Instrument Rating / Flying Paraphernalia

[HercFeend]

I going to be commencing an IR in the next week or so and wondered what Instrument Rating / flying paraphernalia I should consider?

What's essential, what are just gimmicks?

Here's an idea of some of the stuff I've seen..... paraphernalia (http://www.flightstore.co.uk/ifrtraining/ifrhelp/)

Many thanks

[Whopity]

Wait till you get there, the FTO will tell you if you need anything. Probably the most important thing is something to support the form you write on, and a stop watch.

[24Carrot]

If you don't mind a bit of handicraft, the Muji "Timer with Magnetic Back" is cheap, has big numbers, and big buttons.

You will have to remove the magnetic strip, glue something in to re-fill the space, and then attach to your chosen kneeboard with self-adhesive velcro strip.

Buy lots of velcro strip. When you have bought your 17th kneeboard because none of them are perfect, at least you can still use the timer with it!:D

[RTN11]

When you have bought your 17th kneeboard because none of them are perfect :}

I'm on my 5th, still looking for that perfect kneeboard for all occasions.

[HercFeend]

Thanks.

Right....which knee board then?

[bingofuel]

With regard to stopwatches, I think a sweep hand is preferable to a digital diaplay. With the sweep hands you can see at a glance a quarter or half a minute, a digital display means you need to read the number.

Then again maybe I am just old fashioned!

['India-Mike]

A4 kneeboard with ringbinders at one side to take A5 sized poly-pockets for plates. Worked a treat for me if placed in some sensible order

[IO540]

Your ex wife's credit card.

[18greens]

The biggest money saver I bought was a stopwatch with a one touch reset ( I think they call it fly back). Any stopwatch which takes three button presses to reset is going to blow a hold for you and thats £100 gone.

Agree with the a4 kneeboard with holes. Arrange your plates in sequence and flip them over as you progress. Tie your pen on with string or elastic so when you drop it you don't need to ask the examiner for another. I designed my own plog with key check lists written down the side so I didn't forget the approach checks

When you Velcro your stopwatch on use one strip of fluffy and one scratchy because there will be lots of velcro in the aircraft usually on the control yoke but you never know if it will be fluffy or scratchy. This way you have it covered.

Have fun, get as much time in the ac as possible including riding in the back. It's all about experience.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I've pretty much settled on a Pooleys trifold kneeboard as the best I've yet found for both VFR and IFR flying, although the model I have seems to be discontinued - this ASA kneeboard (http://www.afeonline.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=367&products_id=3172) seems to be the closest to what I currently use (and possibly slightly nicer).

The A4 horizontal flavour like this (http://www.afeonline.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=367&products_id=3164) personally I find great for long straightforward trips, but starts wondering around the cockpit as soon as I do anything complicated so I've largely stopped using it.

That said, I've also taken to keeping instrument approach plates in a separate A4 folder and have a little collection in my flightbag for the airports I'm most likely to visit. I just print them off the AIP (a personal preference - I can always get online, but can't necessarily get to a copy of Jeppessen), put them in A4 clear sleeves, scribbled on as required, and hold one airport set together with a couple of treasury tags.

Normally carried in my trifold are a chart, checklist, PLOG, visual approach plate(s)/airport diagram(s), 1:500,000 retracting tape-measure, a couple of pages of useful information (LARS frequencies, aeroplane operating speeds), sick bag, two VOR plotters (the spare for when I invariably drop one under the seat en-route) a pen, a pencil, and a chinagraph. The PLOG and checklist are my own design, as is an A5 card of aircraft information based upon the format in this jolly useful book (http://www.afeonline.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=38_218&products_id=2310).

My stopwatch either gets velcroed in front of me somewhere, or hung around my neck.

Well, you asked!

G


N.B. I think I own 6 kneeboards: Single knee transparent, Flylight flexwing, Pooleys helicopter trifold, AFE A4, RAF issue, cheap basic one. Trifold definitely gets the most use, single knee soft transparent is brilliant for easy flights in an open cockpit, RAF issue works in a narrow long cockpit (such as a chipmunk) really well, the really basic one gets given to child passengers with a notepad in to scribble in, AFE A4 is nice for long trips in a roomy cockpit.

[HercFeend]

Thanks again for all the useful stuff.

You're right I did ask and I always appreciated people taking time out to pass on some of their experience. Cheers. :D

[mountain-goat]

Good luck with the IR - I loved it and found it quite rewarding and fun!

Apart from SIM time and actual flying one little 'toy' I did like was Rant XL... My Instructor always used to plug a portable GPS in the cigar lighter plug (decadent IMC flying from Piper Seneca :E)... post the flight I'd quickly wire my laptop to his garmin and download the flight data... stick the NDB frequencies et al in and watch the replay with ADF tracking and flight tracking over the relevant IFR chart/map (with fast forwarding etc).... watching for wideness / gate and inbound corrections etc. Reliving the flight, re-seeing the ADF needle repeat what I saw with a debrief proved a useful aid.

Best regards,

MG