IFR Head Game

Editorial Staff

Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Safe IFR flight is primarily a "head game" requiring thorough procedural understanding, planning, and anticipation, rather than just basic aircraft control or gadget operation.
Even experienced pilots can make significant procedural and attention-based errors, especially when lacking recent proficiency and familiarity with a specific aircraft and its avionics.
The author's training revealed that all his mistakes stemmed from failures to think and pay attention, emphasizing the critical role of mental engagement.
Maintaining a consistent "train like you fly and fly like you train" cycle in the specific aircraft and environment is crucial for preventing mental errors and ensuring flight safety.

See a mistake? Contact us.

I just attended the insurance-mandated recurrent training for my C340A that I haven’t flown in years. I made my share of mistakes, most of which the scenarios are designed to uncover. A few of ‘em really made me think about things.

And that’s really what IFR flight is all about. Anybody with even modest hand-eye coordination can operate a fixed-wing aircraft in instrument conditions. Adding all the fancy gadgets we have these days just makes it even easier yet. “Here—keep this little airplane symbol between those crosshairs to follow the line on the map.” Even if you haven’t got much acumen for video games, chances are you can at least do that.