Your first solo IMC flight after passing checkride

Jamie696

Jamie696

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Jamie696
I’m in no rush to use my newly issued instrument rating. I have the utmost confidence in myself and my well equipped airplane to do this. The question is, the first time how did you guys take the plunge and say let’s do this or what was the situation that made you use it.
 
I did my first trip from Kowd Norwood ma. To Albany and back. Started out with the clouds gradually enveloping the airplane ,had to go over the hills to Albany .it was great,a gentle emersionn into the IFR world.
 
I’m not there year but I imagine I’ll want to at least punch thru a layer or two as soon as I can.
 
The day after passing the checkride. Climbed through snow, got on top at 10 or 12k, stayed on top for a few hundred miles and a few states, descended through rain to minimum vectoring (no approach at destination), didn't break out, diverted to alternate, did approach at alternate, broke off approach and scud run to home field.
Was also my first IMC.
 
Jamie696 said:
I’m in no rush to use my newly issued instrument rating. I have the utmost confidence in myself and my well equipped airplane to do this. The question is, the first time how did you guys take the plunge and say let’s do this or what was the situation that made you use it.
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Did you get any actual during training?
 
From an old thread about mine to Columbus, GA... long way from home in Reno, NV. I didn't get any actual during IFR training.

Got out to KMDQ about 12:30 or so and got the car returned. I had called earlier to have them plug in the plane to take the chill off the engine. Loading up it was very cold... near freezing and 10-15kts of wind. I did pre-flight the pitot heat to make sure it got warm, and it was on for the takeoff and climb through the clouds.

They have a funky "click four times and wait for a phone dial" system to get to Clearance Delivery. Right before we started preflight, a Meridian took off and called the bases about 1000 and tops about 2800 with no ice so we decided to go.

I did a very careful runup and made triple sure everything was set including the AHRS horizon on both iPads delivered by the FS210. My wife is a student pilot so I don't really think of her as a passenger per se. I told her to keep a close eye on the AI and Altimeter. Just as the previous departure had, we broke out at 2800 into another layer and ATC put us at my requested 7000'. This was *right* at the top of the layer but I couldn't get 9K so we were in and out throughout the flight.

About 30 miles out they dropped me to 4K thick in the soup and stayed there till the ILS for 06. They gave us an easy intercept far enough out to be very comfortable. I had my wife looking for a solid view of the runway (not fading in and out). I think we firmly broke out at 900 to 1000 and it was an easy landing from there with light wind.

Definitely much warmer here than in Huntsville.

Thank you all for the words of caution and encouragement. I logged 1.0 of actual today.

https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/com...light-in-real-conditions.108766/#post-2459954
 
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I did actual during training. However solo within the week I got my rating. Started just busting through overcasts, flying through spots of clouds ect. By the time I encountered actual approaches in the muck I was fine. I previously never went down to minimums, however in my new aeroplane I'll probably start doing that at some point.
 
eman1200 said:
I’m not there year but I imagine I’ll want to at least punch thru a layer or two as soon as I can.
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I remember a thread that seems quite a while back you talking about looking for someone to do the rating with. Why the delay in getting the rating?
 
Jamie696 said:
I’m in no rush to use my newly issued instrument rating. I have the utmost confidence in myself and my well equipped airplane to do this.
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Tarheelpilot said:
Don’t wait to long. File even when it’s not necessary to stay proficient and have at it.
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I think the longer you wait the more apprehensive you'll be if your next IFR flight is solo or with a passenger who isn't instrument rated. I'd take heed to what @Tarheelpilot said.
 
BrianNC said:
I remember a thread that seems quite a while back you talking about looking for someone to do the rating with. Why the delay in getting the rating?
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um, hhhhmmm. I was never in a rush, that's for sure. part of me was thinking of staying VFR forever, but I have a solid IFR capable plane and I'm all for additional training so I figured I'd give it a shot. a big barrier for me was the written, which I managed to bang out not too long ago. I think I was waiting to get thru my first annual which happened in sept of last year. then I was considering training with the former owner of the plane but I ended up going with our own in-house mooney/IFR extraordinaire @dell30rb. then the weather has sucked big giant donkey cajones and now here I am 3 lessons in and yet again, the weather can just suck it. anyways, I started, slow going but I'm plugging away and if weather wasn't an issue I'd basically be making training a priority. but I'm working on it. don't know if that answered your question.
 
eman1200 said:
um, hhhhmmm. I was never in a rush, that's for sure. part of me was thinking of staying VFR forever, but I have a solid IFR capable plane and I'm all for additional training so I figured I'd give it a shot. a big barrier for me was the written, which I managed to bang out not too long ago. I think I was waiting to get thru my first annual which happened in sept of last year. then I was considering training with the former owner of the plane but I ended up going with our own in-house mooney/IFR extraordinaire @dell30rb. then the weather has sucked big giant donkey cajones and now here I am 3 lessons in and yet again, the weather can just suck it. anyways, I started, slow going but I'm plugging away and if weather wasn't an issue I'd basically be making training a priority. but I'm working on it. don't know if that answered your question.
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Thanks. Just curious. It was in a thread in June of last year when it came up when you passed your written. I just assumed you had already done it. I didn't know you were now actively pursuing it. Good to know. I was just wondering as someone that took 23 years to get his private from his first flight to the rating. :D

Good luck.
 
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Actually with the next flight bringing the plane back to where I rented it after my ride which was at another airport, wasn’t to mins or anything but got some night cloud time.
 
My first was also my last. Things went wrong in more ways than one. Lack of info on cloud tops bit me hard. Also thought my new and improved gps would help me. Only i had not used it before this flight. That bit me hard too.

My takeaway - take baby steps. Cloud top info is sketchy and be aware you may end up in them for a lot longer than you planned. Don't try new equipment on an IFR flight before youve practiced with it and know it cold.
 
My first IFR flight after getting the rating was a supposedly tame flight to BHB in VFR conditions. 50 miles short of destination a squall line approaching 40-50 miles west started sucking cold Atlantic air inland leading to widespread low clouds over the coast. The ride was smooth, and I was assigned #3 for the iLS, which was a no-brainer. 20 minutes after I tied down the heavens opened as the squall line passed through. ATC was awesome throughout. Having the IR made this situation easy to deal with without interrupting the trip.
 
I flew an ILS in below-minimums weather the day after my checkride. It was a relief not to have the checkride nerves to contend with, and I figured that I was as proficient as I would ever be.
 
If you get the rating (and you should be competent at it after completing training) then use it. I trained in a lot of actual so flying in real IMC post ticket was not a surprise. Avoid ice and Tstorms and IFR is pretty handy in a light single. Staying current is a challenge if you don't have enough time to fly, but you gotta make some time if you want to safely fly IFR.
 
I took my check ride in the morning. Had a 3 hour flight home with 2.2 actual. Nice, smooth, relaxing flight. Much easier than what I did in prep.
 
Punching in and out of puffy cumulus xctry from DC to NC. They were tame, and I could have gone above, but wanted an easy intro. It closed under me near my destination, but with plenty of room underneath. I was in solid for about 15 minutes at the end. Had an AP, but hand flew it for confidence building.

I'm not a pro, so single pilot IFR is serious business for me - if you aren't in real IMC regularly, an AP, or at least a wing leveler, is a big help.
 
Mine was a week later. Entered the clouds at 1200 AGL leaving 7B9, a little Class G on the eastern edge of the BDL Class C. Broke out on the ILS 24 into KISP. It was 1992 and I remember it like yesterday.

6/13/1992 Instrument ticket received

6/20/1992 Next flight; First IFR solo
7B9-ISP; ISP ILS 24. DH was 295 broke out at 650 (350' above minimums); 1.3 total; 1.0 actual; 0.8 night

6/21/1992 Return from Islip. 1.2 total; 0.5 actual

Punchline. I moved to Colorado the following week and rarely used it the next 20 years.
 
Mine was the same day - I took my instrument ride back in ‘99 when DPEs weren’t averse to doing it in actual. I passed the checkride at AUS and flew the plane home, doing the NDB approach into GTU.

Edit: looked up the flight - 2.5 total with 1.3 actual, 0.9 simulated. Then 0.7 back to GTU with 0.3 actual. It’s been awhile, but if I remember correctly it was a perfect day for a checkride - a nice, smooth thousand foot overcast, not a bump of turbulence.
 
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A few weeks later I made a trip from central NC back home to CJR. I could have scud run it and dodged the class C that was in the way, but figured it was as good a time as any (real gentle conditions: 2000' ceilings below, stable warm front stratus).
 
The day after my checkride, I flew IFR from the Detroit area to Maine in IMC, dodging thunderstorms, talking to Boston Center, and hand flying without an autopilot the whole way. I am SO glad I jumped right in, because I think if I hadn't, I might of become hesitant to use it in actual. I haven't looked back now, and as long as there's no threat of ice, I find it more relaxing than VFR.
 
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My first solo IMC was on a rescue pup flight with a student pilot (to see the real world part of flying outside of the traffic pattern).
We got into some benign warm layers in the winter, had an instrument malfunction, dealt with it, used ATC's help, landed safely.
I didn't think about it during the flight that it was my first solo IMC flight without a CFII. Didn't sweat it. I guess because I was pre-occupied during the flight. But it was a fun realization later. :)
 
My checkride was late winter. It was severe clear that day and for several weeks afterwards. I had a vacation trip planned for Memorial Day and for some reason that year it was pretty solid IFR getting out and for the first half hour or so en-route.
 
Jamie696 said:
I’m in no rush to use my newly issued instrument rating. I have the utmost confidence in myself and my well equipped airplane to do this. The question is, the first time how did you guys take the plunge and say let’s do this or what was the situation that made you use it.
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Same way I did my first solo. Believe in your training. For IFR, trust the instruments. My plane partner and I used to trade off. Flying right seat in the soup is a treat. Us older guys needed no stinking Auto-Pilot
 
10 days after my rating, I filed a flight from KIPJ to KMQI in my Cherokee. Because of traffic departing KCLT, I accepted a VFR departure with flight following. The weather was beautiful, but about 40 miles from my destination an overcast had developed under me. I called ZDC Center and got a "pop-up" clearance to the destination, but the ceiling required and approach and I did the full VOR RWY 17, popping out into VMC in the final approach segment at around 900' and circled to land on the wind-favored RWY 5. Sweet!
 
Jamie696 said:
I’m in no rush to use my newly issued instrument rating. I have the utmost confidence in myself and my well equipped airplane to do this. The question is, the first time how did you guys take the plunge and say let’s do this or what was the situation that made you use it.
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The ink wasn't dry on my ticket yet. I did it in an airplane I hadn't flown IFR in before. Did all my training in Grumans and Arrows. I rented a C172 from a club I was a member of but didn't do my IR training at. Made sure the plane was current, VOR checks, pitot static system current and all that. Weather was legal, or so I thought, I had fuel for alternates and all that. I was actual right away after departing KNZY and stayed so for the next hour and a half until breaking out right at minimums on an LDA Approach at KVNY. I was illegal the entire time. What never occurred to me is that there was such a thing as an IFR certified airplane, with two VOR receivers but neither had a Glideslope. I didn't notice until getting set up for an ILS Approach at KVNY. There wasn't an airport anywhere within hundreds of miles that had 800 and 2 which is what I needed to be legal. There were plenty that had 600 and 2 which is what I based my decision on. Looking back on it that was pushing it. I was over confident. My only out if I couldn't get down on a non precision Pilot Nav Approach would have been to declare Emergency and do at PAR Approach at KNTD. If that would have happened I'd probably have lost my ticket before the ink got dry. To answer your question, the situation that made me take the plunge is I was in the wedding party of a friend and I thought it would be cool to fly up instead of drive. My bad. My good luck. Don't wanna rely on luck ever again.
 
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I filed IFR and was in IMC on the flight home from the instrument checkride (i.e. same day). The forecast was for VFR, but I filed IFR just because I could - that was a good thing, for the weather changed and I ended up shooting an approach into my home field on that flight. The bases were not terribly low, so it was easy with all the recent practice I had gotten. Actually, it felt pretty darn good! :)
 
Total cluster****. Trip from MD to Jax in an old Cherokee. First leg pretty benign, shoot the approach to 1000' into the first fuel stop. While getting fuel, ceilings start coming down. Second leg from Lumberton NC take off into 500ft ovc. Shortly after, lost comm completely. Squawk 7600 and fly the clearance. IMC goes from nice light white to darker gray. Starts raining like hell, windshield leaking a river and water puddling on the floor. Then a few minutes later lost the airspeed indicator. In it solid in dark clouds until just south of the SC border. Pretty much shat kittens until I broke out. There was no convective in the forecast, but this was the south. finally got enough radio for an airliner to relay my situation and cancel IFR. This of course was 20 years ago, before in flight wx or iPads or any of the stuff we have today.

Left me with a healthy respect for what can fail that sticks with me to this day.
 
My first was about 2 weeks after passing the test. Had a business trip from Dayton, Ohio, to Buffalo, NY. Took off into VMC at 5000. Around Akron went to a layer. Gave a PIREP TO ATC. They asked if I wanted 7000. Told them no, I’d stay at 5000 as I needed the practice. Smooth stratus layer. After about 40 mins, flew right out of it, and finished in VMC Lansing at Buffalo.
 
I took my IFR training at Gatts in Kansas. I flew IMC on the way to the Dallas area the day of my check ride. We were able to fly IMC nearly every day of the week long training so I was very comfortable on the trip.

Gary
 
Well, it wasn't quite solo, it was with a non IFR rated PP in the left seat, and me in the right. It was about two months after my IFR ride. Unexpected weather in SoCal on a return from Bullhead City. I had never flown a Beech Debonair before and was a bit unfamiliar with it, so I told the pilot/owner, You comply with the speed and altitude, I'll keep us pointed in the right direction. SoCal kept rerouting us to avoid 121 traffic. It got dark, and it seemed like it took hours from when we first hit the soup just west of the Banning Pass to when we finally descended below the clouds...somewhere near Brackett Field. It was the most exhausting flight I had ever done. I was scared to death. I'm pretty sure that somewhere in the middle of it all, I lost track of exactly where we were. Other pilot thought I did great and was impressed. hahahaha If she only knew...
 
Sundancer said:
Punching in and out of puffy cumulus xctry from DC to NC. They were tame, and I could have gone above, but wanted an easy intro. It closed under me near my destination, but with plenty of room underneath. I was in solid for about 15 minutes at the end. Had an AP, but hand flew it for confidence building.

I'm not a pro, so single pilot IFR is serious business for me - if you aren't in real IMC regularly, an AP, or at least a wing leveler, is a big help.
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I won't fly in any sort of hard/hardish en route IMC without an AP or some sort of wing leveler with heading mode. It is just too exhausting, and I did it a bunch in training. IMC Approaches are actually easier to hand fly than en route IMC. It is one thing to not have an AP and hand fly an approach, or a departure you know you'll break out of after 1000 feet - en route just drains you.

Martin Pauly said:
I filed IFR and was in IMC on the flight home from the instrument checkride (i.e. same day). The forecast was for VFR, but I filed IFR just because I could - that was a good thing, for the weather changed and I ended up shooting an approach into my home field on that flight. The bases were not terribly low, so it was easy with all the recent practice I had gotten. Actually, it felt pretty darn good! :)
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Ha! You file IFR on short flights in VMC to lunch Martin :p

I filed IFR in perfect CAVU on the way back from my checkride. The routing added probably 20-30 minutes to my flight, and I didn't care - I was IFR.
 
Jamie696 said:
I’m in no rush to use my newly issued instrument rating. I have the utmost confidence in myself and my well equipped airplane to do this. The question is, the first time how did you guys take the plunge and say let’s do this or what was the situation that made you use it.
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Then why did you spend all that time and money getting it? Instrument flying is an extremely perishable skill --- if you don't exercise that skill on a frequent and regular basis, you will lose that skill.
 
N1120A said:
I won't fly in any sort of hard/hardish en route IMC without an AP or some sort of wing leveler with heading mode. It is just too exhausting, and I did it a bunch in training. IMC Approaches are actually easier to hand fly than en route IMC. It is one thing to not have an AP and hand fly an approach, or a departure you know you'll break out of after 1000 feet - en route just drains you.



Ha! You file IFR on short flights in VMC to lunch Martin :p

I filed IFR in perfect CAVU on the way back from my checkride. The routing added probably 20-30 minutes to my flight, and I didn't care - I was IFR.
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Just my two cents ---- if you are uncomfortable flying in IMC without an autopilot, perhaps you shouldn't be engaging in instrument flying. Your proficiency is such that, given an autopilot malfunction, you have placed yourself into a situation where the most basic instrument flying skills (that is, enroute IMC) are too much to handle.
 
davidgfern said:
Just my two cents ---- if you are uncomfortable flying in IMC without an autopilot, perhaps you shouldn't be engaging in instrument flying. Your proficiency is such that, given an autopilot malfunction, you have placed yourself into a situation where the most basic instrument flying skills (that is, enroute IMC) are too much to handle.
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I hand fly during practice and use the autopilot in actual. What are your thoughts on that?
 
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