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What are your IFR takeoff minimums?
Is this a trick question? If you say there aren’t any prescribed takeoff minimums for Part 91 operators, you would be correct; however, just because something is legal doesn’t make it smart. You might even have heard an instructor saying you can take off if it’s “zero-zero.” That advice is as impractical as it is, well, stupid. Flying involves risk. We can’t let ourselves be paralyzed by those risks, but we certainly need to manage them, so here are some factors you might want to consider in… (www.flyingmag.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I have been doing this for 40 years........I am neither a test pilot or hero. Its simple, if you dont have landing minimums, don't take off. Anyone really HAVE to get there that bad?
Amen!
Amen again! I still like the basic 135 minimums, 2 engines or less, 1 mile vis., 3 engines or more, 1/2 mile. And for those of you who haven't had a real engine failure shortly after takeoff, congratulations, and in a single the survival odds are in your favor. In a piston twin, unless you do everything just right they certainly are not. So why complicate it by not being able to see? And if you really want to think safety, part 135 takeoff minimums are published and readily available. And they are airport specific, i.e. terrain, obstacles, etc. The old adages about old pilots, bold pilots, and all that's legal, isn't necessarily safe will serve you well. Accident statistics won't if they are yours.
Well said!
Personally, I won't takeoff if it's below 200ft and 1/2 mile visibility unless it's a really thin layer with an alternate above minimums nearby. The Cessna 310 crash at PAO (Palo Alto, CA) 2.5 years ago that killed 3 Tesla Motors employees is a big reason for that. I was based at SQL (San Carlos, CA) at the time of the crash and remember the weather that day and can't imagine taking off in that, especially on a 2400ft runway with no centerline lighting. The NTSB's probable cause was essentially spatial disorientation: http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20100217X24906&key=1
That's what I kept telling my pilot as we were hooked up to one of the forward catapults, night, IFR: "Hey, this is stupid".
Nobody listened, however. 'course, the only obstacle then was 70' below us:)
Nobody listened, however. 'course, the only obstacle then was 70' below us:)