✈️ Even CFIs Make IFR to VFR Transition Mistakes — Here’s One I Won’t Make Again

Even experienced CFIs aren’t immune to IFR to VFR transition mistakes—especially when arriving IFR into a non-towered airport. On a routine winter flight into Venice, Florida, a simple CTAF frequency error led to an unexpected head-to-head runway conflict with local traffic. Nothing illegal happened, but everything about it was unsafe. This firsthand account breaks down how easily procedural discipline can slip during the transition from ATC-managed IFR to self-coordinated VFR—and the lessons every instrument pilot should internalize before canceling IFR.