Passed IR check ride today

[MooneyBob]

Beside all the official FAA literature I used Peter Dogan's Instrument Flying Manual and Sporty's Instrument App on my iPAD. The app was particularly good help as I took it with me everywhere and read and practice the exams all the time.

I love reading and studying and I didn't really find this one harder than PPL one.

I think the FAA changed / added questions in the tests as I definitely found some in my test that I never even heard about. Specially there is bunch of new stuff about the GPS navigation, database, etc. I don't have the GPS in my plane for now so I didn't even pay attention to that matter. I got 2 answers wrong on the test that were related to the GPS.

[flyboy0681]

As a newly minted IR pilot myself, the only words of wisdom I can offer is keep your wits about you as you fly into actual conditions without your instructor by your side for the first few flights. Take a deep breath, loosen up, keep your eyes peeled on the panel and scan scan scan.

[carusoam]

While at home...

Do some reading on strategies regarding avoidance of thunderstorms and icing. These are the two new serious challenges for the flat lander IR pilot...

Find out where to get the information that works for you.

Practice getting that information while in the air. Storm scope and ADS-B or XM deliver important yellow and red graphic details...

Ideas that come to mind,

-a-

[WardHolbrook]

While at home...

Do some reading on strategies regarding avoidance of thunderstorms and icing. These are the two new serious challenges for the flat lander IR pilot...

Find out where to get the information that works for you.

Practice getting that information while in the air. Storm scope and ADS-B or XM deliver important yellow and red graphic details...

Ideas that come to mind,

-a-

Good stuff.

 

In addition to those two books I recommended, here's another source of great post-checkride training...

 

http://avwxworkshops.com/index_guest.php

 

The important thing to understand is that although you are legal to fly in less than VMC, you're probably not ready to operate in much more than light IFR at this point in time. In Buck's book, he explains one technique to expand and extend your IMC capabilities. Ideally, we'd all have the opportunity to have an experienced and competent instrument pilot at our side for the first 100 hours or so, but that's not the way it works for many of us. Set conservative personal minimums than go about, in a structured manor, to gain the knowledge and understanding to lower them as much as you possible can for they type of flying you do. Perhaps more than any other rating, the instrument is nothing more than a license to learn.  

[fantom]

As a newly minted IR pilot myself, the only words of wisdom I can offer is keep your wits about you as you fly into actual conditions without your instructor by your side for the first few flights. Take a deep breath, loosen up, keep your eyes peeled on the panel and scan scan scan.

 

Congrats, Bob!

 

Excellent advise from flyboy.

[pinerunner]

Congratulations.

[flyboy0681]

Congrats, Bob!

 

Excellent advise from flyboy.

 

You were pretty brave being only the second person to ride with me in actual after I got it.

[fantom]

You were pretty brave being only the second person to ride with me in actual after I got it.

Good Lord. i didn't realize that

Seriously, you're quite competent, and have been for awhile, regardless of what your CFI was telling you.

[kmyfm20s]

Excellent! 

 

Let me make a suggestion - go on Amazon and get two books, Weather Flying by Robert Buck and Instrument Flying by Richard Taylor. Read those books through cover-to-cover a few times. Take notes.

 

Weather Flying will help you understand how to fly weather and Instrument Flying will help you to understand how to work "the system". You can learn this stuff the hard way, by getting a few hundred hours of actual under your belt, or you can learn it the easy way by doing some reading. Your choice.

Just received Richard Taylor's book. Good stuff, thanks for the recommendation!

[WardHolbrook]

Your Instrument rating really does "open up the world" ... so to speak.

We did four lengthy IFR legs (no autopilot) on our vacation two weeks ago ... legs that would have been much more difficult to accomplish under VFR rules. (due to reduced visibility combined with busy airspace/traffic/restricted areas/several class B/C areas ...)

The "basics" others have mentioned will continue to serve you well over the years. To repeat a few:

Staying proficient - file whenever you can ...

Setting personal minimums.

Get very organized in the cockpit.

Do thorough preflight planning ... Continue to note "antenna farms" and terrain as you would VFR.

Plan or note possible "diversion airports" along your route

Always check the weather/notams.

Always carry extra fuel and plan conservatively - (e.g. alternates, minimum landing fuel on board ... )

Avoid areas with embedded storms (TRs, CBs) (that goes for icing too)

Avoid scenarios that produce fatigue and "get-home-itis" (give yourself an extra day where you can)

If you are ever "fretting" over a go/no go decision ... Those are your "warning bells" telling you to not go, wait to go, or change a parameter before you go. Listen to yourself.

Congratulations, hope you treated yourself to a nice dinner or another reward? You've earned it!

Don't forget that ATC is only required to provide separation from other IFR traffic and VFR traffic separation is on a "workload permitting" basis. Remember that when you're tooling down an airway on an IFR flight plan at 7,000 ft MSL  and some VFR guy is coming up that same airway at 6,500 ft MSL. You're both likely to be using GPS so you're both likely to be within just a few feet of airway centerline. Let's all hope that each of you are religiously holding altitude.- plus or minus a couple of hundred feet no longer cuts it out in the real world these days. (Wait until you're flying up in the flight levels and you're going one way one a jet airway and a B747 or A380 comes down the same airway 1000 ft above you. It's an amazing sight - you can't believe how big they appear to be when you're that close! You also come to appreciate the required accuracy of RVSM and the autopilot requirement in RVSM airspace.) The takeaway is EVEN IF you are on an IFR flight plan, IF you are in VMC you much keep your eyeballs outside. This is especially important in marginal VMC.

[flyboy0681]

 (Wait until you're flying up in the flight levels and you're going one way one a jet airway and a B747 or A380 comes down the same airway 1000 ft above you. It's an amazing sight - you can't believe how big they appear to be when you're that close! 

 

I was on a Virgin America flight two weeks ago heading to San Francisco when I saw another Airbus heading the opposite way which seemed dreadfully close to me.

[WardHolbrook]

Just received Richard Taylor's book. Good stuff, thanks for the recommendation!

Don't forget the other book I mentioned and the weather training course link that I provided. It's good stuff that any instrument pilot needs to know. I consider them mandatory for any instrument pilot's personal library. I have current editions of both books and still, after 40 years of professional flying, go through them occasionally. Good stuff.

[WardHolbrook]

I was on a Virgin America flight two weeks ago heading to San Francisco when I saw another Airbus heading the opposite way which seemed dreadfully close to me.

You were in the back. Wait until you have that experience when you're sitting up front. I'm just grateful for TCAS II. 

[kmyfm20s]

Don't forget the other book I mentioned and the weather training course link that I provided. It's good stuff that any instrument pilot needs to know. I consider it mandatory for any instrument pilot's personal library. I have current editions of both books and still, after 40 years of professional flying, go through them occasionally. Good stuff.

I already had that one, it is a great book!

[DrBill]

Stay current.  I fly 3 approaches every 3 months with a safety pilot.  We usually make a tour of a couple of nearby airports.  Yesterday we went to an airport neither of us had been to (T73- Kirk Airbase) and met the owner.  Gas was $4.90/gal  cash only so I got 20 gal.  Nice place and story behind it (he paid $2600 in 1971 for the property !!).

On a trip to S. Fla,  I was just N of Daytona taking some pics of the clouds when ATC called.. "TRAFFIC 12 OCLOCK 1 MILE, 1000 ft above, a C130"   I never saw it until I looked at the picture later that night...

BILL

[flyboy0681]

Excellent! 

 

Let me make a suggestion - go on Amazon and get two books, Weather Flying by Robert Buck and Instrument Flying by Richard Taylor. Read those books through cover-to-cover a few times. Take notes.

 

 

 

I ordered Instrument Flying from Amazon based on your recommendation. One cent plus $4.00 shipping.

[mike_elliott]

I ordered Instrument Flying from Amazon based on your recommendation. One cent plus $4.00 shipping.

 

In Columbus, Oh, last Wed., a copy was given to me by the FBO manager, who stated an old pilot bought in a number of books for the lounge. I gave it to my student to read. When he is done, he is going to mark his name and N number in the book and forward it to another student. That student is going to do the same, until I quit instructing Mooney instrument students. hopefully, we can forward the book to the Author or his heirs at some point.

[Guitarmaster]

Congrats! Enjoy the new found freedom in the IMC environment!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[triple8s]

Congrats! Owning a Mooney without an IFR rating is like owning a computer with no internet. Fly often, FILE often.

[jnisley]

Congratulations to a great job, it's nice to get a compliment from the examiner!

I just looked at my logbook dated 11/08/2004, the day I did my IFR check ride (Cessna 172), in the comments section I had written:

"PTL! WHAT A DAY! WINDY/BUMPY, MARTY (examiner) SAID THAT IT IS A DAY I CAN TELL MY GRANDCHILDREN ABOUT"

It was so bumpy that shortly into the flight Marty told me I can call it quits at anytime, I pressed on, the hardest part was holding over the YNG VOR, but I must have done ok.

I find that flying in the IFR system on cross country flights is less stressful than going it alone.