What do you consider scud running?

[CharlieTango]

Scud (Scattered Cumulus Under Deck)

I have crossed the Sierra with a ceiling over 9,000' but scud clouds below would extend to the canyon floor down below 8,000' The openings around the scud clouds were changing and closing up.

True scud running is a more dynamic than simply being squeezed below a layer.

 

[Mistake Not...]

I have like 1% of the time some of you have, but I've been doing all my flying lately at 7500 and up (6500ish AGL), and then had to go down to 2500ish AGL to stay below some afternoon cumulus. THAT felt low.

I guess I'm still too worried about where to go if the engine quits. 1000 AGL is only.. what? 60 seconds?

 

[Henning]

I have like 1% of the time some of you have, but I've been doing all my flying lately at 7500 and up (6500ish AGL), and then had to go down to 2500ish AGL to stay below some afternoon cumulus. THAT felt low.

I guess I'm still too worried about where to go if the engine quits. 1000 AGL is only.. what? 60 seconds?

Should be able to get 2 minutes +/- per 1000'. You go where you can lose the most energy over the longest distance/period of time. The slower you are when you come to an abrupt stop, the better off you are. You want to avoid deceleration greater than 50G and things intruding into the cockpit. You look around when the time comes and decide where the best option is.

 

[kyleb]

I have like 1% of the time some of you have, but I've been doing all my flying lately at 7500 and up (6500ish AGL), and then had to go down to 2500ish AGL to stay below some afternoon cumulus. THAT felt low.

I guess I'm still too worried about where to go if the engine quits. 1000 AGL is only.. what? 60 seconds?

There's the time factor and the range factor. In that 60 seconds, you'd better have a suitable landing site somewhere within a mile left, right, or in front, or immediately behind you. I fly in lots of places were I don't like the options I'd have from 1,000'.

 

[timwinters]

Scud running is any altitude where you violate VFR minimums.

So if the deck is 700' and you're tooling along at 675' then it's not scud running?

As for height, towers can be as tall as 2000'. Those are rare though.

Actually there are towers taller than 2,000' in the contiguous 48. Those are the ones that are rare. I know of, and fly near, quite a few that are 2,000' AGL (or right at it). Those aren't so rare. At least not in my neck-o-da-woods. There's a whole freakin' herd of 'em out east of Springfield, mo.

 

[RyanB]

Barely skimming the cloud bases trying to maintain vfr

 

[TangoWhiskey]

... it's when I'm simultaneously worried both about hitting something hard and about inadvertently penetrating IMC.

Well stated.