FFF,
Thanks for your comments. They are valid and I think you are valid in questioning the points I made. I note you have probably passed your ATPLs, congratulations, they were hard enough,
and would I be correct in guessing you may not yet have had the pleasure of the CAAFU IR examiner yet.
I don't want this to turn into a tit for tat posting but I stand by the points I made. No-one I went throught the course with relished a gusty or a VFR day for the test for the two reasons I mentioned. I'm trying to save you money and heartache. The average retest costs 3000 pounds including retraining not including the initial 10,000 for the training.
I agree that the hard stuff should be covered in training to prepare you for real life but believe me when you meet Mr or Ms CAAFU you want the whole world to be going your way. It would be naive to underestimate the pressure and sheer expense involved in passing this test. I have not yet met a person who has done the IRT who has said it was a doddle. Remember the intial pass rate is 50% or less.
Everyone I have spoken to that has been throught the IRT, this includes airline pilots and IR renewal examiners, has said life gets easier from then on. This includes actual IFR flying and renewal rests .
The whole test is hard and anything that puts it in your favour is to be welcomed. Believe me the CAAFU guys will not let you pass if you are not good enough. There is no such thing as getting a bye on this test.
Taking all of this into account if you can make the test easier with reduced radio pressure and calm conditions then do it.
I sincerely hope that your IR goes swimmingly , and I do hope you get a first time pass. But its very hard.