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Get the rating.


bradp

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I challenge all readers of this thread that they have been inspired to start or finish the Instrument Rating then let us know, and when they finish the rating resurrect this thread with a note of completion.

The only regret I have is that I did not do it right after primary training.

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44 minutes ago, RLCarter said:

I do a lot of safety piloting and I get a kick out of it when there is a x-wind and all the needles are centered and then they get a peek at the runway say 600ft agl or less, they will turn towards what they saw almost every time

That is tempting to do after breaking out on approach, too. Like my flight to Nashville, 2 hours actual at 4000 due to late April cold front with icing above; broke out ~3nm out on ILS for the Center runway, needles centered but turned 30° right to line up with the runway. Then had to add much left wind correction! On that trip, had visibility out the windshield for about 60 sec after takeoff, and the 3nm final.

Going home that evening, no change in weather so it was 2 hours inside the milk jug at 5000, breaking out on the ILS 30 just under 2000msl to finish the trip VFR to my nearby no-approach home field. Didn't have an alignment problem on that one . . .

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Look peeps, I haven’t flown since Thanksgiving as my Mooney is in the shop getting the gear to do IFR. I’ll be stating for the rating once I get it back. Don’t need some internet thread to tell me how useful it can be.  In th land of Savages we have weather.

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And once you get the IFR rating, the learning continues.   I just got my butt kicked doing an IPC (I didn’t need one, but figured it would be good to do) as part of my transition training.   Hand flying partial panel VOR DME arc approaches to minimums :wacko:   Practice, practice, practice.

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3 hours ago, Andy95W said:

 It certainly is that, but the way you'll probably find it in the real world of flying is that it's a series of "glances".  Need to input a waypoint?  Glance at the GPS and move your hand to the knob.  Glance at the heading and altitude.  Glance back to the GPS, input one or two digits.  Glance at the heading and altitude. Input one or two digits, glance back to the heading and altitude.  And so on.

Good luck, Dev.  Keep us posted.

Thanks good tip - had not heard it explained that way to me yet but makes a lot of sense!

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2 hours ago, BradB said:

And once you get the IFR rating, the learning continues.   I just got my butt kicked doing an IPC (I didn’t need one, but figured it would be good to do) as part of my transition training.   Hand flying partial panel VOR DME arc approaches to minimums :wacko:   Practice, practice, practice.

Plus 1 for doing IPCs partial panel.  Good skill builder and good preparation for gyro failure in IMC.   

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4 hours ago, DonMuncy said:

Mike, I agree in one sense. I am a better pilot than when I started my IFR training. But I have found a bunch of VFR only guys who are better pilots than I am. 

Sometimes these discussions sound like we IFR guys are "we are better than you, snobs". Those of us who have been through it, know it is a tough rating to get, and we are proud of it. But, although you can be a very good pilot without it, it will increase your flight options. It is expensive and difficult to get, and perhaps even more difficult to maintain currency, but just being able to punch up through a thin layer to make a trip you would have otherwise missed, makes it all worthwhile. If you have the time, money and are willing to expend the energy, I would encourage anyone to do so. I don't think have ever met an IFR rated person who thinks it was not worth the effort.

Don,

No question, and it is certainly not my intention to say an IFR rated pilot is better (or worse) than a VFR rated pilot.  Still, the additional  training certainly makes pilots better at general attitude flying.  I 100% agree with you the rating is worth every penny.  I would take it even a step further and get your commercial if you can.  That really helps you learn precision landings and the limits of your machine.  It is no where as challenging as your IR, but I do believe it helps a great deal with control of an airplane.

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There is a tower just to the left of my plane here.   not sure that IFR rating would have helped in this instance.   We ended up scooting out to clear weather at 750 feet after waiting a couple of hours having some good conversations with local peeps.  This was the back side of a stalled front line.

24130043_10155301910283985_1531712990166

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31 minutes ago, 82Mike said:

Don,

No question, and it is certainly not my intention to say an IFR rated pilot is better (or worse) than a VFR rated pilot.  Still, the additional  training certainly makes pilots better at general attitude flying.  I 100% agree with you the rating is worth every penny.  I would take it even a step further and get your commercial if you can.  That really helps you learn precision landings and the limits of your machine.  It is no where as challenging as your IR, but I do believe it helps a great deal with control of an airplane.

Sorry, no such implication intended. 

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There was nothing intended to say that instrument rated pilots are in any way superior to VFR pilots ... just to point out that additional training can be useful if not life saving.  Yes this pilot had poor planning and apparent ADM to the point where he was way north of where he should have been hoping like Lloyd Christmas on Mary Swanson that he still had a chance.  As I was a couple of miles north of this position I thought a lot about his outs. In this circumstance declaring an emergency, descending through a potential icing layer to VFR / VMC below was this guys best decision.  However the problem started 300 nm to the south.   He didn’t declare from what I could surmise.  Another ADM error.  Yes there were a lot of issues but having the rating would have been a tool in the toolbox. Perhaps the most useful tool after not putting himself there.  I can think of at least 5-6 times when flying in the NE VFR I’ve inadvertently ended up effectively IMC.  It happens.  Having the rating can ensure that’s not deadly.  

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2 hours ago, 82Mike said:

No question, and it is certainly not my intention to say an IFR rated pilot is better (or worse) than a VFR rated pilot.  Still, the additional  training certainly makes pilots better at general attitude flying.  I 100% agree with you the rating is worth every penny.  I would take it even a step further and get your commercial if you can.  That really helps you learn precision landings and the limits of your machine.  It is no where as challenging as your IR, but I do believe it helps a great deal with control of an airplane.

Why stop there ? Why not get CFI, CFII, multi-comm-instrument, MEI & ATP ?

Once upon a time a colleague convinced me that instrument training would make me a better and safer pilot. He was right. Under the "more training is good" philosophy, I continued getting more and more training until I had the ATP. Why not ?

It is a slippery slope, once you start adding ratings and certifications :wacko:

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9 hours ago, carusoam said:

For the good of all, I think Richard should be mandated to start the IR raining, immediately...

I'm looking forward to the write ups and shared learning experiences that come with his training.  Great memory of fine details in his writing! :)

 

If/when I begin there will be plenty of writing to go along with it... In the mean time you will just have to do with my VFR adventures. Just got back from a weekend trip to Phoenix. Need to write it up and post some pictures. Took a bunch of relatives on their first ever flight in a small plane.

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1 minute ago, M20Doc said:

I guess I’ll continue being a poor pilot as IFR flight while neat has little interest to me.

Clarence

Good point. What every VFR  pilot needs is not an IFR rating, but the ability to control the aircraft in the soup. I don't care how well you plan your flight, when Mom Nature spins the big weather wheel of fate some pilots are going to find themselves in a soupy situation (I am allowing for the pilots who somehow manage to go their entire flying lifetime never having to get through clouds). When that happens, you need to know how to communicate with ATC, follow their instructions and keep control of the airplane; i.e., no 'death spiral'. Those are fundamental IFR skills, which every pilot should know how to execute.

Helps to have a good GPS too :rolleyes:

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4 minutes ago, HRM said:

When that happens, you need to know how to communicate with ATC, follow their instructions and keep control of the airplane; i.e., no 'death spiral'. Those are fundamental IFR skills, which every pilot should know how to execute.

Helps to have a good GPS too :rolleyes:

I would say 1st fly the plane, I wouldn't concern myself with proper phrasing, just tell them what you need

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Although VFR, I love talking to ATC and using flight following.

On the way back to SoCal from Phoenix today I was listening to an IFR pilot talking with SoCal. He was trying to get his clearance and was struggling (it wasn't even a difficult one, he kept skipping the same point). After the third time that he messed up the readback ATC said "You keep missing a key part of the readback, let me know when you are actually ready." My wife looked at me and said "What's going on with that one?" On the fourth try the guy finally got it right, but if there is that big a struggle to get a simple clearance right (in clear skies with what was about 150 miles visibility), I wonder at the skill level of actually flying IMC. At least he is better trained than I am....

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that's pretty easy to explain.    I found this out in flight training.   When in high stress situations, my ability to comprehend verbal instructions are limited.  Reading comprehension remained high in high stress situations.  I made my CFI use flash cards of what he wanted me to do. 

Everyone responds in their own way to stress.

 

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I'm very sorry if I offended anyone with my "training wheels" comment. I meant no offense. I guess what I was trying to get across is the idea that until you have the IR, you can't know what you're missing. 

I've flown all over the country, but have done most of my flying in the West. Austin to San Fran, Austin to SoCal, Austin to Vegas, Austin to Phoenix are most common for me. I've made use of my IR on probably 30% of my flights in the West. It's more so with my 252 as I can get into the the flight levels, but it also applied when I flew a C. Richard,  @Skates97 is correct that you don't NEED it, but having it allowed me to do things that otherwise I couldn't. Like several times I've climbed through a layer to much better vis and smoother air. It's also super useful for getting through complex airspace like LA and SF.

All in all, the IR makes flying easier, more enjoyable, so better, if you ask me. 

Now if you want to be a superior pilot... go learn to fly formation with the Mooney Caravan. :ph34r:;)

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