Thread: Special VFR!
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Old 11-24-2008, 10:22 AM
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rickair7777
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Originally Posted by Longbow64 View Post
Can somebody please explain to me what a special vfr is?

is it for day:

1 sm visibility and clear of clouds
plane instrument certified, and pilot instrument rated

for night:

3 sm visibility and clear of clouds
plane instrument certified, and pilot instrument rated
The other guys explained what it is, but what is good for?

I would not recommend departing for any destination under SFVR, especially at night. It can be useful for situations where the low vis is due to haze only and is NOT likely to turn into clouds or hard IMC.

1. Pattern Work.
2. Approach/Landing in SOCAL in the late afternoon. Winds are westerly, and the sun sets in the west. Combined with haze/smog, this can a create a low-vis situation making it hard to return to your home base late in the day.

Theoretically, you could get clearance to go from one airport to another in a large metro area where both airports and the route are under B airspace, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you are VERY familiar with the local landmarks and are certain that the low vis is due to haze and will not turn into a cloud layer.

There are a few other places (like SLC) where persistent haze due to pollution/inversion layers might be present.
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