IFR Navigating Flight Preperation

[Capt Wally]

Oh another tool that should be used whenever possible is the auto pilot, assuming you have one that's serviceable. Use it to fly the sector entry (with yr inout obviously) if needed whilst perhaps sorting out traffic etc. Lots of traffic during a test of training whilst actually in VMC but under th hood do as I mentioned above, USE yr instructor/examiner where possible. The autopilot will fly a lot better than a human will so don't be a 'hero' & think you can do better.
Sure you will need to hand fly a lot during yr training also but in the real world of IF flying most use the autopilot to it's fullest extent.

And as far as IFR being easier than VFR? Well to some degree yes it can be (what you can't see won't hurt you) but when it's as rough as guts, 3am & yr hand flying a fair dinkum NDB to the min (cause the autopilot said "do it yourself I'm going home!) is where the above statement is crap!

BTW 'chimba' I've not used a prayer/whiz wheel in years, sad? not really just smarter, you see few use Abacus machines now since they invented the calculator I see little muse for such tools in todays modern IFR environment esspecially with GPS now becoming the norm for LRN.


CW

[MACH082]

Yeah i hear you Capt and i can relate many experiences flying down to the approach minima with plenty of RPT around although, how often does this happen? once in a blue moon? You can manage to spend a bit of time cruising in IMC, but you usually pop out will before you hit the 25nm MSA. If your at flight levels, most of the time you are above it, and the "stuff" that is up there, is "stuff" you don't want to be anywhere near!

Think of it another way, VFR charter ops you will still be flying in the same weather as the IFR boys are, I would rather be "in it" with training and procedure for a safe let down with ATC support and flight following, than VFR, smashing around below it, or heaven forbid "in it" as seems to be a common occurance since the introduction of accessable GPS for VFR pilots these days.

You can make it as hard as you want, or as easy as you want. The choice is yours!

[Capt Wally]

Also I hear you 'Mach' Fair comments.

Remember though VFR is based on far less regs meaning less to be concerned about. Also means no icing considerations, no dealing with VFR traffic once you pop out of the soup, meaning being visual in the first place you have a better chance of seeing 'farmer brown' b4 you meet head to head with him rather than at the base of the cloud if flying via the IFR. And as far as rarely doing appr's to the min? (as in once in a blue moon) Well recently I spent a week in Tassie doing some relief flying (all IFR obvioulsy) & all but say 3 approaches where real & a few I missed out on. At night every appr to an airfield was via some sort of appr often in & out of cloud. I don't know whether it's me or not but I do numerous Appr's week in week out.
The only time I believe VFR flying is harder is when your faced with WX that's not strictly VFR & yr under commercial pressure to complete the task, but then again one shouldn't be there finding themselves in that situation now should they?.
Anyway each to their own beliefs, the two rules are there for good reasons. VFR is easy I believe mostly because the eyes & what they see outside the cockpit are our most valuable tools in the decision making process


CW

p.s...........just remembered. A good little handy hint to have stored in the back of yr mind is lock in the highest LSALT in Oz, call it 8000', (you may want to modify that if yr right over Mt Kosy) an ALT that will never have you hit any 'real estate'. That way should you ever find yourself above this, (sometimes in a piston most times in a turbine) & if you need to decend quickly for any sort of reason or if yr at high flt lvl's & you have been snoozing away then it's a good starting point on the way down' 'till you figure out a lower LSALT. In Tassie 7000' works ok as a rough guide.


CW

[haveblue]

I would say read every book you can find on multi engine, single pilot IFR flying. I would start with the jepp manaul, and read the terminal section and how it applies to you as a pilot. Eg when can I descend below LSALT?, how much obstacle clearance is provided in a missed approach, or at the 25nm MSA etc. Break it down into something you can understand so you know what you can and cant do. Wait till your flying a baron/c310 etc into an ALA at night, you want to be sure when you can go below LSALT, MDA etc.

Besides the jeppos, I recommend "Weather Flying" by Robert N Buck, and "Multi Engine Flight Manual For Professional Pilots" by John Chesterfield and Peter Hay. These two books to name a few helped me alot.

Start simple. IFR training is meant to build on your VFR training. Its still heading and time. Its still straight and level, or a descending turn etc, just that the descending turn might have a limitation on it which says you cant go any lower until your established.

Enjoy

[Tmbstory]

IFR navigating flight preparation.

ksa5223:

From the time that Australia first allowed Single Pilot IFR Commuter operations in 1967, I was involved.

Keep it simple and concise, I used an "A5" size knee pad with a template covered with stick on plastic and and a chinograph pencil to record the necessary information, clearances etc, for the flight. A route data card system was also used together with performance data. All in "A5" size.

You must have a clip system on the control column to hold the necessary card when you are ready to use it.

I was the greatest advocate for Single Pilot Operations in those days, however as years went by, I changed my views in favour of Multi- Crew Operation.

If you are interested in the formats used in those days let me know and I will scan some for you.

Tmb

[flighterpilot]

Lots of good advice here.

Caution: At least one Instrument testing officer I know frowns upon writing nav or com radio info on flightplans and cheat sheets. He has a point, one day you most likely WILL make a mistake copying it. Some may argue this would be easy to recover from (by looking at the appropriate chart) but this forum is about reducing mistakes and keeping ahead of the aircraft.

All for Chimbu's suggestions, though, make sure nothing is on top of the instrument panel during takeoff and landing. They often fall and the tidiest of paper piles will be very messy very fast.

Good luck!

[Centaurus]

Caution: At least one Instrument testing officer I know frowns upon writing nav or com radio info on flightplans and cheat sheets.

This character should be told to pull his head in. Where you write and what you write on a flight plan or a piece of paper has nothing to do with him.

[Capt Wally]

Don't forget these testing officers are no different to any other serving IFR line pilot. They are only there to test (because they have jumped thru the hoops) for a certain 'standard' where the regs/rules are concerned, not so much how you go about achieving that unless yr in a C&T (CAR217) environment where SOP's are or should be strictly adhered to. I reckon everyone does things differently in the cockpit especially in the chrt world single pilot. As long as it works for you & you get the job done safely.



CW

[MACH082]

I concur CW

Having said that, find the SOP's that you will be operating under later in your career and adopt them into your flying as early as possible, good habits are easy to learn, old bad habits are hard to break, especially when under pressure.

An advanced flight training school like Ad-astral is the place to go for airline style SOP's in your instrument training, i also recommend reading any literature you can get your hands on from the flight safety foundation, their publications are worth their weight in gold, especially in regards to stabilized approaches and other SOP's. They also have much information available for download on the net.

[FRQ Charlie Bravo]

Instrument Technique

Quick edit note: All references are to the plates becoming effective 20 NOV 08.

Hi everybody,

With reference to the Perth RWY 03 ILS/LOC-Y and ILS/LOC-Z approach plates (-Y refers to using the DME from PH ILS and -Z refers to using DME from the IPN LOC) am I correct in assuming that there is no instruction as to which plate to use other than simply to join the 03 ILS? Without an approved GPS they'd have to know that I had more than one DME receiver onboard.

So if an aeroplane is equipped with only one DME receiver (the VOR/ILS) how does the pilot fly the Alice Springs ILS RWY 12 as the only DME I can see is paired with the VOR? (See the lack of a DME listed in the IAS LOC freq box.) How does this relate to the "NAVAID RQ: DME (LOC ONLY)" note at top right?

Also with the Alice Springs approach there is a note:

FROM VOR/NDB, INTERCEPT & TRACK LOC 295deg OUTBOUND. 30 SEC AFTER CROSSING GP COMMENCE PROC TURN.

. Assuming that GP is for Glide Path (AIP GEN 2.2); that is a cool procedure!

OK lastly to my problem of intercepting the LOC from a DME Arc at a reasonable DME dist without using the ADF (recently attempting it on MS Flight Sim). Looking at the PH ILS RWY 24 plate if joining from the 10 DME Arc the Lead Radial is 073deg PH (the LOC azimuth is 240 the reverse of which is 060). Flying it in a Baron (PERF CAT B) I tend to either fly right through full scale deflection on the LOC or to turn too early/too sharply that when I finally get to the LOC the GS is well below me (couldn't descend below 2500 so must intercept no closer than 8.6 DME). From my training I remember hearing that the Lead Radial was designed for AC with a much larger turning radius but I can't seem to recall the trick we were taught to get it right.

Cheers,

~FRQ CB

[FRQ Charlie Bravo]

Reposted as part of another more appropriately titled thread: Some IFR Questions

FRQ CB