Yes..  Some call that a "pop up" flight plan. I suppose the lingo varies. Anyway.. once when I was flying from KOSU to KPMH, ceilings lowered to the point where I'd have had to fly less than 1000agl.. OR.. get up on top.

All I did was call Columbus Approach and ask for IFR direct to Portsmouth Regional. They don't HAVE to do that (almost always do, knowing that it might be getting ugly) and will sometimes tell you to call FSS, but he took me in, gave me a squawk-code, heading and altitude. At altitude (4000msl), I was still in the soup, so I got bold and asked him for 6000..lol

Edit:  Obvioulsy the pilot and plane need to be IFR certified. As for using the ILS as a beacon.. I assume you mean you used the ILS like an ILS ?

I'm not sure what you mean..

I've yet to see an HSI that didn't have both glidescope and localizer indicators (ILS)..

What plane/panel was it ?

Or maybe the a runway was localizer only ?

Quote:


The VOR indicator is just called a VOR indicator, or VOR... normally it consists of the compass ring, called the Omni Bearing Selector or
OBS, plus the single vertical needle, called the Course Deviation Indicator or CDI.

An HSI or Horizontal Situation Indicator is basically a directional gyro combined with two needles to indicate the ILS glideslope: one vertical for left/right orientation (relative to the runway centerline), and one horizontal for up/down orientation (relative to the glideslope). The vary in the way they're set up, and some (I think) also include a VOR indication function, but "HSI" always indicates that it has the glideslope needles.

Generally any aiport with an ILS will also have a VOR station on the field, so it's probably better to use the VOR rather than the ILS to "home in" on the runway.

Quote:


I should have said "home in on the airport" rather than the runway (more range with a VOR)...but I guess that's not really what he was doing to begin with.

I'm surprised that the ratio of ILS-to-VORs is that low... shows you how often I use the ILS.

I just took inventory of the airspace I fly most (central Ohio, out of KOSU).

There are six airports with a total of ten ILS or LOC equipped runways (8 ILS) and just one VOR in there (APE) and it's not AT any of the airports..   

The two BIG airports , KCMH  (port Columbus) and KLCK ,(Rickenbacker AFB) have outer-marker NDBs as initial-approach-fixes for all their ILS approaches. So do my home port, KOSU and the other class D airport, KTZR. I believe one of the KLCK ILSs uses a VOR further south and Newark (KVTA) uses the APE  VOR.


It IS unusual to have two major airports and two class D airports all together like that with out any of them having at least a terminal VOR.

" . . . can this be done on any type of aircraft regardless of the onboard equipment"

Negative.

Once the pilot contacts ATC to air-file an IFR clearance to destination, the first question ATC will ask is:"Are you IFR equiped?"  This means is there equipment fitted to the aircraft to complete the IFR procedure(s).

The question can be answered with Affirmative or Negative -- no Ifs, Ands or Buts -- the life of the pilot and anyone onboard depend upon this answer -- this is no time to get-it-wrong!

I always found it strange in all the time a I flew or filed -- land or air --no one ever asked me to produce any licenses nor asked me if I had the requisite rating(s) to complete (or accept) any procedure. Strange.


Youtube video-to-prove-it:Mooney flying into IFR conditions 00:03:27 Youtube video