After 7 months 15 hours airbourne and countless hours updating on Pprune,
I Passed
But it nearly didn't happen.
Both our 152's were in maintenance and were likely to be for some time. Typical that an ideal day 8/8ths cloud from 2000' to 4300' with 8 to 9 kt steady westerley should start with such a damnation of a hiccup.
So I took the opportunity to get a quick practice in, leapt in the idle PA28R with wobbly prop and hidy wheels and went up for 20 minutes. It was my first time in a complex single, and wow what a stable and quick beast it was. By the time I had the gear up and the engine set up for a cruise climb I had missed the crosswind turn and was at 1000' doing 90kts and still going skywards. Lesson 2 was that a Cessna can easily be flow without good trimming because brute strength fixes such a trivial problem' not so with an aircraft this weight and speed. Keeping to the plan I shot out to the Daventry Vor having climbed to VMC ontop skimming just above the clouds at 130 kts. In no time at all, turned back north and got a RIS and vectors back into the ILS for 23. Apart from the actual engine fiddling this plane is far easier to fly IMC. It is so stable that you don't have to hand fly it as much and can more easily regain spare capacity. Which really was needed for learning a bit about how to handle the engine. The radio kit and instruments are far better and the airframe carries significant momentum and inertia so that give or take a bit it stays where you put it. Even the extra 30 kts over the 152 didn't seem to cause too much drama, but then I wasn't under that much pressure as this was a little bit of a jolly rather than the tense end of a long flight. We even completed an orbit halfway down the ILS to seperate from other traffic before continuing to land. I want one.
Sometime later came the test.
Our 152 was primed and ready, I was primed and err... ready as I'll ever be.
Airbourne at our more pedestrian rate, the plan was to depart from the downwind via the CT NDB then routing for Leicester for their unofficial NDB approach to 28. So far so good, 1400' heading straight for the CT when due to incoming traffic ATC request we route North for a bit. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
That's not in the plan. I'm not at a beacon, rather in open airspace and you want me to fly and navigate to anther area of open space not directly to or from any beacons. Oh alright. I turned North and clear of Birmingham CTA started to climb to 3000'. The 65 kts in the climb meant we would get out of ATC's way both laterally and vertically without going miles off track. It worked because a few minutes later we were cleared to resume our course and so I flew a 090 course to intercept the 050 CT radial. Bingo, there is was coming in from the right, off to jolly Leicester we go. Getting rid of Coventry over the M1, I changed to Leicester, tuned in their NDB and plodded along at 90kts. Through the overhead and then straight into the NDB approach. Throughout, I made sure that I tried to keep the Nav boxes 1 step ahead/ Leicester is virtually under the approach for Coventry 23 so I tuned in the ILS so I could have the DME from there. With the NDB and the DME I could readily keep tabs on my whereabouts. I broke cloud at about 1700', but had been given the hood so that I flew down to minima of 600'agl. On looking up, the runway was there. I had gone for the hardest approach and nailed it, but this was too early to get excited. Into a go around, I climbed out and intercepted the 180 QDM for Daventry. Back into the gloop and no need for the hood. I got level at 3000' and immediately had a partial panel to deal with. Partial panel is tough, but tracking a VOR on partial panel always makes me sweat. We climbed to 4000' on partial panel and went for DTY. The sense of achievement in getting there is great, but unlike the PA28R every lump and bump in the cloud was conspiring to upset my attempts to keep the 152 stable. Single engine light aircraft IMC with basic radio nav equipment and no autopilot must surely be one of the more demanding disciplines in aviation. It is pure hand flying with attention to detail, and accuracy working hand in hand with navigation and airmanship. I was beginning to really enjoy this flight.
A few more bits of messing around and Coventry even then obliged with a second set of radar vectors to the ILS. Compared to the NDB this was quite simple, the result being a 152 set up nicely at 500'agl to land. So nothing out of the ordinary, it all went like clockwork.
At the start of this thread I could barely aviate on instruments and certainly couldn't navigate or communicate. Now I can do all 3 together VMC or IMC. The stamp in my logbook proves it and the bill to the CAA makes it official.
On the drive home I asked myself a few questions:
A) Did I enjoy it?
Yes.
B) Would I recommend anyone else do it as early in their flying experience as I did?
Maybe. The learning and skill is far more demanding than you can envisage from the outset. 15 hours is tight and in reality is too little for what you become qualified to do. Likewise doing it soon after a PPL reinforces and builds upon the foundations of power and attitude equals performance. Being a good VFR pilot will not necessarily make it easier because the environment is quite different, and an IMCR is not really something to embark on if you just "wanna try something else". Trust me it is a long and hard graft.
C) Was it worth it?
For me yes. But currency and professionalism will take up a major part of making the rating work for me and again this should never be underestimated.
My deepest thanks to those who have stuck with me throughout this thread. When I started out one of my objectives was that it may benefit others who consider or start down the path of an IMCR. If it does then I'm glad. Otherwise I hope it has been as enjoyable a read as it has been for me to complete:
Now where are those clouds.
Obs cop