USMCFLYR

Yes - you could use a composite flight plan in the scenario that you are asking about. Composite flight plans have many other uses just VFR-on-top. My community in the military used them often for an IFR leg to the start of a VR low level route, then to pop off the VR and pickup IFR handling again for the trip home.

Since you are a new IFR pilot, I encourage you to fly in the IFR system as much as possible (to answer one poster who asked why would you file IFR in any case) and to try as many different techniques as possible as have been suggested to learn to how work the system to it's greatest advantage in your favor. Ideally, it would be the best to work all of these different techniques in the safety of actual VMC conditions before venturing into hard IMC - think of them as training runs - but file and fly as you are comfortable with when you have no choce but to fly in true IMC conditions.

I took a IMC cross-country just 1 month after getting my instrument ticket and only one VMC flight inbetween. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but it was some real experience right out of the bucket. Just be careful and don't overestimate your abilities and get yourself into a pickle.

Have fun!

USMCFLYR

WMU av8tor

And that is exactly why I plan to do as much IFR in VMC as I can, not only am I new to IFR but i'm also new to IFR in my C172. All the WMU instructors make fun of me for being so cautious all the time with my flying but i'd rather be too cautious rather than too bold and end up killing myself in a situation that I'm not ready for yet!

USMCFLYR

You're being nice and careful starting out - and I can't speak against that.
I see that you started another post about your personal mins. I'm sure that you will get a lot of different answers, but remember that those mins are just that - YOUR personal mins - not necessarily to be influenced by someone else. You will quickly get a feel for your comfort level, and that comfort level might change over time, especially with your currency and more importanly, your proficiency. You may get real comfortable and proficent, just to take a few months lay off from flying for some reasons and those mins might pop right back up again. I went from a plane that I was extremely comfortable in and had no problems shooting approaches down to mins (200/0.5) to not flying for 4 months and now flying a true steam gauge aircraft that I'm still trying to get the feel of and wouldn't want to have to shoot anything lower than let's say 800/2 right now until I have quite a bit more time under my new found flying belt.

I had a similar scenario one time to what you are trying to do and I basically did what TonyWilliams suggested. I filed to a radial/DME under IFR to a small field without an instrument approach that I could use. I had an alternate filed (Tinker AFB). As I approached my final fix, I asked for a letdown to the controller's MVA because there was a undercast cloud layer and I didn't know how thick it was. I broke out a few thousand feet before his MVA and then I canceled and proceeded on into KMKO VFR.

USMCFLYR

Ewfflyer

Filing a composite to me just isn't practical. IFR handling here in the Midwest is great and take advantage of it.

I ferried a Piper 6XT from Camarillo to Indiana, and was IFR from Flagstaff to Kansas. I opted to cancel the IFR and stay vfr over some mountains that would've required a nominal climb, and then on the back-side I picked my IFR back up. It was all in ABQ Center's airspace, so it was easy. CAVU day too

250 or point 65

I don't see why its not practical. He wants to practice IFR, so on a composite flight like the one he mentioned, he'd pick up a clearance, depart, and cruise IFR. If the airport doesn't have an approach, he can't practice one anyway so he's going to need to be VMC to land there...may as well be VFR.