MedEwok wrote:
2500 ft cloudbase would be an unnecessary requirement in a region where the ground stays below 100 ft AMSL for about 100 NM and where even the highest man-made obstacles around do not exceed 1200ft…And these are very few.
I am not ashamed to say that 2000’ cloud base is my personal minimum for anything VFR unless it is a very short hop between say LFPT and LFPN.
Aviathor wrote:
I am not ashamed to say that 2000’ cloud base is my personal minimum for anything VFR unless it is a very short hop between say LFPT and LFPN.
There is no need to be ashamed. I guess it depends on what you’re used to. My instructor taught me low level flying very early on, most of our dual cross-country trips were below 2000 ft, some even below 1000ft. Personally I don’t see the advantage of flying higher (for the kind of basic VFR flying we do, obviously) except for more time to decide where to land in case of engine failure. Of course it has to be emphasized that all of our flying takes place in completely flat terrain with only very few man-made obstacles even reaching anything near 1000ft.
Personally I don’t see the advantage of flying higher (for the kind of basic VFR flying we do, obviously) except for more time to decide where to land in case of engine failure
If you came to the south east UK you would discover another reason: to avoid most of the traffic, which is found at 1000-2000ft 
And much of the traffic at those levels is non-transponding and thus invisible to ATC or any traffic warning system you might have.
I would be amazed if this 1000-2000ft band was not commonly used elsewhere, because it is “fun”, keeps you well above the 500ft minimum height while giving a good view of ground details.
Peter wrote:
I would be amazed if this 1000-2000ft band was not commonly used elsewhere, because it is “fun”, keeps you well above the 500ft minimum height while giving a good view of ground details.
So yeah, that would be a good reason Peter. But if there is an overcast at say 1500 ft traffic will be much less anyways (while of course risk of encountering the remaining other VFR traffic at the same height increases)
You can fly easily with overcast 1000ft if the visibility is good to detect the countless wind power plants. The power plants have the same grey as the grey of 5km visibility and this is a shit feeling
MedEwok wrote:
I guess it depends on what you’re used to. My instructor taught me low level flying very early on, most of our dual cross-country trips were below 2000 ft, some even below 1000ft
Yes. It has to do with level of comfort.
Consider this: When I was a kid I was not afraid of height. Now I am.
As we grow older and gain in experience, some of us get more cautious. Others get emboldened by past experience. Some of them end up in the side of a mountain.
My experience is that <2000 ft leaves you with limited maneuvering room when weather deteriorates. There might be rain showers and locally poor visibility. If there is any terrain you may also be constrained laterally. On top of that, if you are close to the overcast, you risk inadvertently to enter IMC.
As a minor update to this topic, my training is progressing slowlier (sp?) than I want it to progress. Yesterday was quite okay weather for flying and I had the aircraft booked for four hours, but my instructor couldn’t turn up. Meh. Only two flights in April so far, both with instructor, and only two-something hours more on the log. I am at 33h now, still 12 to go.
What I still have a problem with is flying with high bank angles (anything above 30° makes me feel uneasy) and I got anxious at the clean stall practice so my instructor aborted it before we stalled. Reading these forums actually made me MORE anxious about stall practice, as I tend to follow what_next’s line of thought that stall practice itself is probably more dangerous than simply practicing stall avoidance at all times…
MedEwok wrote:
What I still have a problem with is flying with high bank angles (anything above 30° makes me feel uneasy) and I got anxious at the clean stall practice so my instructor aborted it before we stalled. Reading these forums actually made me MORE anxious about stall practice, as I tend to follow what_next’s line of thought that stall practice itself is probably more dangerous than simply practicing stall avoidance at all times…
Interesting. You need to accept that the way to deal with high bank angles and staying level is pull back on the stick. This creates G forces which can be unnerving at first. With airspeed and a good power seting which your instructor will show you it is trivial if hard to get used to initially.
I have done stall practice in every aircraft I have ever converted onto. It is not a big deal even in a jet. There is nothing to be afraid of. You will do it with altitude and an instructor next to you.
Thanks for your reply Jason. It is exactly those guys forces I find unnerving so I often don’t pull back on the stick enough instinctively to ease them. I also for some reason try to sit upright in relation to the horizon at all times, so in a sharp right turn my head is pressed against the canopy. Either I am a wimp or all this simply needs a few times to get used to.
As for the clean stall practice my instructor wanted to do it at 2000ft AGL and this seemed a little too low for me. But actually he caused most of my unease when reminding me not to correct any sideways motions with the stick, as that may make us enter a spin. I didn’t trust myself enough to not instinctively bank against any turn at that point.
If course you should not make big aileron deflections close to the stall, but it’s more important in most trainers to keep the ball centered. A spin can only happen with an asymmetric stall. With the ball centered this will not happen.
2000 ft AGL is a standard for stalls and high enough for really every trainer.
If i were in your situation i would practice this stuff even more than the procedures you like and which you like. Do stalls and steep turns (45 and 60 degree) as often as possible and it will become natural.
If your airplane is approved for it – and if your instructor can teach it – learn how to end a spin. Unfortunately many instructors fear spins just as much as their instructors. Maybe you can find an aerobatic instructor for an hour or two.
