Advice for a newby IFR Instructor

[Guptar]

Well......after much kicking, screaming and gouging and general carry on by my boss (and that was just the pre-flight brief) I've been deemed competent enough to go out and teach this IFR caper to real live students.

So anyone got some anecdotal advise, tips, the good oil. Past experiances, the sort of things like things that students do in the clag that can be a gotcha.

I'm new at this game and seeking the wise heads on his forum.

[QF411]

Do you have much experience yourself in IFR conditions? Ie, charters, night freight etc?

[strim]

Always be watching...

[Arm out the window]

Know what lowest safe you should be at, and in VMC, always make sure at least one of you is looking out!

[Mach E Avelli]

Become very good at black hole night circling approaches yourself, then make sure your students do as well. Oh, and if you become an ATO, don't ever pass anyone out if they ever show even a moment's disorientation or loss of situational awareness on the test.

[GUARD]

Absolutely agree with the other guys here.

Make sure you can fly the entire flight yourself.

Try to deal with all contingencies on the ground to get maximum benefit from time in the air.

Brief, brief, brief. Discuss ground speed calc's and various wind effects etc on the ground a 100 times.

Plan alternates well before departure or arrival at destination. The student must have a faultless understanding of fuel planning. Force him or her into a diversion later in their training and make sure their first IFR diversion is with you and not by themselves. Get them to upgrade to IFR from a VFR departure and downgrade to VFR en-route as well. Thats what their first job will involve a lot of.

Allow them to brief as much as possible before engine start including RTO, LASALT's, SID etc and maybe even the first approach if its nearby and re-brief the salient points prior to TOPD.

Do the radio for them every so often in the early stages or fly while they do the radio. A lot of students can learn more from a good demo of one leg and an approach than doing it all themselves and being told they got it wrong. Believe me, you won't be ripping them off as they'll welcome the chance to watch. Make sure you do it extremely well. Keeps you in perspective and current too.

Make sure you're well enough to do the flight by yourself. Don't just think you'll be okay to sit and monitor from the right seat because you'll either have an incident or that will be the day the student gets sick and can't finish the flight.

Lastly, don't always opt for the LONG flights. Two short ones are better for the student because they gey 2 IFR dep briefs, departures and RTO briefs, 5 or mor en-route phases, 4 or so approaches, a couple of stars and much more confidence for around the same money. Also if they haven't prepared well and seem to be floundering don't be afraid to can it early and save their hard earned money. Go and do it all again when they're better prepared.

Oh and NEVER cut corners. If you can't do the whole thing professionally and legally, don't go. Have a brief and do a sim or something else.

Good luck with it. It is THE MOST REWARDING thing you can do.


GUARD:ok:

[Tmbstory]

Much good advice in the posts above.

Especially the one from Mach E Avelli about 'black hole airports'. To add to that, place much emphasis on the take-off from the same type of airports. It has to be done as an IFR procedure and not VFR . Otherwise a tragedy may happen.

Tmb

[Dangly Bits]

NEVER take your eyes off what the student is doing. I did once. Just once... That was enough to teach me a lesson. Never nice being upside down on an ILS.

[Unhinged]

Lots of good advice here, but my favourites are: "Always be watching..." "NEVER take your eyes off what the student is doing." "Make sure you can fly the entire flight yourself." "NEVER cut corners."

I've been close to upside-down on an ILS missed approach at night; Had parachuting aircraft hassling Centre for a clearance to drop through cloud even though we'd been in it for 40 minutes solid and were very close to them and getting closer; and seen students otherwise ready for the test lose it completely when they got a clearance that didn't match what they were expecting.

Also seen students fly with smoothness, confidence and precision that left me humbled for days afterwards.

My $.02? Make sure you're thoroughly current yourself, so that it doesn't matter what happens, you are capable of successfully completing the flight from any point with minimal extra adrenaline.

Enjoy it, it's brilliant !

[Barkly1992]

+ or - 50 feet is the limit - this is what you would have been taught.

Set high standards and enforce precision.

And if you can see outside - do it.

Good luck.

:ok:

[Fonz121]

The number one reason a student struggles in IMC is because they are not scanning properly.
If you can really make sure that they are scanning properly before they even touch an aircraft then your job will be a lot easier when you're in the real stuff. "Scan, scan, scan!".

Make sure they are not man handling the controls more then they have to. In something like a GPS arrival or an ILS approach a lot of students will try and fly the 3 degree profile by man handling the controls too much. They just need to set thier rate of descent and trim it out. I always ask them to take thier hands off the controls in these situations and 99% of the time the aircraft will pitch up or down quite a lot. If this happens then obviously its not trimmed properly and its demonstrating to them that they are fighting the controls.
Even in level flight most of them are making things worse by touching the controls more then they have to.

When changing power settings in IMC students will tend to focus on the RPM and MP gauges and will start to lose hdg, alt, pitch quite quickly. Comes back to scanning while doing anything.

And lastly, and this is for the benefit of the student but also for you. Really stress that they never handle the controls in such a fashion that they are creating slight g forces which start to screw with your physiological feelings and create illusions.
Most of the time when I say "check altitude" they will react unnecessarily by pulling back hard which creates a g force when they are only 200 feet below where they should be. 200 ft below assigned altitude isn't great but it doesn't deem a hard manouvre (unless perhaps in a critical situation like at the DA in an ILS). In a missed approach at night in ****e weather when they pull back harder then necessary it can really screw with your mind.

[Triple Captain]

Keep ahead of the student.

Encourage student to do hand flying while workload is low to develop instrument scan (cruise).

While talking about Instrument Scans actually give (You know TEACH) your student a 'Scan' (ask the Rex Interview panel how many pilots have stalled the metro sim during an interview)

Climb: Primary Scan AI-ASI
S&L: AI-VSI
Descent: AI-VSI
Secondary: T scan
And the cross check: Inverted V scan


Build in big safety margins.

Make sure you are well aware of your company’s policies for simulating engine failures: Blue Line +10 above 500' with gear selected up, at night 1000' above LSALT, NOT in IMC

No 1 engine feathered landings. This is so old school thinking!! Read about Duchess at YSBK

No full VMCA demonstrations!! Read about Aerostar off Coffs

[Mere Mortal]

Very good topic and I agree with all above. First thing you might want to consider is to revise a bit of the ops and effects of controls lesson. Funny how over time students forget the little things like an increase of airspeed will increase lift, that little dot does'nt have to move very far, so that nice descent they set up almost becomes straight and level again, . Trimming can get left behind in the heat battle as well.

Know what Attitude is required for each phase of flight. Be it climbing, descending, turning and even S & L at various airspeeds and airframe configurations both normal and assymetric.
And they must realize that the AH is both Pitch attitude and Bank attitude.
For example a rate 1 level turn at 140kts in the aeroplane I teach in is about 20 AOB and Pitch Attitude is about half the dot above the horizion line.

And above all, patience.

Just my two bobs worth. Have fun with it and keep seeking advice from the old hands and keeping learning yourself.
MM

[Tee Emm]

If you happen to be conducting single engine go-arounds under the hood, be ready for the student to inadvertently put in full wrong rudder as he applies full throttle on the live engine. Happened to me twice in Seminole's and once in a DC3. Potentially dangerous.

[BULLDOG 248]

All good posts. But dont forget Traffic Management. I used to teach in the bush many moons ago where there was none. So I'd make it up....EG..on an NDB app at YSWL, in simulated IMC to the minima, give the student following traffic and see how things would work out??? Would he/she keep the traffic 1000ft above missed app alt or let them come on down. To this day I hear some very poor separation between IFR drivers in IMC OCTA. Can be done quite well in the sim aswell.

[bushy]

That's in the bush????

[splinter11]

If YSWL is in the bush then I'm a monkey's uncle!

[newagebird]

elaborating more on the 'can you fly the nav yourself'

You gotta know your aircraft inside out, its capabilities, settings, navaid failures (especially if you fly glass cockpit), mode settings, what each and every button and dial or guage means. Dont leave any stone unturned cuz when you get a question from your student and you dont know the answer or if your in the ****e and an abnormal occurs your the only fail safe there is.

good luck

[Death Pencil]

Guptar, firstly a pat on the back for realising your limitations ie. inexperienced in the field, and looking for some advice :ok:

Some good points here.. my 2 cents...

But dont forget Traffic Management
:D You beat me to it... spend some time on the whiteboard with some scenarios... (as Bulldog mentioned)

Make sure the student knows a correct 'scan'... that it's not just a matter of moving your eyeballs around like they're in desperate need of an exorcism (such as a generic scan like T, inverted V... )
Make sure it's correct ATTITUDE flying (power + attitude = performance.... which is somewhat overused/misunderstood me thinks). Where I used to teach we would cover all the instruments up except the AI (in the sim), get the student to fly attitudes and power (trimmed properly as Fonz says...)... and guess what? if I keep the wings straight, pitch dot 0, and cruise power I hold a heading/altitude! without even seeing the Alt/hdg! (do I need to scan the ASI every 5 seconds in the cruise?!?)..... If I keep the wings stright and climb attitude etc. etc. I get climb speed... (this gets the point through to them about attitude flying)................THEN once they've got this, reveal the other instruments and point out what they should be looking at & when.
Set high standards and enforce precision.
point taken... but may promote 'chasing the instruments'...

When changing power settings in IMC students will tend to focus on the RPM and MP gauges and will start to lose hdg, alt, pitch quite quickly.
:ok: get them used to what 'feels' right.. let them have a play with the MAP/RPM and know that 'this much of a shove' relates to 'that much of a change'.... for example... a large power change... there's no point watching the MAP needles going ALL the way (eg. cruise to descent power)... put the levers in the ball park area,(while looking at AI) THEN have a look...

ICING. Be aware yourself, and make the student aware.

Guard :D good points... just to add to the fuel side of things, 'ok, what if ___ is socked in, where can we go, do we have enough fuel'... or how long can we hold before we have to divert & where to......

lastly, remember that you're an 'instructor'... so TEACH, don't ASSESS.
(ie. no use saying just 'you stuffed this up'... unless you're following up with 'this is how to prevent it happening again / this is how to get out of it')... try looking at yourself first before pointing the finger at the student... did I teach him/her how to do this properly?



Well, waiting to get picked apart by the crowd:(, but just some general points i've picked up along the way.

[TSIO540]

All excellent posts lads!:ok:

I agree absolutely with remembering to TEACH instead of assess! Remember your principles and methods of instruction... it is no good telling the student to do something without telling them HOW to do it. If you can't get a student to do something... e.g. track on an NDB then ask for help... I have been approached and I have done the approaching for help myself; it'll make you a better instructor.

Take the load off the student in the beginning, then load them up as they approach the test.... take over if you have to explain something.

Fuel! :}Have enough of it! It is very easy to get carried away with burning extra fuel with 'have another go at that sector entry' etc... soon enough you'll be over your planned fuel burn if you don't keep on top of it with a fuel log (I based mine on time since takeoff and hourly fuel flow). But don't take so much that you miss out on your IFR climb gradients on one engine.

Also, try to sit in on every flight test debrief that you can, you'll get invaluable feedback.:8

For those long days... be careful with the caffine. I nearly got severely caught one afternoon with having consumed too much coffee, immediately followed by a 3 hour flight with a student and then finding that the airport was closed due to an inter moving through (which we had fuel for - but not the bladder space). I nearly had to declare a pan pan :uhoh:...lol

[Massey1Bravo]

Get an old copy of Microsoft's Flight Simulator for ~$40, and fly it on zero visibility. It's an incredibly cheap and useful tool for you and your students to practice IFR flying.

[Stationair8]

Make sure the students get some night exposure at an aerodrome with not a lot of lighting nearby and no T-Vasis or Papi and with something like a basic NDB or VOR approach which involves a circling approach to land, and then actually land not do the overshoot from the minima.

Likewise it always amazes me on IFR navex's they go and do the ILS, and then the overshoot. How is the student going to experience the transition from instrument flying to landing from a low minima.

I always remember my IFR instructor going on about flying the holding pattern +/-100 feet and +/-5 degrees etc, but no one actually showed me how to fly the circling approach from the minima to touchdown!

Make sure they have a very good understanding of the requirements for circling and when you can descend.

Traffic and seperation from both other IFR and VFR aircraft is probably the haredst thing to grasp and apply. On a recent VOR approach at night time and aircraft taxied out and lined up on the runway and was more than happy to depart towards us while we were at 3 dme approaching 700 feet in IMC. The pilot of the other aircraft stated that he was happy to make an early turn if that helped, I replied that it might be easier if you waited back on the taxiway while we land.

The other most important thing to remember is that a lot people think that the IFR rating is something that comes easy and doesn't involve a lot of work. They really have to get into the books and know a lot of stuff to cover flightplanning, weather etc a pass in the IFR theory exam is nice but you have to put it all together to make it work in the real world of IFR flying.

The student has to be made aware that an IFR rating still has a lot of limitations when it comes to weather and conditions you are exposed to.
The trusty Duchess, Seminole and most GA ****eboxes etc are really pretty basic IFR aircraft with limited IFR equipment, basic autopliots, no deicing capability and therefore need to be treated with respect. Your mighty Seminole great bit of fun to fly down to Cowes for and NDB, but try taking it to Canberra on a winters night with a low freezing level and see how much fun it is!

Somebody mentioned IFR tolerances of +/- 50 feet, somedays that can be achieved on a nice sunny day, but somedays in the real world that can't be achieved due to turbulence, windshear, mechanical turbulence etc!

The autopilot make sure the student can use it correctly and knows all the limitations associated with it, but more importantly the student can fly the aeroplane in imc without it, because one day they will have the pleasure of flying a leg and then do an approach without a serviceable autopilot.

[justanotherflyer]

Excellent posts, guys, proud to be sharing the air with you.

Adding another $0.01 to the mix:

The students will most times respond to, or at least hear, ATC messages addressed to our a/c but will often be deaf to other messages which don't seem to 'apply to us'. Especially when they are focusing on their scan/navigation in IMC.

However as we all know, those messages can carry vital information pertaining to our own safe passage. So, quiz the student every so often on 'what was the last thing ATC said?', 'How high above you, what range and in what direction is Nxxxxx?', 'why is that jet being told to reach 7000 by [fix]?, and suchlike.

Initially they mostly won't know, of course, but soon they'll tune their ear to extracting the valuable nuggets from third-party communications which are crucial for maximizing our own situational awareness.