![It is not uncommon for a pilot to have the means to upgrade their instrument panel with the latest technology but not have sufficient time and opportunity to learn or relearn how to use it effectively. [Credit: Adobe Stock]](https://flyingmag1.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/FLY0126_1.6-IFR.jpeg?width=1922&height=1503)
Of all the ratings a pilot can earn, the instrument rating is often the most intense academically and the most useful.
Filing IFR on VFR days gives you priority handling—like flight following on steroids—and the procedures you learn and skills gained can give a pilot more confidence in general.
Unfortunately, the skills are also the most perishable. If your IFR ticket is a little rusty and dull, here are some suggestions on how to regain your edge.
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Currency vs. Proficiency
Per 14 CFR 61.57, instrument currency begins with meeting VFR recent flight experience, meaning the three takeoffs and landings within 90 days.
The instrument-rated pilot wishing to act as PIC under IFR or weather conditions less than the minimums for VFR must have, within the six calendar months preceding the month of flight, performed and logged at least six instrument approaches along with holding procedures and tasks and intercepting and tracking courses through the use of navigational electronic systems.
If you are outside the six-month window, and it has been more than six months since your initial instrument check ride, you will need to perform an Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC) to regain your currency.
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The details are under also found under cFAR 61.57, and note most of these tasks can be accomplished in an appropriately equipped aircraft or, as the regulation states, in a “full flight simulator, flight training device, or aviation training device, provided the device represents the category of aircraft for the instrument rating privileges to be maintained, and the pilot performs the tasks and iterations in simulated instrument conditions.” The exception is the circle-to-land maneuver, which must be done in an aircraft.
Process and Timing
I always advise that if it has been more than a year since you exercised your instrument skills, don’t expect the IPC to be a single-flight, one-and-done event.
Instead, approach it as a process. While you don’t need to repeat the training required for the IFR ticket, you need to be sure the foundational knowledge and skills are still there. You need to be ready to “go on the gauges” at a moment’s notice.
According to statistics from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, budget 45 minutes to an hour of dual instruction for every year you’ve been away from flying. Based on 20 years as a CFII, I concur with this assessment.
Refresh Weather Knowledge
If it has been a while since you flew on a less-than-VFR day, it wouldn’t hurt to review weather theory, such as what happens when the temperature and dew point spread converge, resulting in fog, or how quickly ice can form through sublimation.
When you obtain a weather briefing, make sure to note where the nearest VFR is, and be aware of the weather makers in the region you are flying—for example, mountain ranges that create thunderstorms or lakes that create snow.
If you fly using a weather app, know how to call up the information needed rather than fumbling through menus. Remember the limitations. Most weather radar images are dated, not real time, so you should not trust the app for weather avoidance. Be careful that the tablet or cell phone that you use to access this information doesn’t become a distraction in the cockpit.
First Flight
If using an aircraft, the learner wears a view-limiting device and, under the guidance of a CFI-I and in VFR conditions, practices climbs, descents, and turns to a heading. The CFII is responsible for clearing the area and providing headings and altitudes to fly.
Even if the aircraft has an autopilot, hand-fly this lesson. Start with standard rate turns, with a focus on trimming the aircraft for level flight, then continue to 20-degree banked turns, and then up to 30. The focus of this first flight is getting your scan back and maintaining situational awareness and positive control of the aircraft.
Know Your Panel
It is not uncommon for a pilot to have the means to upgrade their instrument panel with the latest technology but not have sufficient time and opportunity to learn or relearn how to use it effectively before they take it into weather.
Fortunately, most avionics manufacturers offer online classes that can be completed on your schedule. If you are not flying on a regular basis and using all the capabilities of the panel, make some time for a refresher.
If the aircraft is equipped with an autopilot, know how to use it as it is extremely helpful to maintain control in the soup. But it is critically important to understand its limitations. Random inputs can send you places you don’t want to go.
And don’t forget the analog skills. When was the last time you tracked a VOR using analog (not GPS) tools? It’s like being able to drive a stick shift. It’s a skill that is being replaced by other technology, but as long as there are VORs in the system and receivers in the airplane, pilots need to know how to use them.
Fly Scenarios
If you have access to an advanced aviation training device (AATD) or flight training device (FTD), you may want to try the first flight using one of these, especially if it doesn’t have motion, because this makes it much more difficult to stay ahead of the airplane. If you can fly the simulator, you will be able to fly the airplane.
Airline pilots train in full flight sims using scenarios—takeoffs and approaches at challenging airports, emergency procedures, etc. If it’s good enough for someone flying an Airbus or a Boeing, it’s good enough for general aviation pilots.
The wonderful thing about AATDs and FTDs is that you can boldly go where you have not gone before—fly an approach to that vacation spot you’ve talked about visiting. Or fly that technically challenging approach you read about in FLYING’s Chart Wise column.
If you have access to a flight instructor with scenario-creation skills, throw in a few IFR emergencies. The purpose of such an exercise is to learn and practice good procedures, so if you encounter that situation in the real world, you will act, not react.
This column first appeared in the January Issue 966 of the FLYING print edition.
