VMC

[gcvisel]

Perhaps start a VMC Club group would be the start of getting your local chapter off of "life support". Here is how I figure it: I hear a lot of people talking about how their local chapter is dying, but not many are taking any action to change it. Although our chapter is just starting, we are also starting a VMC Club group. EAA would like new IMC or VMC Clubs to have at least 5 participants and an instructor to clarify difficult questions. For our VMC Club, we were given the ok to start it without a CFI as long as we had a participant with at least 1,000 hours. If you can scrape together at least 5 folks who are willing to give it a try and any one of them has close to 1,000 hours, I say give it a go. It could very well be the thing that starts generating interest again in your chapter.

YES!!! That sure worked for us! We started using the VMC Club videos during our chapter meeting, and it really livened up the meetings and gave us something to focus on. We have since split it off into a separate meeting since we got some new officers, one of whom now arranges for an interesting speaker or theme of each meeting. We now do the VMC Club videos at two regular meetings a year to show everybody else what they are missing.

[Mayhemxpc]

The two discussions here are not unrelated. The VMC club is supposed to discuss issues that primarily affect flying by VFR pilots (pilots flying under VFR, regardless of their ratings.) Now, the question of VMC is highly relevant. VMC and VFR are two different things. The weather can be VMC, but to be legal VFR you have to maintain separation and visibility. We had a YE rally a few months ago where we had to have that discussion among the pilots. Just because it was "scattered" did not mean the pilot could remain VFR. I recommended waiting an hour while the ceilings rose and broke up. One pilot did not quite understand that distinction, and wound up terminating the flight minutes after leaving the pattern, so the plane and passengers could remain legal VFR!

[Bill Greenwood]

It may be too fine a point, but if the clouds are scattered then it is vfr, scattered clouds don't constitute a ceiling. No matter how high or low the bases of the clouds are, it they are only scattered, its not a ceiling for imc purposes, its vmc and to be ifr or imc it has to be broken clouds at least.
Of course, especially if flying kids you don't want to take any chances on any kind of chance with weather. Id guess it might be officerly reported as scattered, but a little more clouds in one area.
So broken clouds, bases at 900 ft agl is an ifr ceiling since its below 1000, while scattered clouds at 500 ft are not a ceiling and not ifr. You can see through or around scattered clouds.
You could have fog or smoke from a fire as a visual limit, but it wouldn't be scattered clouds.

By the way if a pilot is dealing with low clouds, trying to fly under them and remain vmc, hopefully not with kids, here are two points, first there is a min elevation figure on the sectionals ( remember what a sectional is?) and it means the how low you can fly, plus 200 ft and clear every object in that box. So if its 1300 ft and you can hold 1500 you aren't going to hit a building or tower.
Next there is the visibility part, need 3 miles to be vmc,but that's pretty slim. And it depends what you are flying, it may be ok in a 50 mph J3 Cub but nerve racking in a 200 mph P-51., and harder to navigate visually.

[FlyingRon]

Note there is not really any "ceiling" limit for VFR other than operating below it in a [airspace formerly known as control zone]. Outside a surface area of controlled airspace designated for an airport, you're free to fly no matter what the ceiling is. You're only required to maintain the regulatory cloud clearance and visibility.