New IR student

BigBadLou

BigBadLou

Final Approach
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Aug 6, 2014
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5,172
Location
TX - the friendliest state
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Display name:
Lou
Howdy, IR pilots. I just filed my the TSA application last night to get assessed as a terrorist (I am technically a foreign national) and if they deem me worthy again (no, I have not grown a bushy beard or wrapped a towel around my head since my PPL TSA check), I will be starting a lot of hood training hopefully later this week.

Definitely looking fwd to the actual training because I have been reading smart books and getting ready for the written test this winter. And also looking fwd to the actual IMC we have been having most of the winter (very unusual for Texas). And yes, I plan on going up only if the temperatures allow it, I am not crazy enough to train if it is 2C on the ground and negative in the clouds.

Wish me luck and I am sure I will be coming to you with instrument questions in the near future. And let's hope that my IR doesn't take 6 months like my PPL did (partly due to weather but mostly due to instructor scheduling conflicts).

Clouds ahoy!
 
6 months for a PPL is isn't bad. Good luck on your training!
 
Good luck! My TSA process surprising went smooth the year before. Remember you have one year from the day you apply for TSA clearance to finish the requirements. I learned that in a hard way.
 
ksp_530 said:
Good luck! My TSA process surprising went smooth the year before. Remember you have one year from the day you apply for TSA clearance to finish the requirements. I learned that in a hard way.
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Yup, I noticed that when I received the royal clearance to proceed with training. TSA monkeys think they know better than the FAA which allows 2 full years to complete training. Yeah, TSA, where would we be without them? :) *rolleyes*
 
Join the (IR student) club. Yet more flying fun IMHO, although there are times when I forget my own name up there.
 
Your going to enjoy the training,try to get some actual with your instructor.
 
Anna, which club?

Ron, definitely. I have flown in IMC before (not by myself) and have had no issues, I actually find it fun. (except for icing, understandably)

Been doing hood work with a safety pilot here and there but looking for the real lessons for sure. I remember my PPL lessons were a lot of fun and then flying turned into mostly boring trips from point A to point B.

Thanks for all the well wishing, I appreciate it.
 
Lou, I'm in Washington State, and I fly out of KPWT. Originally, a Kiwi. I've been checked out by the you know who's, and apparently I'm not a threat.
 
Good luck and have fun! You'll be surprised at how bad of a pilot you actually are or at least it feels that way the first thousand times you fly an ILS in the bumps.

AnnaG - I bet you got tired of the TIW ILS 17 or NDB 35. I spent many an hour doing those but loved the approaches in to Port Angeles followed by a stop at JefCo for some food.
 
There is nothing like getting training in actual. As far as questions go...ask away.
 
SbestCFII said:
As far as questions go...ask away.
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Alright, then I will. But only since you offered. :D

I did a practice written test and one question puzzled me. Paraphrasing here:
If the airport of your intended landing is forecasting weather an hour before and hour after your ETA to be OVC3000 and 5SM, how much fuel do you need?

The correct answer was indicated to be "enough to fly to the first airport then the alternate plus another 45 minutes at cruise".

So my question is: why do I need fuel to go to an alternate if I legally don't need an alternate? (per 91.169)
91.167(b)(2)(i) specifically eliminates the need for fuel to go to an alternate (91.167(a)(2)).
 
The devil may be in the details.

As I understand it, the fuel planning requirement for an alternate goes away only when FAR 91.167(1) and FAR 91.167(2) are satisfied.

Part (2) is the 1-2-3 rule, but that's not enough. Part (1) requires that the first airport of intended landing have a "standard instrument approach" or "special instrument approach procedure."

If this is similar to the question you're referencing, then it's the yellow highlighted language that makes it B rather than C:

IFR_Fuel_Required_Question_FAR_91-167.jpg
 
You might be right, this sounds like the question. I think I have already forgotten to the part about no IAP and that is the key point here.
Thank you.
 
Update: passed my written today with 5 incorrectly answered questions.
Two of them had to do with icing and de-icing and I am ashamed to admit that I chose the wrong answers (because icing is a real killer and I should have learned itbetter) but I already re-educated myself and am satisfied with my new understanding.
Another question I got wrong was one from the dreaded performance bucket, specifically ETE. Given the smudged charts, blurry lines, wind interpolation, rounding errors, the result of the complex calculations commonly has a very low precision, while the FAA answers can vary only by two or three percent. I won't cry over that question, I am realist.

Now the other two I missed were some strange new psych questions with answers that did not make much sense to begin with. I will look up the exact questions and follow up but I do not plan on losing any sleep over them either. They were absolutely strange: To paraphrase Simpsons: "what does number 6 smell like? how does number 8 make you feel?" :lol: I said "new" because those questions are not even on them Ynterwebs.

All-in-all, this is not an easy rating by far, as others have stated, but IMO, if you study hard and understand what you are learning, it is actually fun and it will make you a better pilot.

Now to start the actual flight training. Still waiting on VFR weather! Oh the irony. :lol:
 
BigBadLou said:
Update: passed my written today with 5 incorrectly answered questions.
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Sounds like you studied 13 questions harder than necessary. :wink2:

Seriously, well done -- very well done.

Now the other two I missed were some strange new psych questions with answers that did not make much sense to begin with. I will look up the exact questions and follow up but I do not plan on losing any sleep over them either. They were absolutely strange: To paraphrase Simpsons: "what does number 6 smell like? how does number 8 make you feel?" :lol: I said "new" because those questions are not even on them Ynterwebs.
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I'd really be interested to know what those questions were.
 
red4golf said:
Good luck and have fun! You'll be surprised at how bad of a pilot you actually are or at least it feels that way the first thousand times you fly an ILS in the bumps.

AnnaG - I bet you got tired of the TIW ILS 17 or NDB 35. I spent many an hour doing those but loved the approaches in to Port Angeles followed by a stop at JefCo for some food.
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I second that.

Bob Gardner
 
Ron Levy said:
Sounds like you studied 13 questions harder than necessary. :wink2:

Seriously, well done -- very well done.

I'd really be interested to know what those questions were.
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Jackie Spanitz is going back to DC to meet with the quizmasters in April...I will ask her to ask them....

Bob Gardner
 
Ron Levy said:
Sounds like you studied 13 questions harder than necessary. :wink2:

Seriously, well done -- very well done.

I'd really be interested to know what those questions were.
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Thank you forthe kind words, Ron, they mean something coming from you.

I did not find the question on the web but it short, it was asking about the role of a PFD in a cockpit. I have a feeling it had to do with PFDs and bad habits. Sorry, I don't have anything more.
 
BigBadLou said:
I did not find the question on the web but it short, it was asking about the role of a PFD in a cockpit. I have a feeling it had to do with PFDs and bad habits. Sorry, I don't have anything more.
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I think I saw some questions about that in the 2015 update to the Gleim book. Are you sure you had the latest edition?
 
Ron Levy said:
I think I saw some questions about that in the 2015 update to the Gleim book. Are you sure you had the latest edition?
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Negative, no Gleim here.
I studied the materials to understand them. I did not memorize correct answers. The PFD question surprised me because I haven't read about this specific "problem" in any of my instrument books. But I do not claim I have them all.
The question, while seemingly valid to a psychologist, did not make much logical sense to me and did not make me feel like knowing the correct answer would increase my safety in the cockpit. But that is merely my personal opinion, not a statement of fact.

Long story short, I have already re-educated myself on the important missed questions and am moving on to flight training. The weather finally turned VFR yesterday so I am hoping to start soon. Should be fun!
 
BigBadLou said:
Negative, no Gleim here.
I studied the materials to understand them. I did not memorize correct answers. The PFD question surprised me because I haven't read about this specific "problem" in any of my instrument books. But I do not claim I have them all.
The question, while seemingly valid to a psychologist, did not make much logical sense to me and did not make me feel like knowing the correct answer would increase my safety in the cockpit. But that is merely my personal opinion, not a statement of fact.

Long story short, I have already re-educated myself on the important missed questions and am moving on to flight training. The weather finally turned VFR yesterday so I am hoping to start soon. Should be fun!
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Good luck on your training! Try to get some actual during your training. Hopefully your CFI will take you up on it.
 
I started instrument training yesterday as well.

Been studying the written for weeks, haven't taken it yet. Seems to be going reasonably well.

Yesterday was 1.2 hours in a fixed Redbird sim (I think it's an SD -- nice unnecessary wraparound screen). I think I demonstrated most of the scanning faults in the IFH. Fixiation on the tach, emphasis on the AI, no omissions I'm aware of. Went twice through Pattern A and once through Pattern B. They need work. The big lessons are not to change cruise speed 10 seconds before a turn (overload -- missed the turn), that I need to be looking further ahead, and I need a more systematic way to keep track of where I am in a procedure (yes, I put my finger on the wrong spot at one point and turned the wrong way). The thought is to keep a paper printout and write headings and times on it during the 1-2 minute straights.

Pattern A is really just a procedure turn and hold without the navaid (though the teardrop entry is backwards!), so maybe a quick sketch of that will do.
 
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MAKG1 said:
I started instrument training yesterday as well.

Been studying the written for weeks, haven't taken it yet. Seems to be going reasonably well.

Yesterday was 1.2 hours in a fixed Redbird sim (I think it's an SD -- nice unnecessary wraparound screen). I think I demonstrated most of the scanning faults in the IFH. Fixiation on the tach, emphasis on the AI, no omissions I'm aware of. Went twice through Pattern A and once through Pattern B. They need work. The big lessons are not to change cruise speed 10 seconds before a turn (overload -- missed the turn), that I need to be looking further ahead, and I need a more systematic way to keep track of where I am in a procedure (yes, I put my finger on the wrong spot at one point and turned the wrong way). The thought is to keep a paper printout and write headings and times on it during the 1-2 minute straights.

Pattern A is really just a procedure turn and hold without the navaid (though the teardrop entry is backwards!), so maybe a quick sketch of that will do.
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Pattern A and B are great tools that you'll use later on when you start doing holds and approaches.
 
BigBadLou said:
Negative, no Gleim here.
I studied the materials to understand them. I did not memorize correct answers. The PFD question surprised me because I haven't read about this specific "problem" in any of my instrument books.
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Not sure which books you used, but the PFD issues are discussed in the Instrument Flying Handbook.
 
So fast forward a month and half and I yet have to take the first instrument lesson. *sigh*
Partially caused by some bad weather and partially (after the weather cleared up) by a failed mag that's still waiting to be fully resolved.
Hoping to fly by end of month but we all know it is just wishful thinking.
At this point I wonder whether I will need to re-read all the smart books because new knowledge that is not used easily slips out of our brains.

Wish me luck.
Lou
 
BigBadLou said:
So fast forward a month and half and I yet have to take the first instrument lesson. *sigh*
Partially caused by some bad weather and partially (after the weather cleared up) by a failed mag that's still waiting to be fully resolved.
Hoping to fly by end of month but we all know it is just wishful thinking.
At this point I wonder whether I will need to re-read all the smart books because new knowledge that is not used easily slips out of our brains.

Wish me luck.
Lou
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Hit the books. There is always something to learn. If you have a simulator you can try developing your instrument scan. Even in the car, try pretending like those gauges are your instrument gauges. But remember to look up once in a while!
 
jordane93 said:
Hit the books. There is always something to learn. If you have a simulator you can try developing your instrument scan. Even in the car, try pretending like those gauges are your instrument gauges. But remember to look up once in a while!
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Re-reading the books while idle on the ground. *sigh*
I will gladly work on my instrument scan in the sim, good idea. However, I cannot practice it on the road because riding a motorcycle requires eyes on the road and especially on all the retards out there every second possible.
 
UPDATE

After 3 lessons in the last 2 weeks, my instructor (great kid with great attitude and a good sense of humor) says that we don't need to bother with the pointless BAI flying and so we have already finished partial panel (no-gyro), compass turns, timed turns, steep turns etc.

We will be moving onto holds (w/ partial panel) and approaches already. Hoping for any good IMC in the future but down here in TX, it often means convective activity and I'd rather stay away from that. We had plenty of nice IMC in the early spring but I missed it.

Re-reading smart books and brushing up on the new-to-me KLN GPS in my plane so that I can use it to its full capabilities (and they are pretty awesome). And when I fly to the next $100 burger with a buddy pilot, I'll make him a safety pilot because I want to practice steep 45-degree-bank turns without losing 50' of altitude. Practice makes perfect.

Next lesson is on Thursday night, can't wait! (I love being a student again)
 
BigBadLou said:
Re-reading the books while idle on the ground. *sigh*
I will gladly work on my instrument scan in the sim, good idea. However, I cannot practice it on the road because riding a motorcycle requires eyes on the road and especially on all the retards out there every second possible.
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You can also work on your instrument scan while flying VFR. You just have to remember to keep the outside world in your scan as well. I don't recommend this in busy airspace, but in less trafficked areas, it's reasonably safe, as well as necessary in a lot of VFR situations, particularly night VFR over sparsely populated areas and in VFR instrument conditions.
 
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