IFR headache at Baltimore

DrBenny

DrBenny

New Member
This was possibly one of the few times when I didn't enjoy every minute. First of all, as I was driving to the airport, I was still shaken a bit by the news of the crash of the Mitsubishi. I really thought I should just cancel, for some reason. But I decided I shouldn't bag out, and anyway, the risks don't change just because a crash happens closer to home.

So it was on to holds, today. We must have gone around that hold ten times. When I finally got the durn thing right, I was flying my outbound leg at only 25 seconds!!!. The crab angle was 30 degrees! That hadn't happened to me until today's lesson. I strated to develop an "IFR" headache.

Then it was on to a VOR approach (no DME) which I flew passably well, except that I didn't properly factor the winds into my descent rate, so I didn't get down to the MDA in time.

One milestone, though: I had a good landing out of an ILS back at BWI. Landing out of an ILS has always been a weak point for me. The only marks I would take away would be for late application of power when a gust picked me up. (I had to be prompted, but it was right about at the time I was deciding to do it.) Otherwise, the actual touchdown in the moderately croswindy, gusty landing was very nice.

So hard to switch from IFR mode to finessing a landing mode. You know, you go out by yourself just to do some landings, and they get better and better. Of course! You are concentrating on landings. But now go fly a flight in bumpy IMC, fly a good ILS down to minimums; NOW try landing! I guess I should feel very happy that I'd still give myself an A-!

I'm still bothered by the crash of that freight dog. Turns out I knew who he was--only by his face, seeing him around Signature--but that was enough to make it just that much more personal.
 
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So hard to switch from IFR mode to finessing a landing mode. You know, you go out by yourself just to do some landings, and they get better and better. Of course! You are concentrating on landings. But now go fly a flight in bumpy IMC, fly a good ILS down to minimums; NOW try landing! I guess I should feel very happy that I'd still give myself an A-!



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I think this happens to everyone in instrument training. I haven't had a smooth landing in quite some time, and my pattern work is awful. It seems these Embry Riddle planes float to friggen Nantucket if you're not careful.
 
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So hard to switch from IFR mode to finessing a landing mode. You know, you go out by yourself just to do some landings, and they get better and better. Of course! You are concentrating on landings. But now go fly a flight in bumpy IMC, fly a good ILS down to minimums; NOW try landing! I guess I should feel very happy that I'd still give myself an A-!



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I think this happens to everyone in instrument training. I haven't had a smooth landing in quite some time, and my pattern work is awful. It seems these Embry Riddle planes float to friggen Nantucket if you're not careful.

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Right. And I'm not even sure I should credit myself so much for the good landing back at BWI, since I would have been a bit late on power application if I wasnt *prompted* to add some power by my CFI-IA! Then again, my friend asked me, so what if you had been by yourself and had added power the one or two seconds late? I had to answer that it probably wouldn't have made any difference. Five seconds, though, and I would have bounced!
 
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This was possibly one of the few times when I didn't enjoy every minute. First of all, as I was driving to the airport, I was still shaken a bit by the news of the crash of the Mitsubishi. I really thought I should just cancel, for some reason. But I decided I shouldn't bag out, and anyway, the risks don't change just because a crash happens closer to home.

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This is one of the hardest things to understand. If you are willing to fly you have to be willing to crash. If the idea of crashing is just not confrontable, you need to do something else. It's just a fact, any endeavor you undertake carries with it the possiblity of failure. Pilots can only be good pilots it they have already accepted the possiblility of crashing. Any pilot who says they don't accept that possiblitlity, is not someone I want to fly with. They can't, by defintion, be safe pilots since they can't accept all the possibilities that face them.

It's simple, if you can/t accept the possiblity of dying in a plane crash, don't fly.
 
Trying to be positive in all senses of the word

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This was possibly one of the few times when I didn't enjoy every minute. First of all, as I was driving to the airport, I was still shaken a bit by the news of the crash of the Mitsubishi. I really thought I should just cancel, for some reason. But I decided I shouldn't bag out, and anyway, the risks don't change just because a crash happens closer to home.

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This is one of the hardest things to understand. If you are willing to fly you have to be willing to crash. If the idea of crashing is just not confrontable, you need to do something else. It's just a fact, any endeavor you undertake carries with it the possiblity of failure. Pilots can only be good pilots it they have already accepted the possiblility of crashing. Any pilot who says they don't accept that possiblitlity, is not someone I want to fly with. They can't, by defintion, be safe pilots since they can't accept all the possibilities that face them.

It's simple, if you can/t accept the possiblity of dying in a plane crash, don't fly.

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That is probably true, but I would just point out that I never meant to imply that I don't accept the risks involved with flying; rather, I was trying to say that the crash, so close to home, affected me in a way others hadn't.

Also, it really is not worth dwelling on the possiblity of dying in a plane crash, because what you really have to accept is the fact that you are going to die doing something--maybe flying, maybe driving, maybe mowing the lawn. OK then, yes; there are risks involved with flying, as with any activity. What are you going to do about it?

To me, it is far more important to learn to manage the risks, know your and your airplane's limitations, and then do your best. You should do all you can in normal and emergency training, briefings on the ground, inspections during the preflight, and positive control during the actual flight to fly as safely as possible.

You have to stay positive--that's why I ended up not cancelling the flight.
 
Re: Trying to be positive in all senses of the word

Sorry, I didn't mean to hit at you specifically. I was thinking of the philosophy in general. It's like the idea that to be a really fine surgeon, help mankind and all that, you have to accept the fact going in that you could make a mistake that kills someone. I wouldn't want a surgeon that was worried about making a mistake working on

Agreed it's the same with driving cars, anything else. Confront the possibilities going in, accept them, then work like a professional to see it doesn't happen to you.
tongue.gif
 
Re: Trying to be positive in all senses of the word

Agreed.

BTW, that is a very interesting airplane (your avatar). What is it?
 
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