Small Aircraft; Low Wing; 2 Eng; Retractable Gear
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument
Training / Qualification; Distraction; Human-Machine Interface; Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown
Conflict Airborne Conflict
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Airspace Structure; Chart Or Publication; Human Factors; Procedure; Weather
I was flying VFR above a broken/scattered layer with tops at about 9;500 feet after having climbed above the layer. Though I get flight following on 95% of my flights; traffic was so light (due to the pandemic); that I chose not to speak with ATC this day. I knew I had to fly well south of my destination before I could descend in relatively clear conditions. As I was descending and turning to the NW; I was suddenly staring directly at a commercial jet crossing my path from right to left 3+ miles directly ahead and below less than one thousand feet. I initiated a hard turn to the right and shallow climb; and I noticed the jet banking to its right. I was surprised to see a jet in this location at this altitude; so far west of ZZZ. I fly this route often for training; but rarely above 6;000 feet; so later after landing I studied the ZZZ STARS and saw that this jet was right where it was supposed to be on the STAR. I had collected the weather soon after the traffic encounter and it was reporting 5;500 broken which equates to an MSL ceiling of 7;000; which is about where the jet was. I realize now; that the jet was descending through the cloud layer that I flew around and the jet speed was such that it must have emerged from the cloud layer during my momentary 'heads down' to get the frequencies at my destination. The encounter was rattling; and I can imagine the pilots of the jet making a colorful comment or two about general aviators. There are many obvious lessons here. Talk to ATC; maintain a traffic scan and pay closer attention to any traffic information available on the MFD. Nevertheless; I realize now that I do not have a full understanding of the STARs in my area since they are generally used by turbojet aircraft capable of 250 knots and arriving from the flight levels. In particular; I note that there are 25 STARs published for the airports under the Class B airspace. I believe it would be helpful for all general aviation pilots in this crowded airspace if there was a chart showing all the routes that was color coded for altitude. A chart with high glance value would be worth checking when traversing the region VFR. Better yet; would be a layer on Fore Flight or other EFB showing all STAR routes with a selectable altitude; say; between 6;000 to 7;000; or between 7;000 and 9;000; etc.
General Aviation pilot flying VFR reported experiencing an airborne conflict with an airliner. Pilot stated that lighter traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic was a factor in the decision to not contact ATC; which may have contributed to the event.