Challenging Practice

Fly the same approach multiple times, with a twist to keep you on your toes. That’s almost as good as different approaches.

Philip Mandel

Friday, September 06, 2024 at 01:37 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots should challenge themselves beyond basic currency requirements to achieve true instrument proficiency, rather than repeatedly flying the same familiar approaches.
Flight simulators offer an economical and effective way to practice diverse and unfamiliar instrument approaches from any location, overcoming the logistical limits of real aircraft.
To enhance skills, pilots can vary their practice by flying the same approach multiple times using different navigation aids (e.g., raw VOR vs. GPS), autopilot modes (manual vs. coupled), and levels of assistance (e.g., hand-flying without GPS).

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Challenge yourself. Be willing to make mistakes. Practicing in a perfect world would allow you to fly different approaches every time. While that’s best, it’s not very economical. After a bit, you’ve flown all the approaches in your area, so you have to go further and further to avoid flying the same ol’ approach time after time.

One way to avoid that issue is in a simulator. Yes, we regularly offer you the Sim Challenge, but you can easily find other practice at challenging airports on your own. If you’re in an airplane, keep yourself sharp by flying the same approach—as unfamiliar as you can find—in multiple ways.