Assume you are flying steam gauges? Scan discipline. Do you have a regular pattern or are you varying it haphazardly (or without even consciously knowing?)
The AI is the anchor and start & end every pairing with the other instruments with the AI.
This is why I'm here at POA. Or at least why I came here, hoping for exactly these kinds of great tips.
This kind of goes contrary to what one hears most of the time: Slow you scan down.
Just a little. We're told so often to keep our scan going, I see many pilot (not just instrument students) end up darting from instrument to instrument without ever stopping long enough to actually absorb the information. I see pilots, for example, look at a DG, HSI or CDI showing left of course of heading and turn further left, just because they really didn't see what it was telling them.
So pause at each just enough to compare it to what it should be. You are more likely to notice even a small deviation and correct it.
THAT'S IT! Now I remember! I was so focused on trying to keep my scan up, that I wasn't taking the time to interpret and react. That's why my CFII covered stuff up! To force me to only concentrate on a few key instruments. Worked great.
That's actually how I came to realize this issue. I was a fairly new CFII. An instrument pilot asked me to go up with him for some proficiency work in preparation for a trip. He was solid partial panel but had trouble full panel. I watched his eyes and noticed what was happening. Partial panel scan was methodical, stopping and ensuring he had the information. Full panel scan, he darted around trying to take it all in too quickly.
And these comments. Perfect. I know the OP is experienced and going for instrument but still as a new student I notice something...we often, unwittingly, FAKE it for the CFI. Even worse than instrument, I found myself in the beginning faking it (not intending to deceive, but fulfilling the letter of our duties but not the spirit and intent) when scanning for traffic!!
I know I'm not the only one. CFI sitting there, one is trying to do a lot of things, all of them important, to recall all things we need to do, and so you start emptily fulfilling duties..."ok, I looked at the engine instruments" check.
I corrected myself with traffic scan, taking exactly as long in each sectio out the windscreen as I feel I NEED in order to really search for any traffic. I'm still not there on instrument scans...but getting better.
What helps me, when I do a scan and am back to traffic scan, asking myself "what did I just read if the CFI were to ask me?"
The idea to slow down, exactly what I was missing too. One thing, when you guys scan, you are looking for what values (I.e. Altimeter for sure is value check, I assume looking at values also for airspeed...not just that it isn't in the yellow or does that depend?) with some instruments while engine for example is it just looking for "in the green"? Or even there, does it alternate?
When you get experience, do you look at patterns instead of values in some cases? Like when I look at my watch, I don't "read off" the time by needing numbers, I look at the pattern of the hands...do you do that with altimeter, airspeed? If so, when you fly a different plane with slightly diff instruments do you have to consciously make yourself READ instead of patterns?
Sorry this got long, I got hungry for info. Is the pattern vs. reading values related to when you do a "panel scan" vs. "partial panel" scan?
