Instrument rating

ASpilot2be

ASpilot2be

Qbicle seat warmer
This rating is a freaking blast to work on:nana2:

Today my instructor and I left Merrill field with 6k foot ceilings and while out doing DME arcs I noticed that the world started to look the same color as I see through my foggles. I took my foggles off and visibility went from unlimited to between 5 and 10 miles in snow. Once we descended to 1600 Anchorage finally became visible.:)

I must say trying to find white aircraft in the pattern while it is snowing isnt easy:banghead: Why cant people use their landing lights in such conditions?
 
ASpilot2be said:
This rating is a freaking blast to work on:nana2:

Today my instructor and I left Merrill field with 6k foot ceilings and while out doing DME arcs I noticed that the world started to look the same color as I see through my foggles. I took my foggles off and visibility went from unlimited to between 5 and 10 miles in snow. Once we descended to 1600 Anchorage finally became visible.:)

I must say trying to find white aircraft in the pattern while it is snowing isnt easy:banghead: Why cant people use their landing lights in such conditions?
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Fun stuff!

Landing lights in snow reflect off of the falling snow and can give off some weird illusions. Strobes will do the same thing.
 
ASpilot2be said:
This rating is a freaking blast to work on:nana2:

Today my instructor and I left Merrill field with 6k foot ceilings and while out doing DME arcs I noticed that the world started to look the same color as I see through my foggles. I took my foggles off and visibility went from unlimited to between 5 and 10 miles in snow. Once we descended to 1600 Anchorage finally became visible.:)

I must say trying to find white aircraft in the pattern while it is snowing isnt easy:banghead: Why cant people use their landing lights in such conditions?
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Ugh, I got my private a little over a year ago and still don't even have half the PIC cross country I need, let alone the hood time. Isn't really for lack of effort either. :(
I must say trying to find white aircraft in the pattern while it is snowing isnt easy:banghead: Why cant people use their landing lights in such conditions?
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Gotta save those bulbs. ;)
I never understood it either. I turn them on when I'm approaching the traffic pattern or when I get a traffic alert/see traffic about to pass me.
 
I got my instrument rating in December and I FINALLY got to use it last week. Its a blast!!!! Probably the best rating a person could ever get...and the most challenging!
 
You know it's a low-weather day when you see more with the landing lights off than on. :cwm27: (half-joking)
 
I agree! Started in the fall and was lucky to get about 7 hours of actual. Nothing like taking off into overcast at 2000, flying for an hour then popping out of the clouds a few hundred feet above mins on GS and centerline, that was one of those "damn this is awesome" moments.

I am a bit short on the XC time though so I have taken a bit of a hiatus from flying with the instructor to get up to the 50 hour min. Have about 10 more to go then time to get ready for the check ride!!

Good luck!
 
ASpilot2be said:
I must say trying to find white aircraft in the pattern while it is snowing isnt easy:banghead: Why cant people use their landing lights in such conditions?
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And that is the reason that Cubs are bright yellow, and that Aeronca Champs left the factory with Mustard Yellow and Orange paint. Also why Stearmans and other trainers were either all yellow (Navy) or blue fuselage and yellow wings (Army Air Corp). I also think this is the reasoning behind Air Tractors and most Ag Cats being base yellow with some kind of stripe - for visibility. I think it made a lot of sense to paint training airplanes in some variation of yellow - I think it is the most visible color from the air.
 
It's a lot of fun. Unfortunately, these days, it's just too expensive.

$110 an hour plus $45 for the instructor? Uh, no.

I'll just tool around on a VFR day until I get richer or things get cheaper.
 
tonyw said:
It's a lot of fun. Unfortunately, these days, it's just too expensive.

$110 an hour plus $45 for the instructor? Uh, no.

I'll just tool around on a VFR day until I get richer or things get cheaper.
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I thought you were in a club or did that get dropped?
 
JEP said:
I thought you were in a club or did that get dropped?
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That's the club rate. I dropped out of the club as well. I don't even want to think about what it would be if it wasn't part of the club.

Back when I started, the club rate was something like $65-$70 for the C172s. Now? It's $110. I used to be able to fly a Cardinal RG for $105 an hour. That got sold and the replacement airplane is $150 an hour.

I said screw it, I'm out.
 
Douglas said:
Ughhh! I am glad you like it though. I found instrument flying was way more of a blast after I learned it.
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I agree - instrument training under the hood blows. One of the things I love most about flying (looking at stuff) I can't do. It wasn't until I flew in actual IMC that I thought it was pretty awesome.
 
IR ticket is nice but pretty much useless here 5-6 months out of the year. No such thing as IMC when the freezing level is below the clouds.
 
Murdoughnut said:
I agree - instrument training under the hood blows. One of the things I love most about flying (looking at stuff) I can't do. It wasn't until I flew in actual IMC that I thought it was pretty awesome.
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:yeahthat:

when I did my training my long ifr x/c was 3.3tt with 1.6 in the soup. It was tiring but fun at the same time.
 
I remember having some horrible landings after completing some intense approaches during training. I would just slap the sucker on the runway, kind of embarassing. :banghead:
 
JEP said:
:yeahthat:

when I did my training my long ifr x/c was 3.3tt with 1.6 in the soup. It was tiring but fun at the same time.
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It's funny how exhausted you feel after flying several approaches. My wife wonders why I come home and just crash.
 
hack1982 said:
I remember having some horrible landings after completing some intense approaches during training. I would just slap the sucker on the runway, kind of embarassing. :banghead:
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:yeahthat: I think we have all had moments like that during instrument training.
 
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