IMC rating, and encouragement to try it.
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IMC rating, and encouragement to try it.
I passed my IMC skills test recently.
Low hours and fairly un-current, I jumped in at the deep end, booked an IMC course, and did it over a reasonably intense period of about about 2 months, including self-study for the exam. I won’t bore anyone with the trials and tribulations of the course itself (unless anyone’s particularly interested), apart from to say that I found it ‘quite challenging’ (read hard), and really rewarding. I came out of it a better pilot for sure, and with a new set of skills.
My main reason for posting though, is to encourage anyone that hasn’t had any real instrument training or experience (like me before I started the course), to try and get some - even if it’s just a few hours with an instructor - and ideally in real IMC.
Staying out of cloud, and not flying beyond your experience or in iffy weather is really drummed into you during the PPL, but there’s nothing like actually experiencing it to hammer the message home. Weather prediction isn’t 100% reliable, and probably even more so for inexperienced pilots, and life being cruel as it is means that despite best efforts to avoid it, you might just inadvertently end up in IMC one day.
Even after about 15 hours flying under the hood, a couple of flights with an instructor in ‘proper’ IMC brought home everything I needed to know about the realities of being in cloud for a reasonable duration. It’s really hard work! Even with the basic IMC training! Especially in something with a panel like an average training aircraft, it’s so easy to see how things can go so wrong so quickly, and how doubt and panic could start to set in as you try and make sense out of load of dials and radio navaids. If I’m being honest with myself, I don’t think I would have been prepared for even a 180 degree turn in IMC had it ever presented itself prior to my IMC training. Unless I popped back out fairly immediately, I would have been relying on the gods being on my side to a large degree.
Fear factor stuff aside, it’s really fun flying down an ILS, and it’s amazing flying through and breaking out of clouds when it’s carefully done within your level of ability!
If you’ve got the means, get yourself an instructor and try it out. If you haven’t, maybe try and accompany an IR pilot on a flight in IMC. You won’t regret it.
And as a bonus, if you do it soon you can even have an IMC rating while it lasts!
Whatever happens to the IMC rating in the future, I do hope that this ‘achievable’ type of instrument training/rating will continue in some form. I know some ‘real’ IR pilots seem to be a bit upset about the IMC course and its contents, but the fact that it might just be enough to keep you safe one day makes it a no brainer in my mind.
Perhaps the AOPA can adopt it in a similar way to their Aerobatics courses, or maybe schools can make up their own ‘instrument awareness’ courses or something? And if the more achievable Euro IR ends up becoming a reality, I’ll be first in the queue to get mine. And if they actually let you land as well, even better!
(If anyone wants any advice on taking the course, PM me and I’l be glad to help.)
Low hours and fairly un-current, I jumped in at the deep end, booked an IMC course, and did it over a reasonably intense period of about about 2 months, including self-study for the exam. I won’t bore anyone with the trials and tribulations of the course itself (unless anyone’s particularly interested), apart from to say that I found it ‘quite challenging’ (read hard), and really rewarding. I came out of it a better pilot for sure, and with a new set of skills.
My main reason for posting though, is to encourage anyone that hasn’t had any real instrument training or experience (like me before I started the course), to try and get some - even if it’s just a few hours with an instructor - and ideally in real IMC.
Staying out of cloud, and not flying beyond your experience or in iffy weather is really drummed into you during the PPL, but there’s nothing like actually experiencing it to hammer the message home. Weather prediction isn’t 100% reliable, and probably even more so for inexperienced pilots, and life being cruel as it is means that despite best efforts to avoid it, you might just inadvertently end up in IMC one day.
Even after about 15 hours flying under the hood, a couple of flights with an instructor in ‘proper’ IMC brought home everything I needed to know about the realities of being in cloud for a reasonable duration. It’s really hard work! Even with the basic IMC training! Especially in something with a panel like an average training aircraft, it’s so easy to see how things can go so wrong so quickly, and how doubt and panic could start to set in as you try and make sense out of load of dials and radio navaids. If I’m being honest with myself, I don’t think I would have been prepared for even a 180 degree turn in IMC had it ever presented itself prior to my IMC training. Unless I popped back out fairly immediately, I would have been relying on the gods being on my side to a large degree.
Fear factor stuff aside, it’s really fun flying down an ILS, and it’s amazing flying through and breaking out of clouds when it’s carefully done within your level of ability!
If you’ve got the means, get yourself an instructor and try it out. If you haven’t, maybe try and accompany an IR pilot on a flight in IMC. You won’t regret it.
And as a bonus, if you do it soon you can even have an IMC rating while it lasts!
Whatever happens to the IMC rating in the future, I do hope that this ‘achievable’ type of instrument training/rating will continue in some form. I know some ‘real’ IR pilots seem to be a bit upset about the IMC course and its contents, but the fact that it might just be enough to keep you safe one day makes it a no brainer in my mind.
Perhaps the AOPA can adopt it in a similar way to their Aerobatics courses, or maybe schools can make up their own ‘instrument awareness’ courses or something? And if the more achievable Euro IR ends up becoming a reality, I’ll be first in the queue to get mine. And if they actually let you land as well, even better!
(If anyone wants any advice on taking the course, PM me and I’l be glad to help.)
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I'm just about at the end of my PPL training and would love to do the IMCr before April but until I know what's happening rather than conjecture I'm loath to part with the 3k or so it will cost me, and yes I know even if it doesn't get grandfathered it will make me a better pilot etc.
but until I know what's happening rather than conjecture I'm loath to part with the 3k or so it will cost me
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Write to your MEP to stop it
it will be too late...
That, Mr. Thing and Mr. VFR-UK, is why you should look up who the MEP's of your constituency are, which ones are members of the EP TRAN Committee and start writing to them NOW.
In a few weeks' time, they will receive translations of the hated FCL draft proposal (which will be detrimental to the IMC-rating, in spite of a hollow promises - a Führer's guarantee called by some on this forum) and might then reject it by formulating a resolution for objection.
You should CC Mr. Said El Khadraoui (BEL, Labour) in your mails, as he is the so called "Rapporteur" for this topic in the TRAN Committee.
Good luck with the writing and soft landings !
PP.
Last edited by proudprivate; 28th Jun 2011 at 15:08. Reason: article number of the BR was the wrong one
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Couldn't agree more.
There should have been a regulatory continuity i.e. the FCL008 IR delivered first, and only after that mess around with the dual paper requirement.
But obviously the reason why EASA is doing it the other way round is precisely because they want to screw the N-reg community (incl the FAA-based bizjet scene), as a private project of several individuals in there.
Another possible reason why they are doing it that way round might be because they think the FCL008 IR is going to ultimately fail (i.e. the setting up of the committee was a bit of a hollow gesture to placate the IFR community) so if they waited for the FCL008 IR they would never be able to attack the N-reg community... Gosh, if I can think of that while writing this, how far ahead do you think they are in Brussels?
There should have been a regulatory continuity i.e. the FCL008 IR delivered first, and only after that mess around with the dual paper requirement.
But obviously the reason why EASA is doing it the other way round is precisely because they want to screw the N-reg community (incl the FAA-based bizjet scene), as a private project of several individuals in there.
Another possible reason why they are doing it that way round might be because they think the FCL008 IR is going to ultimately fail (i.e. the setting up of the committee was a bit of a hollow gesture to placate the IFR community) so if they waited for the FCL008 IR they would never be able to attack the N-reg community... Gosh, if I can think of that while writing this, how far ahead do you think they are in Brussels?
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That, Mr. Thing and Mr. VFR-UK, is why you should look up who the MEP's of your constituency are, which ones are members of the EP TRAN Committee and start writing to them NOW.
Isn't this the kind of thing that the various aviation organisations/bodies are meant to be doing for us? Wouldn't this be something more suited to the AOPA, CAA, or even flying schools and flying publications? Surely they would be best placed to coordinate efforts?
I support a lot of charities, and although I admit its a bit lazy, they mostly do all the leg work for you, so that you can easily voice your opinion to exactly the right people, with exactly the right message. It's a shame there's no equivalent for aviation issues.
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VFR
I've just sent you a PM.
That would be the ideal situation. However, many of these organisations have very different agendas and don't mind backstabbing each other at every opportunity.
EASA and the Commission have cleverly exploited this division, even by luring some CAA and DoT civil servants with the prospect of a lucrative contract at EASA in Cologne or doing Regulatory Supervisory work for EASA in some Central European States with European Regional Development Money.
In addition, the Flight Schools hope to gain a little bit more aviation schooling business, even if this is to the complete detriment of the aviation Community.
The only group over which EASA and the Commission have no (complete) control is the European Parliament and its Transport Committee. That is why the individual pilot community should be mobilized and have its voice heard.
Isn't this the kind of thing that the various aviation organisations/bodies are meant to be doing for us? Wouldn't this be something more suited to the AOPA, CAA, or even flying schools and flying publications? Surely they would be best placed to coordinate efforts?
EASA and the Commission have cleverly exploited this division, even by luring some CAA and DoT civil servants with the prospect of a lucrative contract at EASA in Cologne or doing Regulatory Supervisory work for EASA in some Central European States with European Regional Development Money.
In addition, the Flight Schools hope to gain a little bit more aviation schooling business, even if this is to the complete detriment of the aviation Community.
The only group over which EASA and the Commission have no (complete) control is the European Parliament and its Transport Committee. That is why the individual pilot community should be mobilized and have its voice heard.
