@Peter, teaching all PPLs to fly an ILS doesn’t seem a bad idea, but applied IF is arguably the most perishable skill in aviation, so we would need to make it legal, easy, inexpensive and rewarding to practice.
So all roads lead back to the IMC rating which, like the 243 Winchester hunting rifle, seems to be despised as inadequate by all who don’t own one. Now that an IMCR can be had without using ADF it is within reach of many and, crucially, it allows the holder to practice whenever he or she sees a friendly cloud.
I think we have discussed this before, but there are plenty of airports around that still offer a SAR or the military equivalent. PPLs should know it is available and, of course, ideally had experience, the same is true for a non pilot flying budy. It is the best way down for anyone with enough basic hand flying skills and likely to be far less risky than an ILS unless you are truly efficient setting up and monitoring the autopilot to do it for you.
The other element is if you are going to play with weather have a strategy when it goes wrong. There are plenty of coastal airports in a lot of areas where a let down over the sea is a possibility with all the safety advantages of knowing there is nothing above 300 feet.
Finally having no hang ups about using ATC to best advantage is crucial. If you can get yourself on top, stable and comfortable, ATC will often be able to give you options, so with basic instrument skills dont be afraid to climb if icing and tops are not an issue. With enough fuel the options become even better so carry as much as you can if you are tempted to play with weather.
Fuji_Abound wrote:
there are plenty of airports around that still offer a SAR or the military equivalent
You of course meant a PAR – Precision Approach Radar and not SAR – Search and Rescue 
There are less and less of them around I am afraid. At least on the continent.
I think he meant SRA, surveillance radar approach. Also increasingly rare these days, especially down to half mile minimum. I think Gloucester may be the only one left in the UK to those minimums.
Yes of course sorry SRA – are there really so few – duwn south last time I looked there seemed to be a surprising number.
flybymike wrote:
Also increasingly rare these days
Are they that rare? Certainly duwn south most of the local suspects offer a SRA – Southend, Gatwick, Southampton, Exeter, Newquay which in terms of the area and places with ILS seems pretty good coverage? Are there many airports with an ILS without an SRA? I can of course think of Lydd, that lacks the radar cover.
Oxford doesnt have one either.
Fuji_Abound wrote:
Southend
That one at least is down to 2nm only, not 0.5
I wonder what happnes if you desperately need a recovery, have declared a Pan or Mayday, have been given a SRA but dont manage a cloudbreak by the limit of the SRA? BTW I have found that pilots with little instrument flying manage an SRA pretty well and a lot better than an ILS.
Come to think of it. A very similar thing happened here some 4 years ago with 3 German Cessnas. Only it ended bad with 3 fatalities when one hit a mountain. The accident aircraft was a fully IFR equipped 172RG, and the PIC had started IFR training with some 33 hours of IFR training.
The report (in English) can be downloaded from this link
