PPL (A) With (IR)
 

Hi all,

I have just a PPL. I’m 22 and passed in march on 46 hours INC my night rating. I have no desire to become an airline pilot nor do I have to any desire to become an instructor.

I own a warrior PA28-161 and since I have passed I’m now on 125 hours. I have done 7 trips to 3 different airfields in France and I have also been to the channel islands twice. Also two weeks ago I flew to Carlisle from Fairoaks which inc Heathrow SVFR and two zone transits over major airfields each way.

My point is.... I’m getting bored now! Not so much bored but id like to move on to bigger and faster aircraft.

Is it worth me getting my IR? I don’t want an IMC as I understand the future for it is bleak?

Any advice would be welcomed?

Hello!

If you want to avoid boredom, IFR flying is probably not the right thing to do... straight and level along predefined routes all the time. And all the clouds in the world look exactly the same from inside (with the exception of some CBs maybe).
Learing to fly IFR is certainly demanding, but once you have mastered the thing, it really hasen't much to offer, anti-boredom-vise! (Even instructing IFR is boring most of the time, but it pays better.)

Greetings, Max

Ever tried aerobatics?

You need to move to a smaller aircraft instead of bigger, while keeping the power at least equal to what you've got now, but it can be great fun. Particularly if you've got a goal to work towards, e.g. competition aerobatics.

The IR would only really come in handy if you've got somewhere on the continent to go to regularly.
You're only 22 and already own an aircraft, so I'm guessing that a family or friend's home in Switzerland , Spain, Southern France, Italy etc might be common destinations, in which case it'll be very useful to have IR.
Or perhaps regular business trips to these places might feature in your future?
Otherwise, aerobatics might well be the next step for you young man....

If you have a decent IFR-capable and airways equipped plane, have the ample time to do the JAA PPL/IR, and want to go places seriously, then get the IR. It transforms European touring capability, reducing the random-planned trip cancellation rate from about 75% for pure VFR to about 25%, and this is reduced further if you have de-ice, radar, a decent operating ceiling (say 25,000ft), etc.

Go for aeros if your bored:} Your young, theres plenty of time for touring.

You could also go to Como and do an amphibious course and go tearing round the alps hitting land and water options.

A lot will depend on your budget. If you are lucky enough not to have any concerns here then why not do both.

Money aside, the only limit is your imagination.:ok:

I'm a fan of IR, so I won't discourage you. But you can also try many other things:

1. Training for complex endorsement
2. Tailwheel
3. Aerobatics

Or fly to other destinations: why not go more to the south, and fly in the Alps. Flying with other pilot is also a great help to fight boredom (and reduce costs...).

Hope this helps.

Try something else - Fighting boredom | Plastic Pilot

Thanks so far guys! Maybe i should have been a little clearer.

Within the next 18 months or so i will be buying a new aircraft. either a brand new:

-Piper meridian
-TBM 850 (not new)

Or any other fast single.

with this i would like to tour europ. now do you think the IR is a good idea?

regards

Definitely.

Although it surprises me that someone who is 22, had "only" 125 hours experience, would already know exactly his flying habits and invest in those kinds of planes. There must be more to your story.


(Or maybe it's just envy...)

lol Maybe so!

However it is an ambition and i intent to live it! Ok next! How does the IR work? theory exams? How many? ect ect

thanks again

eugegall, with all due respect, if you are really getting bored, are you sure flying is the right thing for you? i'm not trying to moralise, there is in fact an objective problem here: more often than not, a bored person will either start deliberately taking ever-increasing risks, or gradually lose the sense of curiosity, which really amounts to a loss of lookout. some talented people manage to do both at once. the outcome is often fatal. having been in a very similar situation myself, i am not trying to dissuade you from flying, but in your situation, the best course you can take now is not IR but flight safety and risk management.

As an old lag who did the IMCR, and an (FAA) IR, I would say "What are your ambitions?" What would stimulate you?

Drilling holes in clouds can get very boring very quickly. As someone said, the inside of one cloud looks very like the inside of another. But - with the IR you can fly through the clag over "home airfield", and off into the bright sunlight of somewhere else. I've done that many times. If it's hissing down with rain at home and at proposed destination, I usually don't bother to go.

If seeing the world is your thing, sightseeing from aircraft, and visiting places, can be brilliant. For me, flying over the Grand Canyon, and around Arizona and California, landing at Sedona and the like, is fantastic. I remember landing at Palm Springs, wife and me deciding it was too hot (35 degrees C), so we took off again, and landed at Big Bear City, 8000-ish feet up in the mountains, where it was around 20 C.

I've had as much fun in a taildragger landing in fields on Exmoor. It's a different sort of fun. I'd do both, but certainly don't see a high-tech glass cockpit as the ultimate flying machine. I fly an old Arrow, and that is ideal for 90% of the time.

Sounds to me as if you should try rotating wings for a complete change! Much more versatile...

Or go open cockpit for some seat of the pants stuff - you won't get bored in a Tiger Moth in a crosswind!

Cheers,
WW

Instrument flying is some of the most demanding and rewarding you can do. If you are getting the type of equip you mention above (MSFS maybe?!!) then it's a waste flying that around without an IR.

remember landing at Palm Springs, wife and me deciding it was too hot (35 degrees C), so we took off again, and landed at Big Bear City, 8000-ish feet up in the mountains, where it was around 20 C

I did just this a couple of months ago. Left Torrance where it was 22 degrees, landed at Big Bear for breakfast where it was 8 degrees then round to Palm Springs where it was 43 degrees! All in less than three hours flying at 100kts.

eugegall
 

An IR is only good if you stay current. I fly a glass cockpit aircraft and I think I would have trouble trying to IMC a Seneca etc. into somewhere on raw data.

Although, its great you are considering building your skills and of course then you could fly in class A airspace (SVFR taken into account).

You should do what Ive always wanted..... Safari flying in SA.

Sounds like you have the money!

(Totally irrelevant post I know, just jealous....)

Lets be practical about this.......

To be frank, you wouldn't get insurance on a TBM850 without an IR and with your number of hours - (in JARLand a Type Rating). You would need to employ a pilot to fly your TBM850 and you could sit in the right seat, but the time wouldn't count unless they were an instructor. In that case you wouldn't need an IR. Why not just charter the plane when you need, and sit in the back drinking Gin and Tonic?

Not surprised you're bored with the PA28 - 161 - it is a boring aeroplane (no offence ;)) Get something with a bit more power (250HP) , a bit faster (150+ kts) and build your experience. When you have 1000 hrs and an IR then get your TBM850, or VLJ.

I am surprised that someone who already owns their own aircraft with your ambition and resources asks such a question here:confused:.

So I'm your wife now, am I Keef!

M might have a view on that..................

Cusco.:rolleyes::rolleyes: