VFR into IMC
How long can a pilot who has no instrument training expect to live after they fly into bad weather and lose visual contact with the ground? SmartPilot.ca put that question to the test.
Many pilots have heard the 178 second story. It is based on a study by researchers at the University of Illinois who put twenty student “guinea pigs” into simulated instrument weather. All went into graveyard spirals or rollercoasters with time intervals that ranged from 480 seconds down to 20 seconds. The average time was 178 seconds - just two seconds short of three minutes.
178 Seconds to Live (AOPA)
Radio and flight procedures for landing and departing Non-Tower Aerodromes using ATF and MF.
Download Transport Canada Take 5 "178 Seconds"
Just recently, SmartPilot.ca took 17 Canadian pilots to PrecisePilot’s full motion flight simulator in Vaughan, Ontario to see for ourselves what would happen. All pilots were experienced VFR pilots, some totalling times in excess of 1000 hours however all had very little instrument time.
Check out the results below!
VFR into IMC
Radio and flight procedures for departing a MF Aerodrome.
Lessons Learned
Radio and flight procedures for landing at a MF Aerodrome.
