour legs has me covering easily 800 to 900
miles in a day. Flying in the FL80 to FL12 range nearly always gets
me a smooth ride with not a lot of traffic to contend with, it seems a
pity that not everyone can enjoy getting this level of utility out of
their Europa. Mostly brought about by bureaucracy I suppose.
I recently flew to the US Europa fly in and I had to fly the last 20
nm leg of the trip in VFR minimums because the airport didn't have an
approach. I remember thinking to myself that folks in Europe do this
all the time, me, I was just plain terrified.
BTW, I fully support your comments about night flying cross country
flying, I avoid it at all costs, its like playing poker and having to
give up your Ace... it just too much risk for me... but then the older
I'm getting the less bolder I am becoming. Same comment about ice,
it can be difficult to avoid in North America and its something I have
a great respect for. I suspect that the Europa wing would be extremely
intolerant to ice.
Anyhow, I suppose I am preaching to the choir here, but I thought I
would toss in my 2 cents worth.
Cheers, Paul
|