It was November in Seattle. The ceiling had been going up and down all morning. A pilot was heard on the unicom asking for a runway advisory-he was still 6 miles out. Although he was instrument rated, ...

Visual approaches are the most common way to end an IFR flight for personal aviation, requiring VFR conditions (1000 ft ceiling, 3 SM visibility), but maintaining IFR clearance with the pilot assuming ...

Visual approaches require airports to be in VMC (ceiling ≥ 1000 ft, visibility ≥ 3 miles), with the pilot responsible for remaining clear of clouds. Contact approaches are pilot-requested for airports ...

Instrument-rated pilots can strategically combine IFR system benefits with VFR freedoms using procedures like "climb to VFR on top" for departures and "visual" or "contact" approaches for arrivals to ...