What is “Hard IFR”?

[aviatoreb]

On 8/6/2023 at 5:12 PM, hubcap said:

I keep seeing this description used…so what is your definition? Icing? Low ceilings? Convection?

Sometimes you bump into a hard cloud and bounce off.  Thats a hard cloud sometimes called hard IFR.

[M20F]

11 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

Sometimes you bump into a hard cloud and bounce off.  Thats a hard cloud sometimes called hard IFR.

Sounds like a math problem. 

[aviatoreb]

9 hours ago, M20F said:

Sounds like a math problem. 

Seems more like a physics problem - I was describing hard billiards.  :-)

[Pinecone]

A number of people have bumped into hard clouds. Commonly call cumulogranite clouds.  It is normally a VERY bad thing.

[Jerry 5TJ]

31 minutes ago, Pinecone said:

A number of people have bumped into hard clouds. Commonly call cumulogranite clouds.  It is normally a VERY bad thing.

Might be better described as “abrupt termination of IFR flight.”

[Stetson20]

My personal "hard IFR" was last month trying to reposition my plane from KGRR to K9D9. Smoke from the Canadian fires had visibility less than a mile. As I was on the ground, I could look up and it seemed a lot like a thin fog layer. I planned to take off with an IFR clearance, and cancel once above the "layer." Nope. It was IMC the whole way (all of about 30 miles) and I was preparing to fly the GPS approach in to 9D9 as they vectored me right over the top of the field. I could see straight down from 2000 ft (min vectoring altitude) so I canceled, and entered the vfr pattern from there. But I will say that the smoke was the most deceiving conditions I'd ever been in. I'll have a better plan next time. Most likely wait it out. 

My 2 cents...

[Bartman]

A few years ago I used to fly IFR quite a bit and got comfortable with extended times in IMC enroute and all the way to minimums, as long as it was not a convective environment. One time ceilings were low and since the layer was only a few hundred feet thick and clear on top, I decided to take off. I was IMC at about 20-30 feet, and I was not prepared. 
 

That was hard IFR, and I will never do that again.