Editor’s note: Observant readers will see that this article type, above, is now called, “IFR Files,” thoughtfully suggested by Ms. Kauh, who began writing these articles about 10 years ago. (Thanks, Elaine.) The change helps eliminate confusion with other article types and is more descriptive.
Filing IFR when it’s clear-and-a-million means less workload, great views and a safe passage to the destination. Sometimes you just luck out; sometimes, you need to route around that good weather. That, plus building a route that’s still IFR-friendly, still takes time to plan. And for unfamiliar airports, be sure you’re up on both instrument and visual approaches. There are multiple options for staying safe, but each one requires weighing a pro against a con. Grab from both IFR and VFR buckets as you need to make things fit together as you transition from one set of weather conditions to another.
