File a NASA report?

scope dope Trusted Member

Then he should have been filed and cleared if the conditions were IMC.

irishcarbomb Moderator Houston, TX

nowhere in his post did he say he didnt have atleast 3miles visibility...

strykr Junior Member cardboard box

My comment was in no way serious... I have a general understanding of how it works... Like Irishcarbomb said, there was no implication of it being more than of less than 3 mi. vis. Rossta, you ever think you'd get this much out of your question? Has any of it helped? we hope so!

boondr PHD without a degree North of the Equator

3000+3000=6000= Not three miles

irishcarbomb Moderator Houston, TX

cloud clearance is waayyy different than visibility.

required cloud clearances where he was : 1000 above, 500 below, 2000 horizontal. you can be 2000 feet away from a cloud and still have 20miles or more visibility.

illogical Junior Member orlando

you kids need to read some aviation weather books... lol this conv has cracked me up... it is not your place to file the report it would be the instructors if there was anything askew... you are not the copilot and have no license... dont listen to a bunch of green pre employment faa'ers on what to do or not to do. have the conversation with your instructor about what went wrong and why or why not it should be reported...

also you say you were 2-3k from the clouds circling down how do you remain clear of the clouds circling down like thats a mighty tight turn in my spacial perception..... maybe your distances arent quite accurate.... It also couldnt be that a fellow vfr flew through a cloud? that never happens does it?

even in bravo you only need target res "green between" and 500ft vertical if it was an ifr...

Rosstafari Daaaang. /X

I was hoping it'd generate some discussion. I've been keeping quiet because I haven't had a chance to bring it up with my instructor. I can't remember what the timeframe is to file a report -- I may be past it, I dunno. But in any case, it gives me plenty to think about, so I'm appreciating it.

Sure I do. Student license.

Plenty of pilots here.

Maybe. I meant that as an average distance; obviously the clouds weren't forming a perfect circle around me. Anyway, you can fly a DA-20 in a pretty tight turn radius.

Could be. Doesn't really change what my criteria would be for reporting; it was a close-ish encounter regardless of our flight plans.

strykr Junior Member cardboard box

Illogical, your post cracked me up did you not look at irishcarbombs sig? i would Hope that he would at least have an idea of legal/non legal VFR. plus his explanation on Vis was spot on. You made the exact point we all (in our round about way) are making that he is the student pilot with no Certificate to speak of, and its on his instructor. Rossta, your student license is just an authorization to take flight lessons, and fly under those rules(Part 141/61) with appropriate instructors sign offs and such. There are others here much more qualified than I to explain the difference. Thats my understanding of it though.

Rosstafari Daaaang. /X

Right. But it can still be revoked. Not in this case, of course, but just to make a point, I guess.

Anyway, the conclusions I'm coming to...


1. I was not PIC and am a student pilot, so the likelihood of me getting in any sort of trouble (especially for a non-incident like this) is pretty low. I'm not worried about any sanctions against me. A report's not going to make a difference to me there.
2. The instructor was flying safely above VFR minimums, so I doubt he would get any heat either. I don't think it's worth his trouble to file a report either.
3. That leaves the question of whether it's worth it to file the report for safety purposes... but I don't really see much benefit to it. Were it a unique or unusual case -- say, I was vectored into the clouds by ATC -- then I would go ahead and do it, because it seems that something could be learned from it. But having another plane pass nearby when I'm flying VFR and not visible from outside cloud cover? No big surprises there. About the only change I would've made would be to self-announce my position to ATC, but that's not required or even necessarily encouraged (although it's nice to inform the tower upon departure where you're practicing).

So, based on all that... don't think I'll file this time around. Thanks for everyone's input. Additional commentary is welcome, of course.

Centerpuke Junior Member ZTL

Rossta,

I would not worry about it too much if I were you. If your instructor doesnt want to file, you absolutely do not need too. You are a student pilot and in NO way culpable for anything happening on that aircraft.

Secondly, I want to share something with you. There is a small uncontrolled airport in my airspace that has a lot of student pilot activity. There is also a moderate amount of corporate traffic as well. Whenever the weather gets bad, the instructors grab their students and go practice IFR work. At the end of their trips, they will cancel IFR and I can see them sqwuak VFR. A lot of times, the weather will be 3000' overcast. After their final appraoach and cancellation they go practice holding at 2500' over the outer marker. Incidentally, the altitude for the approach is 2650'.

Now, are they 500' below the clouds? Yes. Are they doing anything wrong? Legally, NO. But they are holding, VFR, at 2500 feet over the outer marker. If I have any traffic for that airport, guess where it will be...Punching out of the clouds descending to 2600' at the outer marker! Get the picture?

The point is this, everything they are doing is legal, but it is INCREDIBLY STUPID and dangerous. Dont practice steep turns a few miles off the departure end of the runway, EVER. Go find a practice area or call ATC and let them know where you will be and what block of altitudes you will be at. Think of the big picture! Dont be another stupid pilot!