Instrument Flight Rules

It’s not often a new craze sweeps the aviation nation, but over the past couple of years just such a phenomenon has taken hold at airports large and small across the country and, increasingly, around the world. The IMC Club is, just as it sounds, a club that provides a fertile ground for pilots to […]

As much as we’d all like to think we are IFR super-pilots, every pilot has a limit in any airplane. No matter how good an IFR pilot you are, if you don’t manage things right, you can get to the point where you are lagging far behind the airplane. Here are two simple rules to […]

When you think about instrument flying, your first thought is probably on flying instrument approaches. Admittedly, there is nothing quite like flying through a thick cloud bank only to see a runway magically appear right there in front of you. Because of the obvious importance of the approach phase of flight and the increased task […]

Few things are more important than being at the right altitude on an instrument approach. In the abstract that sounds easy, but in practice I often see pilots make mistakes in this most unforgiving aspect of instrument flight. Most of my flying is in aircraft with moving maps, as part of either a GPS or […]

Is this a trick question? If you say there aren’t any prescribed takeoff minimums for Part 91 operators, you would be correct; however, just because something is legal doesn’t make it smart. You might even have heard an instructor saying you can take off if it’s “zero-zero.” That advice is as impractical as it is, […]

These days, with GPS-direct clearances available for IFR flights, you may think that filing for a VFR-on-top clearance doesn’t make sense. And being governed by both VFR and IFR rules may not sound particularly attractive either. But there are times when these clearances can be very handy. When there are localized low clouds, as there […]

I believe most pilots would agree the execution of a missed approach is one of the most demanding situations a pilot may encounter, short of an emergency. Appropriately, we practice them numerous times during initial instrument and recurrent training. But when was the last time you executed a missed approach outside of the training environment? […]

As you’re already aware, earning an instrument rating is a fun and rewarding experience that will provide you with added confidence and make your pilot’s license more powerful. But instrument flying is also unforgiving and requires more than just passing an FAA check ride — it requires a system of continuing education and proficiency. First, […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has partnered with the IMC Club to host a series of instrument proficiency forums this week at EAA AirVenture. The Oshkosh forums will focus on improving instrument proficiency through discussions centered on the experiences that pilots may encounter in instrument flight. Each seminar will be introduced by the NTSB’s […]

Somewhat surprisingly, many of the challenges of learning to be a proficient IFR pilot are the same as those one encounters when just getting started as a student pilot. One of the toughest skills for brand-new pilots to master — talking on the radio — is equally challenging for pilots getting their instrument ticket or […]