My understanding is that even if you have CAT3C, you still cannot land if the surface vis is below some figure, because you may not be able to taxi off the runway.
Cat IIIC implies zero/zero. The airports needs a ground movement radar which only very few have. Heathrow is probably the most popular example of where such approaches are made.
Theoretically it should be possible to get approval for more than Cat I with a standard Cessna but I have never heard about anyone getting it. Getting this right at 65KIAS should be simpler than with big iron.
There was a situation in the USA where a tired pilot after a long flight and eager to get home was involved in a fatal accident on an approach. His destination weather deteriorated as did his alternate, yet he still made an approach at the destination on the coast and at his alternate which was within easy driving distance. He crashed during the approach to the alternate. At the time there were several airports within 50 NM that were VFR, but would have resulted in the pilot not getting home that night. He never did get home.
Often when the weather deteriorates, pilots overlook options to divert along the route to VFR airports and have blinders on that focus only on the destination, the alternate, and finishing the flight.
At the time there were several airports within 50 NM that were VFR, but would have resulted in the pilot not getting home that night. He never did get home.
A wise man once told me that the most important safety tool at the disposal of a pilot was a credit card and a willingness to use it on overnight accommodation.
Without preempting my trip report, we had a very good example of this on the Atlantic flight.
In general my view is that you never really want to get to your destination and then divert. Sometimes you can be unsure of your ability to get in and decide to try but your tolerance for doing so depends on your range and speed and ability to get up to date information en-route and of course on the availability of other options.
We left Kulusuk planing to make Vagar - an 815 mile trip. We planned to have 2 hours fuel (at high speed cruise) on arrival and Vagar was forecast to be clear. Our plan was to get overhead Iceland which by that stage had some airports that were landable although still a bit windy. If there was any doubt about Vagar, we would land there. We had up to date METARS and IR satellite photos with the MLX770 and knew Vagar to be open so we pressed on. We did not want to get to Vagar and then divert even though, if it had gone low-IFR, we still had fuel to get back to Iceland or the UK. Without in-flight weather I do not think we would have done the leg as Vagar could have closed and we would not have known until we were overhead.
JasonC wrote: ... Without in-flight weather I do not think we would have done the leg as Vagar could have closed and we would not have known until we were overhead. ...
Is it not possible to get METAR/TAF on R/T from some Iceland Info?
Is it not possible to get METAR/TAF on R/T from some Iceland Info?
Yes, but I don't think it it a good idea to ask for frequent updates of that sort of information on VHF with busy controllers as it comes across as a lack of preparation even if that is unfair. It is very comforting to know that 3 minutes ago the METAR was X without having to ask.
If you need updates on the weather you should never hesitate to ask. If the weather is changing frequently you should ask for updates frequently, especially if your options are limited. ATC are there to provide a service, and if you aircraft is not equipped to obtain up to date weather reports they should provide them upon request and without undue delay. If you believe you have a good reason to ask, that is a good enough reason. If after the event it turns out that your flight planning was deficient in any way, that should be discussed after the event.
It's always better to be down here wishing that you were up there, but when you happen to be up there wishing that you were down here ATC are there to help. In my experience all of them have always done so....even when I've made some dumb requests.
Of course if you need it you ask but using it as a substitute for planning is not ideal.
Of course Jason! If weather forecasting was a science rather than an art, we would never need to ask. Often, in winter in Northern Europe, as soon RVR's start to diminish, you will hear a multitude of pilots requesting the weather at a variety of airports. Sensibly they are checking the availability of their alternates, and even second alternates. This is not because their planning was deficient, but rather they are keeping on top of a fluid situation - and in order to do this they need the assistance that ATC are there to provide.
BTW, Congratulations on your trip. Looking forward to the write up.
It is possible to get wx from ATC but there are several potential issues with it
Often, IFR sector controllers are really busy. Try London Control say 8am - it can take a while to get your initial call in, and you can totally forget getting wx out of them. They are as professional as they come, but they can't do it. Same with Brussels Approach, etc.
Often, especially in southern Europe, ATC ELP (English Language Proficiency) is poor or zero (just know the standard phrases with zero "conversational Engligh") and if you ask them for wx they won't even reply... again, standard procedure is to ignore the radio call because it leaves no evidence on the tape that you could not understand the pilot. And reading out a METAR or a TAF in English does require seriously good ELP.
Getting wx from ATC is not viable for getting it for a number of airports in one go. The radio workload is too high.
I don't have a MLX770 so I use a cheap £300 ex Ebay satphone to do this 
It's priceless on a long flight because you really do not want to get anywhere near your destination before realising a diversion is needed.
Airlines have datalink wx - except Ryanair who are often heard calling up London Information 
IMHO (not being an airline pilot) they get away with this because they fly Cat3 ILS equipped aircraft, on very regular and "easy" routes. GA has a much harder job. If all these airlines had only Cat 1 ILS capability, they would have a lot of problems achieving their present 99.xx% despatch rate in N. Europe.
