6 Things Instrument Training Taught Me
Instrument flight training is an amazing experience. Instrument training makes pilots safer and overall just better. It really enhances the basic pilot skills taught in private training, and sets pilots up for success in commercial training. If you’re going through instrument training, or thinking about it, I highly reccomend it. I have compiled my experiences and advice into one (super long) article... but I hope it is helpful for you!
[This is me immediately after I passed my instrument checkride :) ]
1. Don’t Always Trust Your Gut
We’re often told to trust our guts. If you have a gut feeling about something its probably for a reason (I believe in this 100%). In instrument flying the exact opposite is true. When you’re in the soup its hard to tell up from down, literally. Disorientation is a pilots’ worst enemy.
The human body uses three systems to determine orientation;
1. Vestibular- inner ear organs
2. Somatosensory – nerves in the skin, joints, and muscles that use sensations from gravity
3. Visual – eyes (duh)
These three systems send information to the brain, and when all three systems send matching information there aren’t any problems. Sometimes these systems send information that don’t match one another, this is what causes disorientation. When in VFR conditions the visual system is the dominant source of information to the brain and will override any false information given by the other systems. However, in IMC the visual system is not dominant, because you can’t see the horizon. Without the visual systems ability to override false information from the other systems, a pilot can become disoriented quickly.
I could go into a detailed explanation of the organs of the inner ear to better explain why orientation occurs, but for times sake I won’t. I will, however, provide the picture from the PHAK. Chapter 17 of the PHAK goes into spatial disorientation at a much deeper level and is a great resource for anyone seeking an instrument rating!
When flying in instrument conditions it is important to trust your instruments. At one point while flying actual, I got this uneasy feeling that I was flying upside down. Luckily, I had another person with me who did not share the sensation. When this happens, it is vital to disregard your feelings and focus on your instruments.
2. “Seat of Your Pants” Flying Just Won’t Cut It
Before I decided to fly airplanes, I did three years of engineering school at East Tennessee State University, so I was a little weird before I ever stepped into a plane. My mind has always been able to grasp concepts when they are super structured, and math based… have you ever read an approach plate? Those things are crazy structured, and I LOVE it! However, with great structure comes great responsibility.
When you’re flying on an IFR flight plan you are essentially signing an agreement with ATC. You are agreeing that you will follow the plan they give you (approach plate/flight plan/charts) and they will provide you with their services. This includes any altitudes and reporting points. There is a very different relationship between pilot and ATC when flying VFR (who cares if you’re 30-50 feet off altitude because you flew over some cool landmark or wanted to see something cool?). Guilty as charged…
This mentality will not cut it when flying IFR. The IFR must be detail oriented and strive for perfection. This leads me to my next point…
3. Strive for Perfection, but Accept its Unattainability
As a pilot you should strive to be as close to perfect as possible, but at the same time remind yourself that it wont always happen. When I first started my instrument training, I went into it with the mindset that this course was going to be the hardest thing I would ever attempt in my flying career. I had heard multiple horror stories from those who came before me, and boy was I terrified!
I am VERY type A, and a perfectionist. I am super hard on myself, especially when it comes to flying… so this was the perfect storm for a stress induced mental breakdown (and I had several).
One thing that helped was having a forgiving instructor who didn’t make me feel like an idiot when I made mistakes… although one time he asked me to explain the GPS system and when I finished he looked at me and without so much as a smile said “Everything that just came out of your mouth was wrong”
We don’t talk about that.
One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give in this area is to remind yourself why you’re training. Take breaks when you need them. Don’t stress yourself out so much you develop a drinking problem and end up in rehab (oops).
And most importantly, admit when you’re wrong or don’t know. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t acknowledge that you have a problem.
4. IFR Flight Plans are a Gift from God Himself
Don’t get it twisted, I love VFR flying. Its always fun to not have to talk to anyone on the radios or obsess over altitudes/routes/what ever else. But when you need to get somewhere, an IFR flight plan is going to be your BFF. ATC is made for IFR traffic, and as one of my pilot friends says “when you fly on an IFR flight plan, ATC treats you like a real pilot”. I used to roll my eyes at that (as I often do with cocky know-it-all male pilots) but now I really see the benefits.
For example, one time I was flying to Philly from Lynchburg with an instructor of mine (we were really craving cheesesteaks). The flight up was uneventful. We had filed an IFR flight plan on a VFR day. We did this because of the simplicity and efficiency it provides us on longer cross countries into large airports like Philly. On the way back, full of cheesesteaks and fries and free FBO cookies, we hit some thunderstorms. My instructor had started dozing off next to me, and I kept an eye on the weather as we made our way back down south. I had been going in and out of clouds all day, but we were on an IFR flight plan so it didn’t really matter. I kept an eye on two cells that had started moving dangerously close to our flight path. I called ATC and asked for a diversion around the clouds. ATC surprised me and told me to fly between the two cells. I had a very uneasy feeling in my gut when I was told these instructions. I pulled up the weather on my IPad (our IPads connect to the G-1000 through Bluetooth) and saw that there was only a 3 NM space between the cells… I was in a SkyHawk… no way.
I woke up my instructor and explained the situation and explained that I would have to divert. Long story short, I ended up calling a weather emergency because ATC did NOT want to give us a diversion. We ended up stuck in Frederick Maryland for a few hours. While we were landing (scariest landing of my life) we were being pelted with hail. So all in all, we were fine, but it taught me a valuable lesson about the usefulness of IFR flight plans. It also taught me to know when to stand up to ATC. ATC are people too, and people make mistakes. So if you feel like something isn’t right, speak up.
5. Simulators, Simulators, Simulators (and Chair Flying)
I cannot stress enough the importance of simulator practice and chair flying. If you’re lucky enough to have access to simulators, USE THEM! Here at Liberty, we have fancy Frasca FTD5’s for the Skyhawk, Seminole, and even an RJ. We use these a lot during our training! They’re perfect for days where the weather won’t allow us to fly, or even for practicing things such as high-density altitude flight. In one of our courses we have a simulated flight through Colorado where we experience several emergencies, it’s a lot of fun. Another thing Liberty provides its students are tabletop simulators that we can access whenever we want! During instrument training I used these DAILY, I’m not even exaggerating.
Keep in mind the tabletops aren’t the best simulations, and the control inputs required are not necessarily the same for a real airplane… but they are beyond perfect for learning procedures! One other resource can be found on your Ipad! A lot of pilots have Ipads for ForeFlight, and if you are one of those pilots then you can easily download simulator apps on yours. Personally, I have two Garmin apps. They simulate the G-1000 system and allow me to work on procedures. These apps sometimes cost money, but the less you do in the airplane the more money you save in the long run.
If you don’t have access to simulators, chair fly! Chair flying is the bread and butter for any student pilot. If you sit down before a lesson, or even after a lesson, and walk yourself through the flight you will learn so much and be way more prepared. If you think about it like a movie it makes more sense… The second time you watch a movie you always pick up on things you missed. Chair flying is a lot like that! After you chair fly the lesson, when you do the lesson in the airplane it won’t be the first time you are doing the lesson and you will be able to pick up on more things you would otherwise miss.
6. Get Actual Time
If you read that and asked yourself, “what the heck… isn’t any time in an airplane actual time?” don’t worry… I was also confused when I first started. Actual time is time you can log when you are in actual IFR conditions as opposed to simulated conditions (foggles, bleh).
It is my opinion that the more actual time you get, the better. I would rather be in actual while I still have an instructor with me, than my first time being in actual occurs when I’m all alone (scary stuff). The first time you go into actual, it’s a very strange feeling. You aren’t restricted by the foggles… but you still can’t see the ground. My instructor had to chirp in once in a while and tell me to stop staring at the clouds.
It really is a beautiful sight.
So theres my input on instrument training! Are any of you guys in instrument training/ rated? I hope you found some of this info helpful, and if you have any questions my inbox is always open!
( All of the pictures/ gifs are mine except for the meme and the approach plate {duh} )
Blue skies and tailwinds yall!
