Use it or lose it

Ken Ibold

Ken Ibold

Final Approach
Joined
Feb 21, 2005
Messages
5,889
Location
Jacksonville, Florida
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Display name:
Ken Ibold
Once upon a time, I was a decent instrument pilot. Flew every approach to ATP standards, took a TOUGH IPC twice a year from a very demanding instructor. Filed all the time. Flew with robotic precision.

And then I bought a sport plane. For the first year, I would occasionally rent or borrow an IFR airplane to stay current and take the occasional trip, but that faded. I still tried to fly with precision, but it was a different kind of precision.

Now the Citabria is gone, the Pitts is gone, and I'm back in a traveling airplane. My scan STINKS! I have forgotten many IFR procedures, I fumble the readback on my clearances. Aircraft control is good, but the rest, P-U!

Slowly I have been polishing away the rust in an Archer and a Seneca in anticipation of getting my airplane -- and an IPC -- this week. Slowly it's coming back to me.

But this is a cautionary tale to instrument pilots everywhere. Do NOT take your skills for granted. They will abandon you no matter how good you think you are now. For me the layoff was 6 years, and I expected to be rusty. But I did not expect this.
 
I know what you mean - I go through this every year, since Vermont is just not a good place for IFR in a Cherokee from November through May. On the plus side, you know that you had the skills at one time, so you know you can get them back. It will probably also come back to you quicker than you think once you get back into the system more frequently.

Good luck on the IPC!

Dan
 
Tell me about it. I felt that way on Sunday after only 3.5 months w/o practicing approaches. I had it all planned out: NDB/GPS 4 at GVL, LOC 4 GVL, then GPS 16 @ 19A culminating in $2.99 gas there.

The first approach started as a GPS approach, until I bungled up the OBS/Hold button going around the HILPT. No sweat, I had the ADF tuned in and reverted to a straight NDB approach. Not bad, but I ended up leveling off too early and never hit MDA (was + 50 ft). Back around for the LOC was better.

Being non-proficient on the GPS, I knew the GPS16 at 19A had no course reversal. The apporach went well until the KUKRE intersection, at which point the GPS wanted to do a hold! WTF? You will note, there is none on the procedure. I hit the OBS/hold button to turn off the hold light and it sequenced to RW16. Almost immediately, I get the weirdest message I've seen so far: something like RAIM prediction not finished in time, abort approach! We were VFR, so we just flew the approach anyway so we could get gas. My safety pilot said he has seen GPS strangeness around there, too, on his 430. Wonder what the deal is?

The approaches were "safe", but I sure wasn't in the zone. I need to hit the GPS (GX-60) simulator hard. Too bad it only runs under Windows. Have to play with it at work...


-Rich
 
I had a 9 month layoff last year. You have my empathy 100%. I can't imagine what 6 years is like. I try to stay in the game with reading, briefing approaches to my Bride and flying Elite sim software at home.

Good luck with the IPC. I came home soaked with sweat. I was legal but it took a few more outings before I was confident again.

Odd, the confidence is always last to come back for me.

P.S. I also use Comm1's Clearances on Request
 
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On Sunday, I flew as safety pilot for a guy who had not been up in over three months. He was pretty rusty. He'd wanted to do six approaches and get them done in such an order as ILS 27 AHN, GPS 31 WDR, GPS 2 AHN, LOC 31 WDR then two LOC 4 GVL. I knew up front there was no way. He had no time for briefing, setup and becoming established for a stable approach. I didn't even think TRACON would be for him bouncing back and forth like this.

I suggested leaving GVL and setting up for a VOR DME/GPS-A WDR, ILS 27 AHN and finally LOC 4 GVL. That gave a realistic time frame for setting up each approach. He could do the the DME Arc on his own then establish with TRACON to sequence into Athens and use them for vectors back into GVL.

For the DME Arc, I didn't even have the procedure loaded into the GPS. I had him do it on VOR alone. The AHN VOR was in the GPS for DME only. He was consistently outside the arc then upon turning inbound, he started to descend before he reached the FAF allowing him to descend. He flew it but it was shaky. At least he stayed at or above MDA.

I handled the initial comm with TRACON. He took over during his vectors to establish into AHN. I called tower upon hand-off. When tower responded to us with "continue", he took it as cleared to land. Once other traffic was out of the way, we were cleared for the option. I acknowledged and said to expect a missed approach. After I called missed approach over the threshold, he started climb-out. His missed instructions were 300 to 3,000 feet. He wrote them down but then later looked at a previous heading for vectors inbound and started to turn to 150, clearly the wrong direction.

Upon switching back to TRACON, the controller gave an unusual instruction, "Resume own navigation, expect vectors for Localizer 4 into Gainesville." We climbed to 3,500 and continued on heading 300, generally toward Flowery Branch knowing there would be a turn to the south at some point. About halfway, ATC had us turn 10 left. I had him lift his view limiting device to see a tower sticking up at 2,654'. ATC further instructed to climb to 3,700. We were a good three miles to the south of it but that's plenty close enough for it being barely a thousand under us.

Upon intercepting the localizer, he tracked it fine. TRACON terminated radar service and we switched to CTAF. Upon determining traffic was using RWY 22, I asked what was changed. "We circle to land." "What else?" "Different minimums." He called out the new minimums. He descended as allowed after the FAF. I asked him about circling. He simply answered with "one mile." We had up to 1.3 miles but I suggested just sidestepping and joining the pattern on downwind. I called "circling to land" but once in a downwind position, we just did a normal base and final in the pattern.

Throughout, his radio calls were rusty and confusing. I get tongue-tied at times but this went beyond that. His whole goal here was to "get current" with six approaches. Even if we were able to squeeze in six approaches, he may have been current but that's all. Proficiency would be only a distant thought. If he's the average rusty pilot, it's a huge safety issue out there. I strongly suggested he spend a couple hours with a CFII and work on his procedures to a more perfect standard. He appeared reluctant, thinking he could just get up to par by using me as a safety pilot.

I'll help him all I can but I really believe he needs much more than I can offer or am certainly qualified to do other than being fresh with an IR. I'd like to get the chief CFI involved in insisting this pilot spend a couple hours before renting during IMC again. But, I'm not sure how to do that.

I guess the bottom line in all my babbling here is... If you think, in the slightest, you are not proficient in IFR skills, get some good help from a CFII. Don't wing it by yourself. Currency not equivalent to proficiency.
 
Ken thanks for the reminder. Not that I needed it. I get an IPC every six months. I find its better than just shooting the approaches you get a CFI giving you a work out. I just did mine this past Sunday and this time it had been quite a while since I flew in the System, September actually. There is sooooo much little stuff to remember stuff that can get ya killed. Like doing a GPS approache with vloc set. Sheesh.
 
It's been almost 7 years since I was instrument current. One of my flying goals for the year is to complete an IPC. I did some hood work late last year and was happy with my performance on the approaches considering the long layoff, but I haven't flown in the system yet. It sounds like I'm in for a rude awakening. Plus I've never flown a GPS approach other than in MSFS. I guess I better allocate a few more dollars from my flying budget towards the IPC.
 
It wasn't clear in your post, Ken, but I'm sure you're doing that "polishing" with a good instructor in the right seat -- right? BTW, (in the shameless self-promotion department), PIC offers a three-day "tune-up" course...
 
Ron Levy said:
It wasn't clear in your post, Ken, but I'm sure you're doing that "polishing" with a good instructor in the right seat -- right? BTW, (in the shameless self-promotion department), PIC offers a three-day "tune-up" course...
Click to expand...
Yes, Cap'n. I enlisted the most anal-retentive, demanding, detail-oriented CFII I could find. I told him to cut me no slack, to make me wail in anguish. I told him I'm a firm believer in the old saw that the more you sweat in training the less you bleed in war. So far he's been pretty good.

And yes, I would have loved a 3-day tuneup from you, but the decent rentals are dual only, so I was kind of stuck with the flight school. My airplane doesn't get delivered until tomorrow or possibly Thursday.
 
Ron Levy said:
It wasn't clear in your post, Ken, but I'm sure you're doing that "polishing" with a good instructor in the right seat -- right? BTW, (in the shameless self-promotion department), PIC offers a three-day "tune-up" course...
Click to expand...

Can mere mortals afford that "tune-up," Ron?
 
Ron Levy said:
It wasn't clear in your post, Ken, but I'm sure you're doing that "polishing" with a good instructor in the right seat -- right? BTW, (in the shameless self-promotion department), PIC offers a three-day "tune-up" course...
Click to expand...

Ron, Can you point me to a website that gives the details of what PIC offers. Thanks
 
Signature in the logbook today on a fresh IPC. 4.1 hours to shake the rust off. Now if only that airplane would get here ...
 
Must not have been as rusty as you thought -- a lot of folks take 4 days, not 4 hours, to get it all back together.
 
Ron Levy said:
Must not have been as rusty as you thought -- a lot of folks take 4 days, not 4 hours, to get it all back together.
Click to expand...

Ron:

He *is* a Noted Aviation Safety Expert.
 
Ron Levy said:
Must not have been as rusty as you thought -- a lot of folks take 4 days, not 4 hours, to get it all back together.
Click to expand...
Fortunately, flying a Pitts now has me WAAAAAAAY ahead of "regular" airplanes from a control standpoint. So it was basically just remembering procedures, and I did a fair amount of studying that at home ... flipping to a random approach plate and briefing it, visualizing setting up the cockpit. My scan did come back much more quickly than I'd expected. My confidence is good, but I will keep my personal weather minimums on the high side for a little while, I think.
 
So this is what I'm afraid of. My minimums to fly in IMC are 12 in 6 (instead of 6 in 6), and since I don't fly that much (maybe twice a month), it ends up that every flight is a training flight.
 
KennyFlys said:
I'll help him all I can but I really believe he needs much more than I can offer or am certainly qualified to do other than being fresh with an IR. I'd like to get the chief CFI involved in insisting this pilot spend a couple hours before renting during IMC again. But, I'm not sure how to do that.

I guess the bottom line in all my babbling here is... If you think, in the slightest, you are not proficient in IFR skills, get some good help from a CFII. Don't wing it by yourself. Currency not equivalent to proficiency.
Click to expand...

Nice write-up Ken.
It is quite a common scenario. There are a huge number of pilots, both IFR and VFR that are pretty rough. The rental market usually requires an IPC for IMC ops at 6 or 12 month intervals but if they don't, or in private owner/pilot situations, it can be an aerial problem ready to explode.
 
spiderweb said:
So this is what I'm afraid of. My minimums to fly in IMC are 12 in 6 (instead of 6 in 6), and since I don't fly that much (maybe twice a month), it ends up that every flight is a training flight.
Click to expand...

Why? Other than trips, most of my weekly local flights are various types of approach practice under the hood. I like to fly, I might as well use each local flight to keep current.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I paid a lot of money to become IR, and I want to keep those skills sharp and usable.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Why? Other than trips, most of my weekly local flights are various types of approach practice under the hood. I like to fly, I might as well use each local flight to keep current.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I paid a lot of money to become IR, and I want to keep those skills sharp and usable.
Click to expand...


That's my routine as well. It has the added advantage of doubling loggable time in the saratoga (my wife is my safety pilot, and vice versa, so we both get to log time while practicing).

It gets a bit repetitive after a while, but it keeps us current, and we get creative in failing instruments, making up holds, etc, to keep it interesting.

Jim G
 
Bill Jennings said:
Why? Other than trips, most of my weekly local flights are various types of approach practice under the hood. I like to fly, I might as well use each local flight to keep current.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I paid a lot of money to become IR, and I want to keep those skills sharp and usable.
Click to expand...


I heard you get an IFR clearance when we left LZU in clear VFR the other day. Now I know why.
 
jhempel said:
I heard you get an IFR clearance when we left LZU in clear VFR the other day. Now I know why.
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I file IFR on any trip that takes me beyond the range of the departure area control.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Why? Other than trips, most of my weekly local flights are various types of approach practice under the hood. I like to fly, I might as well use each local flight to keep current.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I paid a lot of money to become IR, and I want to keep those skills sharp and usable.
Click to expand...

I think that's what I said. at least it is what i meant to say.
 
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