Not long ago, I was conducting a two-day, six-flight, expanded instrument proficiency check (IPC) with the owner of an A36 Bonanza. We were above an undercast at 7000 feet en route from Wichita, Kans., to Emporia Municipal (EMP), a non-towered airport a short 25 minutes to the northeast. Had the skies been clear, we would have flown this VFR and I was going to present a “lost communications” exercise. As it was, we regrouped and flew IFR, the pilot under the hood the entire way. Not being able to pass up a good opportunity for distractions, I simulated failure of his only attitude indicator just after takeoff.
Shortly, I got my own distraction. We received an approach clearance recently that I’d never heard before, one that made me doubt one of the basic precepts of IFR flight. It may be something Aviation Safety readers look at and say, “Duh, everyone knows that.” I suspect, however, that many or most will not have received this clearance before, and may have been as confused about it as I was.
