VFR into IMC

[Skates97]

On 11/24/2023 at 8:12 AM, Pinecone said:

A peek beats a thousand cross checks.

Even with hood/foggles, you get tiny peeks, which help a LOT.

Even worse though is flying wing in formation IMC.

I've found flying at night under foggles helps reduce the amount of visual cues you get. It's still not the same as being in actual, but it is much better than daytime with the foggles. Going up tomorrow evening to shoot three approaches.

[hammdo]

I have this now to do simulated IMC;

https://www.icarusdevices.com

-Don

[Smiles201]

I was new pilot, 60 hours and no instrument ticket, and almost became a statistic.  Just did some training with foogles. Somehow,  I stumbled into the clouds after departing ocean city one night. Really focusing on the instruments, I thought they had failed, and was disoriented for seversl long seconds, i remeber thinking that the dg was turning right and the ai was pointed left. It did make sense at the time. I sort of figured it out, got the wings level and survived to start working on my instrument rating,  but it was a long time before I ventured out at night again. 

[redbaron1982]

My (little) experience with flying IMC is that what is most confusion if not the lack of visual cues, but having a lot of invalid ones. 

If you look at the window while in IMC it's hardly an homogenous all white (or grey) view. You see the edges of the clouds moving quickly around you and for me that's much worse than having no cues at all. Much worse if you get the reflection of the anti collision lights. 

Sometimes I said to my self that if I ever get confused while flying in IMC I'm going to put on the foggles to block any outside reference and get focused on the instruments. 

[midlifeflyer]

1 hour ago, redbaron1982 said:

My (little) experience with flying IMC is that what is most confusion if not the lack of visual cues, but having a lot of invalid ones. 

If you look at the window while in IMC it's hardly an homogenous all white (or grey) view. You see the edges of the clouds moving quickly around you and for me that's much worse than having no cues at all. Much worse if you get the reflection of the anti collision lights. 

Sometimes I said to my self that if I ever get confused while flying in IMC I'm going to put on the foggles to block any outside reference and get focused on the instruments. 

Thats actually one thing i like about the hood. Those peeks around the edges can be distracting and disorienting.

[William Munney]

Night flying and actual IFR is dangerous even for instrument rated pilots if you are not current and proficient.  Enter at your own risk.

[skykrawler]

Pilots without an instrument rating should ask for instrument training at every flight review - at a minimum.

 

[Skates97]

On 12/1/2023 at 3:13 AM, redbaron1982 said:

My (little) experience with flying IMC is that what is most confusion if not the lack of visual cues, but having a lot of invalid ones. 

If you look at the window while in IMC it's hardly an homogenous all white (or grey) view. You see the edges of the clouds moving quickly around you and for me that's much worse than having no cues at all. Much worse if you get the reflection of the anti collision lights. 

Sometimes I said to my self that if I ever get confused while flying in IMC I'm going to put on the foggles to block any outside reference and get focused on the instruments. 

Many years ago my dad was on a cross country flight with a student in a T-38 with the student under the hood. At one point at cruising altitude when they were in the clouds my dad told him to take the hood off to see what it looked like. After a few minutes the student asked if he could go under the hood. My dad said "I guess he felt better under the hood thinking I could see outside." 

[jaylw314]

1 hour ago, Skates97 said:

Many years ago my dad was on a cross country flight with a student in a T-38 with the student under the hood. At one point at cruising altitude when they were in the clouds my dad told him to take the hood off to see what it looked like. After a few minutes the student asked if he could go under the hood. My dad said "I guess he felt better under the hood thinking I could see outside." 

I guess I was kind of the opposite, during my IFR training, the first time in actual IMC with the hood off I couldn't get enough of it.  I tried to schedule as many dual instruction days in bad weather as I could.

The visual sensation of speed and the textures of clouds sliding past is something I could watch all day

[hammdo]

I’m the same way - I prefer actual with no hood/foggles - very different perspective…

-Don

[Pinecone]

The big question is, how many of you Instrument Rated pilots have slowed down to an acceptable speed, opened the window and reached out and touched the inside of a cloud?????

FYI, the hood in the T-38 is a bag that totally encloses the cockpit.  Thus the common statement of flying under the bag.  No hood or foggles like GA.  Also, for instrument flights, the student sits in the back

[Jerry 5TJ]

I’m teaching at a community college aviation school in Redbird AATD sims.  My instrument students are reporting that their CFII at the flight schools frequently cancel flights due to IMC, even if it is 2000’ overcast and no ice aloft.  

Most of the students have zero actual IMC prior to their practical test.  Of course, many of the younger flight school CFII have little to no actual  IMC themselves, so I can appreciate their reluctance to take a student into the clouds.   

On the plus side, all our private pilot students do get 4+ hours of simulator training on instruments in addition to the FAA mandated 3 hours of instrument training in the airplane.