As a student I was crap at instrument flying, failed three instrument rating flight checks at the first attempt (one each on the Jet Provost, Hawk and Phantom) and barely scraped through flying training and the operational conversion unit. Was finally found out after joining a Phantom Squadron and trying to qualify for "phase three visual indents" which means closing on an intruder at night with no lights displayed and at any height, heading or speed, so that the navigator could identify the type and take pictures with a night vision camera. On command from the Nav (guy in back) using the radar, I was meant to adjust height/heading /speed by a few tens of feet/couple of degrees or couple of knots to achieve close(ish) formation. Not possible at 600 knots and 500 feet over the sea at night if your instrument flying technique is poor and you resort to "chasing needles" like what I was doing.
Long story short, I re-taught myself to fly the same way on instruments that I did visually i.e. Set a sensible attitude and power (control instruments) and trim. Let it settle before doing anything else. Then check the performance instrument (altimeter, heading, speed) using a selective radial scan with the AI central to see if it was working. If not, diagnose what was wrong and make a small, considered, correction. In fairness - I had been taught all this during training but forgotten it amongst all the other stuff a student pilot has to learn on an intensive course!
So my tip would be to leave out the hood/foggles/visor for a while and compare visual flying with instrument flying techniques until your student can replicate straight and level, straight climbs and descents, level turns and level acceleration/deceleration. Keep emphasising attitude/power/trim (control) and the selective radial scan (monitoring performance). Keep each lesson fairly short as suggested by Bob, then start to make it fun by challenging your student to complete a series of pattern flying including climbing, turning, accelerating, decelerating and descending - all to specific altitudes, headings, speeds etc.
all the best,
BJ
Last edited by Black Jake; 8th Apr 2020 at 18:13.