WTG Jesse. We want to hear all about it!
I received my private certificate in May of 2005. I was originally intending on getting my instrument rating shortly thereafter. It turned out that the thought of flying under the hood for 40 hours was a turn-off for me so I avoided it. I learned how to complete almost all the cross-countries I wanted to fly without it. This meant compromise and flexibility and often a lot of flying under a crappy layer.
I really do love aviation and would enjoy teaching people to fly in my spare time. In order to do this I really need to get my instrument rating. I've been going through a part of my life where I'm trying to make every 'some-day' a 'today'. The only way that I would ever get my rating would be to schedule a flight.
I had heard that MarkL was getting his CFII and this meant that I was out of excuses..plus he needed a student. We scheduled the first flight for June 21st in a barely-equipped Cessna 150 featuring a single vor (no glideslope) and a single com radio. We covered the basics of instrument flying and airplane control and eventually upgraded to a better equipped Cherokee.
We did several cross countries and plenty of local flying doing every approach that we were equipped for. Eventually the time came and I added up my progress. I had about 32 hours which meant it was time to get my written out of the way. I studied hard for a weekend, reviewed with Mark, and took the test with a 90%.
After the written it was just a matter of flying the rest of the hours I needed. A couple more flights and it was time for the ride. With the ride scheduled I spent every spare second studying. I wanted to make sure I knew this stuff and UNDERSTOOD why things were how they are. I don't want to be hesitating in an airplane when I can't see anything.
The DE called me two days before the ride and asked me to plan a flight from St Joseph to Albuquerque. I scrambled trying to find all the charts that were required. He picked this destination for a reason. It made sure that I was aware of terrain and all the potential problems that come from it.
Mark and I did a little flying and went through all the paper-work the night before the checkride. I went home and decided that I was going to try to go to bed before mid-night for the first time in years. This was not an easy task. The entire night I was dreaming about studying. My dreams consisted of acronyms, my flight plan, and FAR/AIM type stuff. I woke up in the morning (BEFORE IT WAS LIGHT OUTSIDE!) and decided if I can dream it I must know it.
I was up early and driving to the airport in the dark. The airplane was on the ramp and full of fuel. I carefully reviewed all the logs (again) and my paperwork. I really didn't want fail this ride due to a technicality. I was airborne by 7:30 AM on my way to St Joseph Missouri.
I met with the DE and we went over all the paperwork. After this we looked at my flight plan and ran several scenarios that would change the outcome of the flight along with a bunch of other questions. I don't really remember most of them as I was able to answer them all confidently without having to look anything up.
After the oral I filed an IFR flight plan for the first part of the trip and pre-flighted the airplane. We loaded up, received our IFR clearance, and the flying was underway.
We flew the XC for some amount of distance and then proceeded to do a bunch of maneuvers. There was some timed turns, partial panel, unusual attitudes, the typical stuff. The DE asked me to close my eyes, look straight down, and try to fly the airplane straight-and-level. This lasted about 45 seconds before I knew we were in some jacked up attitude. I recovered.
After this we headed towards a VOR and did several different holds. The holds were a challenge because the winds were really kicking aloft (I had 155-160 knot groundspeeds enroute to KSTJ). Overall, I knew I did them just fine and wasn't worried about it.
Next up were the approaches. I don't really recall much about them, other then the fact that we did several. I nailed all the approaches as well as I'd ever flown an approach. I knew I was going to pass this ride. The last approach was a back-course localizer approach partial panel. All I had to do was not mess up on this thing and the IR was mine. I executed the approach without a problem, circled to land, and received my new temporary certificate. The examiner commented that it was nice to fly with someone that didn't seem extremely nervous on the ride. I'll take that as a compliment.
After sorting through the rest of the paperwork with the DE and eating some lunch I filed an IFR plan back to Lincoln and received my clearance all by myself. Shortly after departing I was given a re-route and was on my way.
The instrument rating was an interesting adventure and will continue to be a learning experience. All it took was a good instructor,
wheelbarrows full of cash, and a few months in time.
I know that the rating came easy to me because of all the cross-country I've done and my activity on this forum. There is a lot of great knowledge on here and I've learned a lot just by reading the IFR threads. This community without a doubt makes us all better pilots.
