very stupid observation

spiderweb

spiderweb

Final Approach
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Ben
i'm an instrument rated pilot. i have been for two years now. it took blood sweat and tears. every now and then i think, man that was quite an accomplishment. if you aren't instrument rated, i challenge you to get rated! seriously, it is very good for your technique, and the dirty little secret is that it is an extremely fun rating to shoot for.
 
I can't wait to do it. I'd have the rating now if I could afford to do the way I want to: Lots of actual, in my own IFR airplane.

If aviation were easy and cheap, it wouldn't be as much fun, I guess.
 
I wish I'd gone ahead and "picked at it"... after more than ten years, I'd have finished, for sure. But I've put it off again and again. :redface:

But... soon! :yes:
 
spiderweb said:
i'm an instrument rated pilot. i have been for two years now. it took blood sweat and tears. every now and then i think, man that was quite an accomplishment. if you aren't instrument rated, i challenge you to get rated! seriously, it is very good for your technique, and the dirty little secret is that it is an extremely fun rating to shoot for.
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I couldn't agree with you more on this.
 
I cannot recall a single person saying, with regard to the rating; "Damn. I wish I'd never done that!"

I have heard others say it was "the most satisfying of ratings" and others say it was "the most...intellectual of flying they had done".

I think it is the most thorough combination of "faith and flight" of all aviating you may do.
 
Getting the instrument rating was:
* challenging
* rewarding
* exhilarating
* expensive

Man, I'm glad that both Leslie and I got it!
 
spiderweb said:
i'm an instrument rated pilot. i have been for two years now. it took blood sweat and tears. every now and then i think, man that was quite an accomplishment. if you aren't instrument rated, i challenge you to get rated! seriously, it is very good for your technique, and the dirty little secret is that it is an extremely fun rating to shoot for.
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Very inspiring! I've had my ticket for 20 months (kind of like a baby - for a while you just use months) and am still working on building my XC time more slowly than I would prefer.

Question: Is unusual attitude recovery a big part of instrument training? It was not my favorite part of my PPL, and my DPE went easy on me. I know it's necessary for obvious reasons, but is it something that has limited anyone on their instrument rating?
 
nddons said:
Question: Is unusual attitude recovery a big part of instrument training? It was not my favorite part of my PPL, and my DPE went easy on me. I know it's necessary for obvious reasons, but is it something that has limited anyone on their instrument rating?
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Nah. While there was a fair share of it durring instrument training, it wasn't the primary focus there. My training, as far as maneuvers were concerned, was mostly based on being able to keep from getting into an unusual attitude by staying in control of the airplane thru climbs, descents, turns, etc., and increasing situational awareness. It actually fellt like I spent more time in holds than doing anything else. Maybe because there are so many different types of them.

The most difficult part for me at first was staying ahead of things. But in time you get used to the workload and it becomes easy once you get the flow of it.
 
nddons said:
Question: Is unusual attitude recovery a big part of instrument training? It was not my favorite part of my PPL
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I would be very upfront with your cfii with your sensitivitiy, and ask them to break you into it very slowly and gradually so that you can get used to it at your pace. Almost anything can be taught with baby steps, so that it does not slam you around - and you can develop a tolerance.

c.f. when I was getting my glider rating, they said come out at 2pm (El Paso time) when its the bounciest part of the day; great for soaring. Well I was having an h of a time learning to stay in tow position, not to mention feeling a bit sick, simply because of the turbulence. I asked them for a start time of 10am for the next 4 lessons so I could get some stick time in smooth air. Fixed that problem; soon I was bouncing around like the rest of them behind that ugly Calair.
 
Well, it all depends on your perspective. The chances of me ever getting to own and fly an IFR certified helicopter are slim to none (nah, that's not right, make that none), and neither of the VFR-only ships I fly even have a full six-pack. Both have AIs (and I occasionally fly under the hood to make sure I can stay right side up), neither has a DG, but the R22 has a TC for no good reason that I can think of (that's why we didn't order one on the R44).

So there really isn't much point...
 
nddons said:
Question: Is unusual attitude recovery a big part of instrument training? It was not my favorite part of my PPL, and my DPE went easy on me. I know it's necessary for obvious reasons, but is it something that has limited anyone on their instrument rating?
Click to expand...

I found unusual attitude easier to deal with under the hood then VFR. The visual out the windscreen was very distracting, while synthesizing what the instruments were telling me was 2nd nature and had a procedure to recover.

Now, whether under the hood or not I recover the plane from unusual attitudes based upon the instruments.

Even stalls are easier. Steep turns are the same for me... butt-ugly to the right and perfect to the left. Go figure.

Oh yeah, the instrument rating was/is my favorite rating thus far....
 
jdwatson said:
I found unusual attitude easier to deal with under the hood then VFR. The visual out the windscreen was very distracting, while synthesizing what the instruments were telling me was 2nd nature and had a procedure to recover.
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That's my experience as well. Unusual attitude recovery on instruments is a lot more like a video game than the visual version. OTOH, chugging along on instruments in moderate turbulence is more nauseating than the same thing in the clear IMO.
 
I just finished my instrument in March.

Two Sundays ago I flew to Colorado and picked up my daughter and 8 year old grandaughter and flew them out to Hays, Kansas.

It was 94* on the ground and 56* at 10,000 fet. We flew through several clouds.

They spent a week with us and could not stop talking about the flight.

Instrument rating! You bet it is one of the best ratings!

Terry :D
 
Finished mine in May. Have about 6 hours IMC since then, only one approach in IMC though. It's been really helpful getting from poor weather to good. Scud running is no longer an option.

For me, flying the airplane on the guages really wasn't hard. Even partial panel unusual attitude recovery and approaches. In training the most difficult aspect was maintaining constant situational awareness. Keeping a mental picture of where I am and what's going on around me at all times, and what I are going to do next, and avoiding fixation on one thing or another. Now I have the rating, getting vectored all over the sky with amended clearances adds another whole dimension, but I expect that will get easier with experience..

That, and trying to find the fixes on the chart while handflying IMC in moderate turbulence. That sucked. At least after you pass the checkride you get to use the moving map function of the GPS.

The rating was one of the most challenging and satisfying things I have ever done.
 
I, too, like the gauges. Turned out that was somewhat of a disadvantage doing commercial SE manoevers. You're supposed to do them by references outside of the airplane, and I kept going back to the 6 pack. Various instructors broke me of that habit long enough to get the rating.
 
Lance F said:
I, too, like the gauges. Turned out that was somewhat of a disadvantage doing commercial SE manoevers. You're supposed to do them by references outside of the airplane, and I kept going back to the 6 pack. Various instructors broke me of that habit long enough to get the rating.
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Lance, did you get stuck by a line of thunderstorms with a bunch of us up in LNS last Thursday? If not, you have a lookalike who also flies a gorgeous Mooney.
 
During thunderstorm season I find the instrument rating useful for staying out of the clouds while not having to worry about cloud clearance requirements.
 
Yup. So worth it. Some people assume IFR = battling CBs. Not so. I have so much more confidence, even in simple day VFR flight, now that I have the IFR training. Worth every penny, I'd say.
 
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