Instrument training books

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I am wondering if anyone has a recommendation for a book on instrument taining. I recently passed my ppl checkride and plan to build some hours prior to starting instrument training. What I am looking for is a good book describing the procedures, but maybe not as in depth as I would want when actually training. My concern is that a book designed for training will work well if the material is being practiced. I just want to start getting my head into the big picture, without getting bogged down with too much information.

Thanks,

Jim
 
In terms of developing good instrument flying procedures, Peter Dogan's Instrument Flight Training Manual is probably the best. That's what we use at Professional Instrument Courses. But before you do that, I recommend getting and reading both the Instrument Flight Handbook and Instrument Procedures Handbook.

That said, I strongly recommend against trying to teach yourself instrument procedures. You can read all you want now, but get with an instructor before you try it in the airplane. Otherwise, you may be teaching yourself poor techniques and then ingraining the by exercise, making the job longer and harder when you do start instrument training with an instructor.
 
I actually bought and read quite a few Instrument books in preparation for my CFII check-ride. I also went to a big name college which focused on a few other titles (material... like most things in aviation training I found hasn't seen significant updates since the last 8 years of reading it)

Disclaimer : I haven't read the Instrument Flight Training Manual so I will not comment.

Not Recommended:
I have read the Instrument Flight Manual from Kershner, and although I really like his other books wasn't my top recommended book. AT ALL COSTS: Stay away from the Jeppesen Instrument/Commercial book! UNLESS it is a guided discussion ground school, for self study its a no-no! (very personal opinion, forced to read it in college and felt really disgruntled). Jeppesen content wise is by far the LEAST helpful but my goodness the pictures are very pretty! I use it for show and tell, but I reference a book below for material. Rob Machado's book was a bit TOO silly and TOO simple to really make it a solid go to for me.

Recommended:

For knowledge The ASA Pilot's Manual - Instrument Flying PM 3 is by FAR the best all-in-one for Ground self-study. It covered everything I needed to study for the Oral and Knowledge tests. Word of caution, the book is 640 pages, all of them useful (even dedicated chapters for TAA aircraft). If your ground school has a different book, it still is a great read to give a dead simple easy to read understanding. However, one thing the ASA book lacks was a solid IFR weather section, covering all of the products that are out there (and even a few that aren't -LI/K Index). The ASA book covers the basics of weather theory, but the FAA book is the best for specific products.

AS ALWAYS:
The FAA books (including AIM) are by far the BEST for specific content, although they aren't the best at getting to the point, or sometimes get too far into the weeds (like most government material - I'm in the government so I have a developed an immune system)

I would recommend to follow Ron's advice...PLEASE do not fly without an Instrument Instructor if you are serious about getting the ticket done efficiently. There are some NASTY habits that we have to work out that ultimately cost you in the end. That isnt just personal advice, thats advice I have picked up by some of the best in the industry.

For Computer programs, I prefer the pricey Sporty's...but nothing really beats a solid Person-to-Person Instrument Ground School.

Study before flying...its not like the PPL where you can easily pick it up as you go. The more you are armed with information, the QUICKER your instrument understanding will click, and you'll be shooting practice no-gyro approaches to simulated minimums in no time!
 
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Ron Levy said:
In terms of developing good instrument flying procedures, Peter Dogan's Instrument Flight Training Manual is probably the best. That's what we use at Professional Instrument Courses. But before you do that, I recommend getting and reading both the Instrument Flight Handbook and Instrument Procedures Handbook.

That said, I strongly recommend against trying to teach yourself instrument procedures. You can read all you want now, but get with an instructor before you try it in the airplane. Otherwise, you may be teaching yourself poor techniques and then ingraining the by exercise, making the job longer and harder when you do start instrument training with an instructor.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. I have no plans to try to teach myself procedures. I basically was hoping to find a book that gave an in depth overview of the overall process and rules of instrument training. Kind of an intro to instrument flying so I will understand the lingo when I hear it on the radio and I will have a good foundation to start training. I prefer to not have something so in depth that I am tempted to try to teach myself or that it does not make sense without practicing the practical side.

Jim
 
I probably have all the books mentioned above. Including the Jeppesen Instrument/Commercial textbook. I ended up using these two as my main study books, in addition to FAA sources online:

Instrument Pilot's Handbook, Rod Machado
IFR: A Structured Approach, John C. Eckalbar

I love Rod's sense of humor and stories. Eckalbar's book is great for developing a procedure, step-wise driven flying technique. Using John's book (and the watchful eye of my CFII) I developed solid & safe IFR skills. When I did my IFR training the FAA publications were less polished, chockful of FAA-speak and boring boring to read. That being said, I love the latest FAA Instrument Procedure manual. Jeppesen's textbook is excellent, expensive but a awesome reference book. I used Dauntless-soft Ground School for written test prep. I test horribly, so being able to take the "CAATS" test provided at my flight school made a big difference in my scores.

I heeded the advice of not learning approaches & etc without the guidance of a CFI-I. There is a lot you can learn on your own. Just having the vocabulary and understanding will shorten the time needed to be ready. An airplane is a very expensive classroom. :) Good luck.
 
When looking at all these suggestions, keep in mind that a book to support instrument flight training is a very different beast than a book to support ground training for the IR written. Dogan's book (and, apparently, Eckelbar's, although I am not familiar with it) is specifically written for the former, while other texts such as Kershner, Machado, and the FAA's IFH and IPH are written primarily for the latter.
 
my two cents worth -

you will be going for and testing for an FAA rating... my personal opinion is to only read the FAA material, then after you have wrapped your brain around the material then add in other flavors to expand and deepen your knowledge.
 
FAA books are pretty good. Stay away from king schools. Unless you like humor from two 70 something year old couple on what should be serious and extermely important content. It gets really annoying. i was forced to use the king schools dvds and just clicked through them and learned from my instructor and reading the FAA books.

Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot is pretty awesome. However, it serves more as a book long cheat sheet, just to refresh already learned concepts.
 
Capt. Ron, here's a link to John Eckalbar's books. The follow-on book to IFR: A Structured Approach is Instrument Flying Update. I have both.
 
jdwatson said:
Capt. Ron, here's a link to John Eckalbar's books. The follow-on book to IFR: A Structured Approach is Instrument Flying Update. I have both.
Click to expand...

IFR-A Structured Approach did more to improve my IFR flying than all the others I've read. I've re-read the book several times over the years.:yesnod:
 
Baron2PG said:
IFR-A Structured Approach did more to improve my IFR flying than all the others I've read. I've re-read the book several times over the years.:yesnod:
Click to expand...

Working my way through that one also. Not far enough to have an opinion on it yet.
 
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