Practical IFR in the SoCal area?

Timbuff10

Timbuff10

Well-Known Member
So I went through ATP and all of my IFR experience was basically filing a flight plan at 1800wxbrief, picking up the clearance on CD, taking off, flying a DP, cruise for an hour or two, fly the STAR, then the approach, and land.

In the past two years I have not really had much exposure to the IFR environment at all really. I have managed to stay legally current while going in and out of my grace period but not really doing any IFR flights. In fact, I haven't been in a cloud since Jan. 2005.

Anyway, I am finding that this marine layer is pretty annoying for VFR flying out here. It is usually just a few thousand feet thick but I am wondering how everyone goes about getting out and over it do get their private pilot students flying.

So what is the best way to go about just getting to the practice area. Do you just call up the 1800#, file two IFR flight plans? One to an altitude at some waypoint that is as close as possible to where you want to go and hope it is clear up on top? File the second one from that waypoint and altitude so you can get back in to the airport?

I have heard some people don't even file, they just call up CD and ask for IFR to where they want to go, pick up a canned clearance and off they go.

Anyone have any Socal tips?
 
When I did my private down at Pinnacle at CRQ my intructor would just file IFR and when we busted through at 2-3,000 ft we would call SoCal Approach and get VFR on top to do our airwork or head out east to the practice area or to an inland airfield to do touch and go's. If the marine layer was persistant and CRQ was still IFR, we'd call up SoCal approach and get an ILS back into Carlsbad. I had 20 actual ILS approaches logged before I even got my PVT!:nana2:
 
I would ask for a popup IFR clearance to practice some ILS approaches into LAX around 4:00 PM in a 172. Maybe they will even give you some touch and goes!

:D
 
Been there, done that! They just give you 25R or 24L, which are the departing runways. But you have to haul ass on the missed, so they can turn you.
 
Seggy said:
I would ask for a popup IFR clearance to practice some ILS approaches into LAX around 4:00 PM in a 172. Maybe they will even give you some touch and goes!

:D
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I wouldnt want to get caught up in wake turbulence and hit the beloved in and out there on the east side of the field.
 
Timbuff10 said:
So I went through ATP and all of my IFR experience was basically filing a flight plan at 1800wxbrief, picking up the clearance on CD, taking off, flying a DP, cruise for an hour or two, fly the STAR, then the approach, and land.

In the past two years I have not really had much exposure to the IFR environment at all really. I have managed to stay legally current while going in and out of my grace period but not really doing any IFR flights. In fact, I haven't been in a cloud since Jan. 2005.

Anyway, I am finding that this marine layer is pretty annoying for VFR flying out here. It is usually just a few thousand feet thick but I am wondering how everyone goes about getting out and over it do get their private pilot students flying.

So what is the best way to go about just getting to the practice area. Do you just call up the 1800#, file two IFR flight plans? One to an altitude at some waypoint that is as close as possible to where you want to go and hope it is clear up on top? File the second one from that waypoint and altitude so you can get back in to the airport?

I have heard some people don't even file, they just call up CD and ask for IFR to where they want to go, pick up a canned clearance and off they go.

Anyone have any Socal tips?
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The easiest way would be to file to an intersection far enough out for you to get above the clouds, then cancel. Another way you can do it, if they still can (and the way I did it when I flew out of FUL), is to just call up clearance and ask for a IFR to VFR on top clearance with no specific clearance limit. They'd vector us until we reported above the clouds, and then give us own nav to the practice area. This was 10 years ago, so thing may have changed.......when I was in FL, we'd use the first method all the time, and it'd work out quite nice....just remember to file a flight plan back to the airport to keep the controller's workload low..
 
I would pick a VOR or fix near your practice area and file it as your clearance limit. File an altitude that will get you to VFR conditions by the time you get there.

I'd use the same VOR or fix on the way back in as the origin, and the airport as the destination. Use any altitude that is at or above the lowest permissible altitude for IFR.
 
Simple solution.... cancel the lesson :D

Like you said, I've called up CD (w/o filing) and gotten a "tower en route" somewhere and then cancelled in the air once I was VFR.

If you really want to get out, get IFR out somewhere and give the student some actual (to fill the 3 hours of Inst. required for the PPL) then do your typical VFR stuff on top or far from the marine layer.
 
launchpad said:
You haven't lived until you've eaten in n out upside down...
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Sorry about this... but that just reminded me of the book I read my daughter last night! ;)

Inside%20outside%20upside%20down.jpg


;)
 
H46Bubba said:
When I did my private down at Pinnacle at CRQ my intructor would just file IFR and when we busted through at 2-3,000 ft we would call SoCal Approach and get VFR on top to do our airwork or head out east to the practice area or to an inland airfield to do touch and go's. If the marine layer was persistant and CRQ was still IFR, we'd call up SoCal approach and get an ILS back into Carlsbad. I had 20 actual ILS approaches logged before I even got my PVT!:nana2:
Click to expand...

Yep, thats what we did last time i flew. Got IFR to take off and get above the clouds, then canceled in the air and self navigated to practice area. Clouds were gone by the time we got back.
 
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