Passed my IFR Written!

VictorBravo

VictorBravo

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Nov 7, 2017
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20
Location
Maple Grove, Minnesota
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Display name:
VictorBravo
Passed my IFR written today! 90%

Next stop is my check ride. I just need to replace my failing vacuum attitude indicator, going with a Garmin g5, and then I will be all set for the ride. If all goes as planned I will be filing my own flight plans by the end of this month!

I started this process in the beginning of April and I have to say it really has been a challenging experience! There was an unbelievable amount of knowledge to be learned for the written exam and the actual flight training was equally challenging. All in it has been a great learning experience and I can't wait to be finished with all the studying/training and move onto using these skills to get myself out and about for fun rather than practice.

Thanks to everyone on the board for generously sharing your knowledge and experiences.
 
Congratulations!!! I just passed my written the other day. Now I have a bunch of flying to do but that's the fun part. Good luck on on your check ride!!!
 
Congrats,good luck on the flight test.
 
Thanks for all the encouragement! I had a bit of a set back on my training, no sooner did I pass my written than my vacuum AI died on me! After a lot of searching I ended up going with a Garmin G5 upgrade and just got my plane back last Friday.

Tonight will be my first lesson in 3-4 weeks, we are currently low IFR in the MSP area with ceilings around 800 agl. Time will tell how much I was able to retain during my timeoff.
 
I had my first IFR lesson in 3 weeks yesterday early evening and WOW what a way to get back in the saddle! My instructor and I departed KMIC into low IFR conditions (3mi vis and 700' ceilings) and our first approach was the RNAV 10R at KFCM, ceilings there were reported as 500' with 2mi vis. Everything went well and we broke out of the clouds right around 400-500' and followed the approach down to 200' for the missed approach. Following the missed, we then headed back into the soup and over to KSTP for the ILS 32 approach. Approach control gave me vectors to the IAF and once established cleared me for the approach. We followed the glideslope all the way down to 307', breaking out of the clouds around 500', and again flew a missed approach back up into the clouds. The last approach of the night was the VOR-A at KMIC. Again, approach control provided vectors to intercept the course, approx. 5 miles north of FAF, and I followed the VOR radial (166degress), descending down to 491 MDA, for the circle to land on RWY 32. We broke out of the clouds at around 700' and we had comfortable breathing room to locate the airport (now in the dark of night), enter a right downwind, and complete our landing on 32R.

3 different types of approaches (RNAV, ILS, VOR), low IFR conditions, and 1.5 hours of IMC....it was an awesome experience for me personally. A couple of my takeaways (perhaps obvious to everyone else) was how much quieter it was on the radios, due to far less traffic in the area, and how much easier it is to maintain altitude and headings in cool stable air. It was actually less exhausting than my normal training lessons, but then I do concede we did not fly any procedure turns, holds, or DME arcs on this flight!

The last thing I will say is the GARMIN G5 was AWESOME in IMC. The brightness/crispness of the display was easier to acquire during my instrument scan and the altitude presets/heading bugs were useful back up aids for recording headings and altitude assignments. Having these tools along with secondary display of altitude, airspeed, groundspeed, and ball all in one place really improved my cross checks and situational awareness.
 
VictorBravo said:
I had my first IFR lesson in 3 weeks yesterday early evening and WOW what a way to get back in the saddle! My instructor and I departed KMIC into low IFR conditions (3mi vis and 700' ceilings) and our first approach was the RNAV 10R at KFCM, ceilings there were reported as 500' with 2mi vis. Everything went well and we broke out of the clouds right around 400-500' and followed the approach down to 200' for the missed approach. Following the missed, we then headed back into the soup and over to KSTP for the ILS 32 approach. Approach control gave me vectors to the IAF and once established cleared me for the approach. We followed the glideslope all the way down to 307', breaking out of the clouds around 500', and again flew a missed approach back up into the clouds. The last approach of the night was the VOR-A at KMIC. Again, approach control provided vectors to intercept the course, approx. 5 miles north of FAF, and I followed the VOR radial (166degress), descending down to 491 MDA, for the circle to land on RWY 32. We broke out of the clouds at around 700' and we had comfortable breathing room to locate the airport (now in the dark of night), enter a right downwind, and complete our landing on 32R.

3 different types of approaches (RNAV, ILS, VOR), low IFR conditions, and 1.5 hours of IMC....it was an awesome experience for me personally. A couple of my takeaways (perhaps obvious to everyone else) was how much quieter it was on the radios, due to far less traffic in the area, and how much easier it is to maintain altitude and headings in cool stable air. It was actually less exhausting than my normal training lessons, but then I do concede we did not fly any procedure turns, holds, or DME arcs on this flight!

The last thing I will say is the GARMIN G5 was AWESOME in IMC. The brightness/crispness of the display was easier to acquire during my instrument scan and the altitude presets/heading bugs were useful back up aids for recording headings and altitude assignments. Having these tools along with secondary display of altitude, airspeed, groundspeed, and ball all in one place really improved my cross checks and situational awareness.
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sounds like fun!
 
I passed my IFR check ride this week! After 7 months of studying, flight training, balancing work/life scheduling conflicts and managing the maintenance of my aircraft it is finally completed. It's hard to describe the incredible feeling of reward and accomplishment, as well as a great sense of relief! Now I suppose its' time to enjoy the privileges of IFR and get out there and use it! Well, that is once it warms up again here in Minnesota....I'm thinking some long x-country flights, to the SOUTH, are in short order!

To all those out there on a similar journey, keep at it! It's a tough process, but definitely worth it in the long run.
 
Congratulations!!! I'm hoping I can get finished up soon.
 
VictorBravo said:
I passed my IFR check ride this week! After 7 months of studying, flight training, balancing work/life scheduling conflicts and managing the maintenance of my aircraft it is finally completed. It's hard to describe the incredible feeling of reward and accomplishment, as well as a great sense of relief! Now I suppose its' time to enjoy the privileges of IFR and get out there and use it! Well, that is once it warms up again here in Minnesota....I'm thinking some long x-country flights, to the SOUTH, are in short order!

To all those out there on a similar journey, keep at it! It's a tough process, but definitely worth it in the long run.
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Nice, congrats!
I passed my IFR checkride in August, and I'm considering a flight south soon myself.
 
VictorBravo said:
I passed my IFR check ride this week! After 7 months of studying, flight training, balancing work/life scheduling conflicts and managing the maintenance of my aircraft it is finally completed. It's hard to describe the incredible feeling of reward and accomplishment, as well as a great sense of relief! Now I suppose its' time to enjoy the privileges of IFR and get out there and use it! Well, that is once it warms up again here in Minnesota....I'm thinking some long x-country flights, to the SOUTH, are in short order!

To all those out there on a similar journey, keep at it! It's a tough process, but definitely worth it in the long run.
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Congrats!!! Any tips?? I have one coming up in the next few weeks.
 
VictorBravo said:
Passed my IFR written today! 90%

Next stop is my check ride. I just need to replace my failing vacuum attitude indicator, going with a Garmin g5, and then I will be all set for the ride. If all goes as planned I will be filing my own flight plans by the end of this month!

I started this process in the beginning of April and I have to say it really has been a challenging experience! There was an unbelievable amount of knowledge to be learned for the written exam and the actual flight training was equally challenging. All in it has been a great learning experience and I can't wait to be finished with all the studying/training and move onto using these skills to get myself out and about for fun rather than practice.

Thanks to everyone on the board for generously sharing your knowledge and experiences.
Click to expand...

Way to go
 
As far as tips go, my biggest suggestion would be to try to do a walk through of the entire "checkride" with your instructor, in advance. There wasn't any one particular thing that I wasn't prepared for, or had not covered with my instructor, but I would say the totality of the day overall was a heavy load. In my particular case, the oral part of the test was ~3 hours followed by 2 hours of flight. My test was taken in my own airplane and was conducted at a nearby airport, so tack on another hour of pulling the plane out of the hangar, preflight and flying to meet the examiner and you are looking at a fairly long day overall. My brain was a bit of a mushball by the time it was all over and I just wasn't prepared from an endurance perspective.

There is also a fairly exhaustive list of paperwork required to be presented during the exam such as the log book entries proving currency of the airplane and maintenance items, instructor log endorsements, exam results, POH, flight plans and on and on..... make sure you have everything well organized in advance.

Lastly, I can't say enough how helpful it is to have most recent flying time, practicing your holds and procedures. In my particular case, my trouble area was with executing the given hold. Specifically, I was given a hold, non standard turns, at an intersection of 2 victor airways. I had no problem drawing it up and identifying the proper entry; follow the current Victor Airway to the intersection, execute a teardrop entry, and then hold on the right side of the 2nd (perpendicular) Victor airway....easy peasy, right? Well in my case, all was going well until I had completed the teardrop and was tracking back to the fix and i realized I would now have to figure out a way to identify said fix on VOR 1 and in the meantime VOR #2 is now reverse sensing! To be sure, I had practiced this very same type of hold before, but never following 3-4 hours of oral exam and other distractions. Fortunately, the answers came to me just in time, but this was my particular "gotcha" moment that almost got me.

Your strengths and weaknesses may vary, but hopefully, this gives you another perspective. At the end of the day, just remember, your instructor has prepared you...you just need to trust your training and execute. You got this!
 
3 hour oral!?! I have heard of that before. Wow. I guess when you factor in all the time looking over the log books and stuff it could be that long. I hope that factored in:|
I don’t know that I could talk about instrument flying for 3-4 hours!!
I’m planning on 2 practice flights week of. I know what At least one of the approaches I’m going to do- the trickiest one. A VOR approach with a procedure turn at an untowered field likely a missed then to hold at that procedure turn. This will probably be the last thing I do as it is at his home field. To get an ILS will have to go a small distance.
 
VictorBravo said:
I passed my IFR check ride this week! After 7 months of studying, flight training, balancing work/life scheduling conflicts and managing the maintenance of my aircraft it is finally completed. It's hard to describe the incredible feeling of reward and accomplishment, as well as a great sense of relief! Now I suppose its' time to enjoy the privileges of IFR and get out there and use it! Well, that is once it warms up again here in Minnesota....I'm thinking some long x-country flights, to the SOUTH, are in short order!

To all those out there on a similar journey, keep at it! It's a tough process, but definitely worth it in the long run.
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I too am on the heels of my IRA check ride. I passed the written a couple weeks ago with an 85 and now have the check ride scheduled for dec 27th. I worked hard for this one, ended up taking almost a year off due to family health issues but back at it now and gonna make it happen before the end of the year.
 
VictorBravo said:
Lastly, I can't say enough how helpful it is to have most recent flying time, practicing your holds and procedures. In my particular case, my trouble area was with executing the given hold. Specifically, I was given a hold, non standard turns, at an intersection of 2 victor airways. I had no problem drawing it up and identifying the proper entry; follow the current Victor Airway to the intersection, execute a teardrop entry, and then hold on the right side of the 2nd (perpendicular) Victor airway....easy peasy, right? Well in my case, all was going well until I had completed the teardrop and was tracking back to the fix and i realized I would now have to figure out a way to identify said fix on VOR 1 and in the meantime VOR #2 is now reverse sensing! To be sure, I had practiced this very same type of hold before, but never following 3-4 hours of oral exam and other distractions. Fortunately, the answers came to me just in time, but this was my particular "gotcha" moment that almost got me.
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Which equipment do you have in your plane? In my IFD550, I could just program the hold in and hand-fly the magenta/HSI. I wonder if my DPE would allow it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
CrimsonFlyer, I have a Garmin G5 AI, HSI, VOR, GTN750 and a KAP140 autopilot (coupled to both the HSI and GTN), I'm also using an IPAD mini with foreflight for my plates. Unfortunately, for my check ride, the DPE wasn't letting me use any of the automation and gizmos that day. No GPS location tracking on the IPAD (turned of location tracking), no use of the GTN750 for the holds or the VOR and ILS approach, and no use of the autopilot. Obviously, I was allowed to use the GTN for the RNAV approach and I was also allowed to use it for heading information only during the partial panel exercise (along with my whiskey compass). But otherwise, it was an exercise in using mostly the bare minimum equipment for the job, without all the wonderful navigational aids and resources. Having said that, if I were to lose many of these features in actual IMC, or were to fly in a less equipped aircraft someday, I can appreciate the emphasis on testing and training on the basics.
 
Well done. Enjoy the moment for all your hard work studying. Then move on to knuckle down to the flying training.
Best wishes for success also with that. Let us know how it goes.
 
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