Pull up a digital copy of the FAA’s regulations and search for “hard IFR.” Can’t find it anywhere in the FARs, can you? That’s because it’s one of those terms that everybody understands on one level but really can’t agree on a definition for. It’s a popular term though: you’ll hear it from instructors, hangar-flying sages and avionics shops, all of whom have different motivations. Like Justice Potter Stewart, they know it when they see it. Of course, calling something “hard” implies it’s difficult. Or maybe it’s just solid and resists penetration. When it comes to defining “hard IFR,” both concepts can apply at the same time.
One implication of labeling something “hard IFR” is that it should be avoided or special precautions should be taken. That’s fine as far as it goes, but without applying some metrics, the term still isn’t very specific. It would be nice that our recent training and experience, along with a solid IFR platform underneath us, meant the point was moot and we could tackle all elements of IFR at any time. It doesn’t always work that way, of course. So one question arising from all this is, short of canceling or rescheduling the flight—which always are options—what are you going to do about it?
