Help with overcoming "IFR bordem"...

tawood

tawood

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Sep 22, 2015
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2,558
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SE Michigan
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Display name:
Tim
Hi all,
For the past month or so, I finally got the time that I've been working on the flying portion of my IR...I passed my written about a year ago. When I studied for my written, I found the information interesting and I enjoyed studying.
Now that I've started the flight training portion, I'm finding the training HIDEOUSLY BORING!!! I mean, like watching paint-dry / grass-grow boring. I've got about 18 hours so far with a francis hood, and 2 hours of actual...When flying on instruments, its like you're just sitting there, staring at gauges (and not many gauges, as my instructor seems to be covering up most of them, nearly all the time).
I like my instructor, and I truly don't believe that he is the problem at all. He tells me I'm doing really well, and he's recently cut me loose to fly with a friend/fellow pilot for the next 20 hours or so of hood time. I was hoping that flying with my friend would be better, but after flying with him for an hour and a half last night, it is not. I find myself absolutely dreading my next practice flight...not trying to be a troll, but am I alone in this feeling?
I've been flying for over 20 years VFR, and I do still enjoy flying VFR very much. I'm actually at a point where I'm thinking maybe IFR is not for me. Since I'm not a quitter, I see myself getting the rating, then never, EVER, using it. Or at least, avoiding using it, at which point I would become rusty, THEN never use it, etc.
 
Well, perhaps it will get more exciting for you some day when all the elements (wind, rain, snow, etc) work against you shooting an approach down to minimums.

Yeah it's not terribly exciting but it is worthwhile. And nice to have when you planned a trip and the vfr pilots are grounded, but not you. Off you go!
 
Go get a G1000 and listen to XM radio while you fly. Problem solved.
 
TK211X said:
Go get a G1000 and listen to XM radio while you fly. Problem solved.
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Funny you mention that...I've got a nice modern AM/FM that I sometimes plug in to the "audio in" while flying VFR to listen to the ball game...I've been dreaming of bringing it lately.
 
Plan a 20 hr XC with a friend to some cool destinations and stay under the hood. At least you’ll be bored with another purpose.
 
I feel like the reason for getting your IFR isn't for the amazing ability to follow the magenta line and needles (although at times I do enjoy it). It's for the improved dispatch rate when you are trying to get from point A to point B and can't complete the mission VFR.

I truly enjoy both IFR and VFR. Hopefully it changes for you, if not hopefully you enjoy the improved dispatch rate, if not nothing says you have to use it after obtaining it.

Good luck on finishing it up if you stick with it.
 
If you never plan to use it then why get it. Just go do some aerobatic training instead.
 
Radar Contact said:
I feel like the reason for getting your IFR isn't for the amazing ability to follow the magenta line and needles (although at times I do enjoy it). It's for the improved dispatch rate when you are trying to get from point A to point B and can't complete the mission VFR.

I truly enjoy both IFR and VFR. Hopefully it changes for you, if not hopefully you enjoy the improved dispatch rate, if not nothing says you have to use it after obtaining it.

Good luck on finishing it up if you stick with it.
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The very reason I'm doing it...and sticking with it. Just venting/wondering if anyone else has felt this way. I've flown on top before, and enjoyed that too (and we did briefly while in actual the other day, which I also enjoyed)...just the monotonous droning along on instruments, or even flying the approaches, is maybe just a let down from what I was expecting, IDK.
 
I got my instrument ticket to be able to use the airplane on crummy weather days for travel. I always thought it was more fun to look outside and fly VFR, but i felt fairly busy on practice approaches and doing regular flying. Sure once you reach cruise on a longer Xc it’s a bit boring but there but you can keep busy if you try.
 
if you are board you are doing something wrong .turn off the autopilot.kill the screens on all the tv s , fly in **** weather , you wont be board anymore. if you are I would not pursue getting the rating . if you do not have a fair degree of angst in the clag you should not go there. btw this is the first time I have ever heard something like this.
 
hotprops said:
if you are board you are doing something wrong .turn off the autopilot.kill the screens on all the tv s , fly in **** weather , you wont be board anymore. if you are I would not pursue getting the rating . if you do not have a fair degree of angst in the clag you should not go there. btw this is the first time I have ever heard something like this.
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My aircraft is pretty basic...2 VORs, one with ILS...that's it. No screens, no AP. Its my own plane, so I'm pretty used to a constant scan; I know where everything is, and what each gauge should be showing. I talk my way through everything...an old habit from 20 years ago getting my private, but my instructor doesn't seem to notice, doesn't care, or just likes it, so he hasn't said anything one way or another about my constant chatter...for example, if you were to listen to my intercom, you might hear "once he clears us, I'll respond, then turn inbound on the ILS"...5 seconds later..."engine instruments look good, vacuum is showing good, in 1 gallon I'll switch tanks"...10 seconds later, "I'll wait to put flaps in until final approach fix"..."sure is bumpy today, I'm fighting to keep the needles centered", etc. Still bored.
I agree with you about the "angst in the clag"...it has me concerned. I have none, other than my concern for lack of concern (if that makes sense).
 
With balls his size she will drown .:)
 
tawood said:
My aircraft is pretty basic...2 VORs, one with ILS...that's it. No screens, no AP...
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See, there's your problem. You need the minimum PoA airplane set-up; a Bo with two G5s, a Garmin center stack with at least one 750, an audio panel with mucho buttons, at least two iPads wireless linked to everything and a portable Garmin GPS plugged into a panel mount. Enough brightly colored screens to eliminate boredom for at least the next 20 hours. :rolleyes:
 
tawood said:
My aircraft is pretty basic...2 VORs, one with ILS...that's it. No screens, no AP. Its my own plane, so I'm pretty used to a constant scan; I know where everything is, and what each gauge should be showing.
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Well there's your (so called) problem. Cherokee 140, right? Stable platform you could probably fly blind if you had to.

BTW, I personally like the 'talk it out' method in the cockpit.

Nothing says you need to drone around in the same plane to get the required hours. Go find a high performance, less stable plane with different technology (does not have to be glass, just different) for a few hours of hood time, if your CFII is up for it. Hell, come visit me, I'll let you play in my RV if you like. But as they say, might be the most expensive demo flight of your life, RV grin and all that. :D
 
GRG55 said:
See, there's your problem. You need the minimum PoA airplane set-up; a Bo with two G5s, a Garmin center stack with at least one 750, an audio panel with mucho buttons, at least two iPads wireless linked to everything and a portable Garmin GPS plugged into a panel mount. Enough brightly colored screens to eliminate boredom for at least the next 20 hours. :rolleyes:
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You forgot triple-redundant AOA indicators, each with a separate power source and its own backup.:rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
catmandu said:
Well there's your (so called) problem. Cherokee 140, right? Stable platform you could probably fly blind if you had to.

BTW, I personally like the 'talk it out' method in the cockpit.

Nothing says you need to drone around in the same plane to get the required hours. Go find a high performance, less stable plane with different technology (does not have to be glass, just different) for a few hours of hood time, if your CFII is up for it. Hell, come visit me, I'll let you play in my RV if you like. But as they say, might be the most expensive demo flight of your life, RV grin and all that. :D
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Ya know, I never thought of this...I've been meaning to get the high performance and complex done...I'm gonna have to look around and see what I can rent. Thanks for the idea!
 
Go fly to someplace busy where a holding fix is the intersection of two VOR radials. If you are still bored, maybe a IFR isn't for you.
 
DesertNomad said:
Go fly to someplace busy where a holding fix is the intersection of two VOR radials. If you are still bored, maybe a IFR isn't for you.
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Sigh...already did this one too, several times (how else would I fly a hold, VORs is all I gots!...guess I could fly a hold right over a vor, which I haven't done yet.)
 
It’s easy to be fearless in VMC or even IMC with a CFII sitting next you. I agree that your expectations are probably a bit off.
 
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Tawood, I'm just starting the training portion after taking the written. Tell me what typical training mission is like.
 
PaulS said:
Tawood, I'm just starting the training portion after taking the written. Tell me what typical training mission is like.
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So far, I wouldn't say anything has been "typical". First time out, he just had me fly headings, climbs, descents, recover from unusual attitudes, etc, under the hood. Then, he started covering up gauges..."oh, you just lost your vacuum", as he covers heading indicator and artificial horizon...then "you're having some sort of problem, what is it if these gauges fail?" as he covers up airspeed, VSI, and altimeter...the "gauge covering" pretty much has come with every single lesson, except for the very first time I flew an ILS....other than that, covered gauges, at least for most of the lesson. He and I usually fly for 1 to 2 hours each lesson. My hood goes on literally within 10 seconds of leaving the runway, and more or less stays on throughout, other than a brief "peek" at the end of an approach (when he has told me to look).
We have practiced holds, VOR approaches, ILS approaches, and did a couple of radar approaches. Flew one day for two hours in actual IMC, in which we did both ILS and VOR approaches. He had me plan a cross country, but we didn't do it...yet.
That's pretty much it so far. The fortunate part is I haven't seemed to have a problem with anything. Just not what I expected, I guess. And I suppose it is "easy to be fearless" with the CFII there, although he has never had to take control of the plane from me or anything...(other than when I put on the francis hood)
 
You need a little inadvertent icing at night IMC over the mountains in severe turbulence! I've done it, wasn't a bit boring!
 
Bored with IFR practice? Fly practice approaches and actual at reliever airports in a busy Bravo. Ya git to practice all that stuff you've read about and not just fly around doing approaches on your own.
 
Luigi said:
You need a little inadvertent icing at night IMC over the mountains in severe turbulence! I've done it, wasn't a bit boring!
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No, I've had icing before...I can do without that! In fact, the day we were in IMC, I kept checking the thermometer and then the wings for ice, until he laughed at me and said I was over-checking...
 
Clark1961 said:
Bored with IFR practice? Fly practice approaches and actual at reliever airports in a busy Bravo. Ya git to practice all that stuff you've read about and not just fly around doing approaches on your own.
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So far, we have been using Flint (class C) and Pontiac (class D, but using Detroit approach)
 
Hell, you were smart, you can never over check. Ice happens well outside the 10+ 10- Celsius block in the real world.
 
tawood said:
So far, we have been using Flint (class C) and Pontiac (class D, but using Detroit approach)
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When I got to the point you're at and just needed to log time I flew some long cross-countries. Visited Kansas, New Mexico, and Wyoming to eat up the clock. Still had the ADF then so tried to fly an NDB approach at every dinky little airport. That was educational. The ADF got pulled a couple months after the checkride because NDB just aren't well maintained (for the most part) in this part of the world.
 
Clark1961 said:
When I got to the point you're at and just needed to log time I flew some long cross-countries. Visited Kansas, New Mexico, and Wyoming to eat up the clock. Still had the ADF then so tried to fly an NDB approach at every dinky little airport. That was educational. The ADF got pulled a couple months after the checkride because NDB just aren't well maintained (for the most part) in this part of the world.
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I'm actually planning a cross country for mid-week...not super long, but like 240 miles or so...I wish I could log my flight to Kentucky dam next weekend as hood time, but it will just be my girlfriend and I (she's not a pilot).
 
tawood said:
So far, I wouldn't say anything has been "typical". First time out, he just had me fly headings, climbs, descents, recover from unusual attitudes, etc, under the hood. Then, he started covering up gauges..."oh, you just lost your vacuum", as he covers heading indicator and artificial horizon...then "you're having some sort of problem, what is it if these gauges fail?" as he covers up airspeed, VSI, and altimeter...the "gauge covering" pretty much has come with every single lesson, except for the very first time I flew an ILS....other than that, covered gauges, at least for most of the lesson. He and I usually fly for 1 to 2 hours each lesson. My hood goes on literally within 10 seconds of leaving the runway, and more or less stays on throughout, other than a brief "peek" at the end of an approach (when he has told me to look).
We have practiced holds, VOR approaches, ILS approaches, and did a couple of radar approaches. Flew one day for two hours in actual IMC, in which we did both ILS and VOR approaches. He had me plan a cross country, but we didn't do it...yet.
That's pretty much it so far. The fortunate part is I haven't seemed to have a problem with anything. Just not what I expected, I guess. And I suppose it is "easy to be fearless" with the CFII there, although he has never had to take control of the plane from me or anything...(other than when I put on the francis hood)
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So the guy I just started with said we are going to pretty much start with cross countries, not necessarily huge distances, but enough to get into the system for a little while, land, then file another from where we land, fly it, land again, repeat. This guy doesn't seem shy about actual, it sounds like as long as there isn't ice or dangerous weather we are going. Haven't really started yet, but I don't think I'll be bored. Thanks for sharing.
 
I'm planning on starting IR training not because I'm looking for excitement, but rather because I want to be able to travel a bit without worrying about getting stuck or cancelling all together. You want excitement I think aerobatics would be a better place to spend your training dollars.
 
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