A STINSON 108 PLT QUESTIONS WHY HE DIDN'T GET AN SVFR AFTER DEPARTING O70.

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I DEPARTED O70 FOR PRB. AUTOMATED WX RPTED 4 MI VISIBILITY; 400 FT BROKEN; 1800 FT OVCST. I OBSERVED CONDITIONS TO BE BETTER THAN RPTED. AS SOON AS I LIFTED OFF THE RWY; I COULD SEE THE RIDGE LINE I KNEW TO BE OVER 10 MI AWAY. 1/2 MI FROM THE DEP END OF THE RWY; I WAS IN GOOD VFR CONDITIONS. IT WAS AT THAT POINT; I STARTED TO QUESTION MYSELF ON WHAT JUST HAPPENED. I BELIEVE CONDITIONS JUSTIFIED A VFR DEP. I DO NOT KNOW IF SOMEONE ELSE WOULD REACH THE SAME CONCLUSION. I STARTED TO ASK MYSELF; WHY DID I NOT REQUEST A SVFR DEP? I HAVE ONCE; IN 10 YRS OF FLYING VFR. I ASKED MYSELF; HOW MANY TIMES SVFR HAD BEEN DISCUSSED DURING TRAINING. THE ONLY TIME I USED SVFR IS JUST AFTER READING PVT PLT BOOK SO THE PROCESS WAS FRESH IN MY MIND. I CAME HOME AND REREAD SVFR PARAGRAPHS. I AM MAKING AN SVFR CHEAT SHEET TO KEEP IN MY PLT BAG. REQUESTING AN SVFR CLRNC IS SO SIMPLE; I CANNOT THINK OF A REASON WHY I DID NOT USE IT ON NOV/MON/03. SO MANY ACTIVITIES IN FLYING COME AS SECOND NATURE BECAUSE OF TRAINING OR EXPERIENCE. REQUESTING SVFR WOULD ONLY BE USED ON RARE OCCASIONS. I WANTED TO GET HOME AND CONDITIONS LOOKED GOOD TO ME. IN FACT; I HAD THE VISIBILITY AND I WAS CLR OF CLOUDS. MY DEP PROFILE WAS THE SAME AS ON A CLOUDLESS DAY. BUT I COULD HAVE MADE THE DEP SAFER BY REQUESTING AN SVFR. I THINK WHAT REALLY BROUGHT THE LESSON HOME WAS HEARING A PLT SHOOT IFR APCHS AT A NEIGHBORING ARPT. I ASKED A COUPLE OF PLT FRIENDS ABOUT USING AN SVFR REQUEST. THE RESPONSE WAS THE SAME FROM BOTH. THEY REMEMBERED SOMETHING ABOUT IT. THEY DID NOT KNOW THE MINIMUMS OR HOW TO REQUEST AN SVFR CLRNC. SO I AM THINKING SVFR IS A TRAINING ISSUE THAT IS NOT BEING COVERED ENOUGH. I KNOW IF I AM EVER IN ANOTHER SIT AS ON NOV/MON/03; I WILL NOT FORGET ABOUT REQUESTING AN SVFR CLRNC.