Yes, but only after you landed 
Peter wrote:
But a lightning strike will do a lot of damage to a GA plane. For a start you have a mandatory shock load inspection, because the current could damage the crankshaft bearing(s), etc. And it is likely to damage a lot of other stuff; one recent DA42 case came to 20k or so and the engines were not done on that one. There is usually avionics damage.
Surely that would be covered by hull insurance?
@highflyer
I agree, but you don’t know it’s a disaster until rather late
“Pleas” may be too strong a word—“several requests” to ATC is more accurate
I tend to comply. These situations develop really fast. But I agree, it is important to remember who’s at risk.
WhiskeyPapa wrote:
They forced me down in spite of my pleas
You could have said “unable to comply”. Nobody can force you into a disaster. You are the pilot, not the guy at the radar screen.
“Towering Cumulus” cloud is the aviation term for “Cumulus Congestus” – and one stage before the CB or “Cumulonimbus”. A TCU can develop into a CB but does not necessarily have to, but it can develop rain showers and gusty winds.
Peter wrote:
How can you tell a “real CB” when you are underneath a cloud layer? What is a “real CB”? A TCU can chuck out just as much rain. This is often what is above the layer:
I thought a TCU is a cumulus cloud rapidly building, but not raining yet ??
Or divert.
Well for sure you would be suicidal to be below the MSA when in IMC
This (terrain rising to meet the cloudbase) is what kills a lot of VFR pilots. Even if you can fly on instruments, and can thus just climb up into IMC and flip to DIFR (DIY IFR) you might still get icing (in the winter especially).
It is a really tricky issue. For example if I am flying from Shoreham to Wellesbourne and there is a fairly solid layer then I need to do it below the cloudbase entirely, the whole way. The only alternative is a DIY IAP into Wellesbourne…
I flew under the black once. Don’t plan to repeat. Fortunately it was right after a period of training in real IMC for a ticket I never got. ATC simply refused to clear me through controlled airspace higher up where I was clear of weather, wending my way past spectacular cloud formations. They forced me down in spite of my pleas and I thought I could scoot under the black clouds to the blue beyond. It’s unbelievable what happens when the clouds let loose. I was absolutely furious with myself, “what a stupid way to go!”
Never again!
achimha wrote:
In the UK you have the fantastic possibility of going IFR very low on your own without ATC. I once flew from Leeds to Stuttgart and the freezing level and cloud cover did not allow for classic controlled IFR so I went below the freezing level through the clouds, requesting control zone crossings, receiving traffic information of other aircraft also in IMC. Very good in this case — poor disjointed minimum service ATC compared to the continent but you get something powerful in return.
As far as I know, the UK still requires IFR flight to be 1000ft above the highest point within 5 or 8km (can’t remember which). I think it’s 2000ft when in mountainous terrain which I’m sure Scotland would be. So that would require a minimum altitude of 4-5K at best. That is what I was referring to. Really to make the most of it you want to be no higher than 2000ft, down in the valleys and between the islands. This requires VFR.
I’m not for a second saying that VFR is better than IFR, just that it’s a tool available to the pilot, and you select the most appropriate tool available for the job.
But don’t let that put you off Scotland! There is little enough airspace there (and much of it is closed at the weekends or only activated by NOTAMs) to make staying legal easy, even for the most VFR adverse pilot 
