Instrument Training

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Scoutingrocks236

New Member
Hello Everyone!
I am going to be starting my instrument training very soon and I was wondering if anyone has any good tips for it or if anyone has a list of good equipment to use when flying IFR? I am very new to IFR so i am unaware.
Thanks
 
Skyvector.com is your friend for a computer based check to the standard pencil and ruler.
 
Study Study Study. There is a lot to know, and you learn all of it on the ground. The equipment is all already in the airplane.

The FAA publications are all excellent. Make them nightly bedtime reading and you will be fine.
 
2 Tips.

#1. Instrument training is 10-20% about flying the airplane and 80-90% about procedures and rules. A good CFII will focus on ensuring you have sustainable scan and good understanding of how to change configurations (the flying part) before going in detail into the procedures so you can focus on them.

#2. There is an unfortunate tendency to make (and teach) some procedures far, far, far more complicated than they actually are. This is especially true for holds and DME arcs. If you have trouble with them, don't hesitate getting in a ground session with a CFII who can explain them in a way which will make sense to you.
 
MidlifeFlyer said:
2 Tips.

#1. Instrument training is 10-20% about flying the airplane and 80-90% about procedures and rules. A good CFII will focus on ensuring you have sustainable scan and good understanding of how to change configurations (the flying part) before going in detail into the procedures so you can focus on them.

#2. There is an unfortunate tendency to make (and teach) some procedures far, far, far more complicated than they actually are. This is especially true for holds and DME arcs. If you have trouble with them, don't hesitate getting in a ground session with a CFII who can explain them in a way which will make sense to you.
Click to expand...

Quoted for truth. A lot of time is generally spent doing REALLY boring stuff in the plane before any actual published procedures are undertaken. Also, I don't know why people get so weird about holding.

As far as equipment, a tablet is a good start if you're talking big stuff. Keep your free academic FAA pubs on it to start, then Shepherd Air software when you're getting ready for your written, then your charts and plates when you're rated.

For little stuff, your own view limiting device and a credit card with a really good rewards program.
 
Everything here is really good. Let me add:

1) Having access to a decent sim is a huge help, because you can pause, restart, work through stuff...it's really helpful when you can safely get behind the airplane. Also useful to check out some of the more challenging approaches. My instructor and I had access to a decent Redbird, and I found it was an invaluable tool.

2) Your landings may start to suck. This is normal and you will get through it. Happened to many of us.

3) Does the airplane you're training in have an autopilot? Learn to use it effectively. I think it's one of most safety-enhancing things you can have flying single-pilot IFR. If you have it in the airplane at the time of the checkride, you will be expected to know how to use it.

4) The thing that most instructors (I've worked with a few over the last couple of years) really hammered into me was the way to *think* in IFR...which is mainly asking yourself, "what are the next two things to do?" This dovetails with the idea of your scan....

5) Don't get wrapped around the axle on holding. It will click. Everyone sweats that.

Once you get your IR, the world of GA really does open up wider. I pretty much file everywhere I go because I find flying in the IFR system *easier* in many respects than flying VFR. And most of the time you'll get vectored for visuals anyway. :-)
 
Get absolutely rock solid on attitude instrument flying before you start on IFR procedures. Knowing how to set and adjust pitch, power, and trim to achieve desired performance mostly hands off is critical to everything else. A lot of times I found that folks would struggle at the end of training because they’d rushed through the basics and didn’t actually learn how to fly on instruments before they started doing approaches etc.
 
Also, do a lot of mock flight planning. Choose an airport pair you might actually fly between and for weather on a given day figure out which runway you would use and how you would depart (SID, ODP, or standard), what you would file for a route, if you would use an arrival and if so what one, and what approach you would use at your destination, how you would get on to that approach, etc. You have awesome resources now with Foreflight being able to browse instrument procedures with a tap of your fingertip. It will even map out the departures and arrivals all together so you can narrow down your choices. Also you can stalk flightaware to see what other pilots are filing for any given airport pair, and you can listen to approach, departure, or center on live atc. All stuff that is great for learning real world IFR that either didn’t exist or was in its infancy when I was learning 12 (?!?!?) years ago.
 
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