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Why the UK is the only country with the IMC Rating

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Flat land and low clouds and disjoint airspace, but honestly 2500ft agl cloud-base for VMC ??
In the other hand it was the only country banning VFR on top (pre-SERA/FCL) and requiring 10km visibility for SVFR

The same as asking why only Switzerland and France have MOU ratings

Last Edited by Ibra at 30 Jun 09:20
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

To be more precise: It’s the only country with two IFR ratings ;-)

Might be the same reason why some Inuit are said to have 40 different words for “snow” …

Germany

The Sami people have more than 300 words for “snow” on the other hand, how many EASA/European words are there for *pilot licence/rating" ?

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

Ibra wrote:

2500ft agl cloud-base for VMC ??

Huh?

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

Why the UK is the only country with the IMC Rating

I don’t know. Maybe it wants to be different?

I would have thought Canada, Greenland, Iceland and some of the Scandinavian countries with similar climates may have also wanted something similar? Or did they feel an ICAO-complaint IR is enough?

Last Edited by James_Chan at 30 Jun 13:23

They didn’t make an ICAO-compliant IR such a ballache to get that most private pilots simply don’t have the time or inclination.

Andreas IOM

@Airborn_Again just some dodgy pre-SERA/FCL non-ICAO junk that ATS had in their MATS and pilots in ANO for VFR in class D or SVFR in class A that required 10km visibility, 2500ft ceiling, no VFR on top for vanilla legacy PPL then those having the IMCr were exempt

Last Edited by Ibra at 30 Jun 13:37
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

The IMCR was carefully structured to keep “amateurs” out of the “professionals’ airspace”, by not allowing access to Class A.

That, de facto, prevents flights in the Eurocontrol system, which also keeps “amateurs” out of the “professionals’ airspace”.

It is a scheme to allow private pilots to drill holes in clouds in Class D+G, and to fly IAPs in D+G in IMC, while absolving ATC from any obligation to issue or honour any form of a proper enroute clearance. Your clearance is only as specified – just like in VFR.

A perfect and necessary quid pro quo

It is a very good rating. But it would not be politically accepted in any country where there is little or no Class A. In Europe, only UK and Italy have lots of Class A.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

In Europe, only UK and Italy have lots of Class A.

France? Netherlands? Spain? They all have chunks of Class A. Of course, not as much as in the UK.

EGTR
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