Instrument Check

Most pilots know that one of the major causes of fatal accidents in light aircraft is continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). But many are surprised that more than one quarter of those accidents involve instrument-rated pilots, according to the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. You might think that the idea of an instrument-rated pilot dying in a VFR into IMC accident is oxymoronic. Unfortunately, youd only be half right.

So why is it that pilots who are qualified and current to fly in the goo turn themselves into smoking holes trying to scud-run through less-than-marginal weather? There are several factors at work here, including attitude, lack of foresight,…

Pilots who want to get from Point A to Point B are no dummies. Most of the time, the shortest distance is that straight line on the chart.

Part of the navigation training that every beginning pilot receives is how to use dead reckoning to fly that line. Getting there quickly and efficiently is, after all, one of the many benefits of flying as opposed to driving. But that direct route to the destination may not be all it is cracked up to be. Careful consideration of some of the available routing options may show that more distance is less hassle in the long run.

Although IFR pilots have more points to consider when selecting routes, VFR pilots also need to think about the dynamics of…

Every semester I teach a course called Integrated Flight Operations. This is the students introduction to instrument flying. They learn right off the bat that there is a host of new material, charts and regulations with which they will have to become intimately familiar if they are to be safe instrument pilots. A sample of the text, charts and the AIM demonstrates there is a mound of material to absorb.

After the moans quit and their eyeballs return to their sockets, I pose the question many instrument pilots have been asking themselves for years: What is the purpose for studying, learning and, in the end, presumably knowing all that stuff?

When you boil it down, all the rules, p…

Every pilot in the known universe has heard the term flying by the seat of your pants. And until I interviewed the late Captain Elrey B. Jeppesen a few years ago, I thought I understood its meaning.

But Captain Jepp set me straight. During the early years of airmail flying, of which he was a part, instrument flight wasnt even on the drawing board. Jepp explained that the early mail pilots, tooling along cross continent in open cockpit biplanes, were on their own when they encountered weather. Maps by Rand McNally, no IFR rules or clearances, no radios and, critically, no gyros.

Yet even through horrific winter weather, pilots managed to get the mail delivered. Thus it was thought at…

Tucked away in the bowels of many airplanes is a piece of equipment the pilot may count on for survival. But many pilots dont take the time to learn about their autopilots, nor do they check them before flight.

The best place to spot a problem is on the ramp rather than at altitude. Even though many pilots consider the autopilot a luxury, its good to know that it works correctly in cases where the success of a flight depends on turning control of the airplane over to a computer.

Ask any pilot, Whens the last time you preflighted your autopilot? and youre likely to be met with a blank stare. Under pressure, many will admit that they dont even know how to check it or where to loo…

Moving maps may be what sell the top-of-the-line handheld GPS units, but one of the niftiest features common to all GPS units is the nearest feature that points you at the closest airports as quickly as you can push the buttons. Its a good one, for sure, but doesnt relieve you of your responsibility to constantly update your engine-out plan.

The moment of power loss is very, very busy. I have been there. After a rapid diagnosis of the problem and trimming for best glide, the next item is Where am I going? If youre flying IFR, Center may be of assistance – or maybe not, as the occupants of an MU2 found out in 1993 on their way into an Iowa barnyard.

The push of a button (or seve…

Put yourself in this situation, for a moment. You are cranking along on a cross-country, an IFR cross-country. For the moment you are VFR on top with a thick solid layer below. You are flying single pilot IFR with no VFR alternates within range.

Things are going along fairly smoothly, then trouble starts. The first indication on your ammeter/loadmeter goes unnoticed. You make a radio call to ATC they report as fading badly. The VOR pegs to one side of the instrument. The alternator warning light comes on. Electrical failure. That unplanned close-by VFR airfield would look pretty good about now.

ATC does notice that your transponder reply has vanished, but they cant call you. You hav…

Most pilots would agree that collision avoidance is desirable. The FAA agrees, and long ago made the desirable mandatory. FAR 91.113 states that all pilots have the responsibility to see and avoid each other regardless of flight plan or aircraft type, when weather conditions permit.

IFR and VFR pilots in VMC have the same responsibility to ensure that no two aircraft occupy the same space at the same time. No excuse will suffice if metal meets metal when visual meteorological conditions prevail. The FAAs logic is similar to that expressed in signs common on Texas ranches that proclaim that trespassers will be shot, and survivors prosecuted.

With this heavy burden upon all pilots, loo…

An occasional layoff from flying isnt that uncommon for most general aviation pilots. There are many possible reasons: weather, workload, a family or personal emergency, a job change or move from one part of the country to another, illness, or a host of other reasons beyond your control.

A layoff from VFR flying isnt the end of the world, although your skills can certainly get rusty. A layoff from flying IFR, however, can result in a fairly rapid decline in important skills youll need to stay ahead of the airplane during poor weather.

Whats most important – regardless of how you got here – is recognizing that youve been out of the IFR cockpit for too long and want to get back.If…

Assessing your skills and your judgment are crucial, particularly when the weather refuses to cooperate