Block Altitude

Steven P. McNicoll wrote:
> "Sam Spade" <sam@coldmail.com> wrote in message
> news:ztU4j.14743$so3.4235@newsfe18.lga...
>
>>Not the same. With block altitudes I can climb and descent over and over.
>>On a cruise clearance can stop on the way down, but not climb again.
>>
>
>
> You can climb again if you have not verbally reported leaving an altitude in
> descent.
>
>
That's what the book says, but with Mode C I sure would want to confirm
that it's okay to go back up.

"Sam Spade" <sam@coldmail.com> wrote in message
news:P515j.1975$hO7.979@newsfe13.lga...
>
> I know the book says that. Being cconservative can avoid conflicts,
> though.
>

If you knew the book says that why did you state, "On a cruise clearance can
stop on the way down, but not climb again."?

On 12/4/2007 11:04:50 AM, "Jim Macklin" wrote: <break>

> I really wish people would accurately quote when they use my name.

And I really wish there was world peace.

--
Peter

B A R R Y wrote:

> Ray Andraka wrote:
>
>>
>> No, if you are IFR in VFR conditions, you are expected to participate
>> in see-and-avoid.
>
>
> I know that. I was thinking of the "pop out".
>
The cloud clearance rules for VFR are supposed to provide adequate time
to see and avoid upon popping out. Not sure they really do, but 2000'
IS nearly a half mile.

> The cloud clearance rules for VFR are supposed to provide adequate time to
> see and avoid upon popping out. Not sure they really do, but 2000' IS
> nearly a half mile.

Let's do the math. Suppose two planes are head on, each doing 120 knots.
That's a closure rate of 240 kt = 4 nm/minute. 2000 feet is about 1/3 nm, so
the time to collision is 1/12 min = 5 seconds.

Barry wrote:
>>The cloud clearance rules for VFR are supposed to provide adequate time to
>>see and avoid upon popping out. Not sure they really do, but 2000' IS
>>nearly a half mile.
>
>
> Let's do the math. Suppose two planes are head on, each doing 120 knots.
> That's a closure rate of 240 kt = 4 nm/minute. 2000 feet is about 1/3 nm, so
> the time to collision is 1/12 min = 5 seconds.
>
>
Yup, pretty scary. Now put that VFR guy busting the cloud
clearances. I frequently hear VFR pilots joking that you can't really
tell how far away the cloud is after talking about skimming the edges of
clouds. I point out that an IFR could come out of that cloud at any
time. Doesn't seem to bother many of them though.

On 12/06/07 14:18, Ray Andraka wrote:
> Barry wrote:
>>>The cloud clearance rules for VFR are supposed to provide adequate time to
>>>see and avoid upon popping out. Not sure they really do, but 2000' IS
>>>nearly a half mile.
>>
>>
>> Let's do the math. Suppose two planes are head on, each doing 120 knots.
>> That's a closure rate of 240 kt = 4 nm/minute. 2000 feet is about 1/3 nm, so
>> the time to collision is 1/12 min = 5 seconds.
>>
>>
> Yup, pretty scary. Now put that VFR guy busting the cloud
> clearances. I frequently hear VFR pilots joking that you can't really
> tell how far away the cloud is after talking about skimming the edges of
> clouds. I point out that an IFR could come out of that cloud at any
> time. Doesn't seem to bother many of them though.

I flew with a friend pilot once (this flight turned out to be my last
flight with him, as a result) where on departure from a San Francisco
Bay-area airport, he climbed right through a cloud (he was not instrument
trained).

At the time, I just couldn't believe what he was doing. I kept a close
watch on the instruments as a way of double checking that he was maintaining
a reasonable climb attitude (as well as I understood what that meant at
the time). We were in the cloud for a little over a minute.

After the flight, I talked to him about the dangers of what he had done, and
he was not convinced. He said that he was capable of keeping the airplane
upright, and that the chance that there would be some other pilot flying
through the clouds at that same time were remote. He agreed that what he
did was "illegal", but that it was more of a paper problem than any real
safety issue.

Whew! Luckily for the rest of the world, he is no longer flying. However,
he did take up sailing - I don't know how that's going, but I don't plan
to go sailing with him any time soon ;-)


--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane, USUA Ultralight Pilot
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA