Plan well ahead when you are a long long way from home, and at nine miles a minute do not :mad: up!!!!

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...ayfromhome.jpg

Its a skill that you aquire, it helps if you have beer gut though.

Joking aside cracking pic.

How stable was the lightning as an instrument platform?

Very. Quite a delightful aeroplane to fly, and steady as a rock in close formation.

......and all that t h r u s t.........:ok:

You did say at over 1000mph ..... how long at that continuous speed before your fuel goes ? ;)

Challenging job, well done :ok:

Depends on the model. The F6 off a tanker would hold that speed for long enough to catch something subsonic or at very high altitude where the zoom climb needed to be executed.

Challenging job?

Not as much as low level strike/attack with the Jaguar.

I kept getting behind the curve on the ME/IR until I changed instructor who taught me one of his his own mnemonics. Of course there are no end of mnemonics for the IR, but I found this one very useful.It is especially useful before top of descent and again as an approach check in case you forgot anything.

ABCDEF!

A=ATIS/weather
B=Briefing (what am I doing, what do I do next, then next?)

This also includes official briefings eg approach briefing to self & instructor before top of descent

C=Comms & Nav set+approach procedure
D=Descent profile
E=Zone entry
F=Fuel plog/sufficient for holding+diversion etc
G=Go-around procedure
H=Hold procedure (if relevant)

Good luck!

I'll second what Itlldoatrip said about talking out loud.

The examiner can't hear what is going on in your head, but if you are speaking your thought process, then he knows that you know what is happening, even if you make a mistake but you recognise you have, if you are talking out aloud it can make all the difference to a pass/partial/fail if you then work to correct it and say what your doing.

Instrument Flying Tips
 

Cheers for the tips! I think I am sick of hearing the sound of my own internal voice now, but the process seems to be coming together! The ABCDE procedure suggested by kala87 is good. At first theres a lot to consider in the decent before an airfield and over waypoints, however ive found writing the mnemonics on the side of my IFR log very very handy!
Nuke hunt, your suggestion about speaking out allowed during the testing is a helpful, however I did this duing my CPL test, and after the test which was a pass, he said that he didn't really like it, and explaining what was going on was more of a nuisance to the guy, - so since then, I don't usually speak aloud whats going on in my head. If there are any examiners reading this, then please feel free to comment?
But thanks for the feedback anyway guys!

PPP etc, etc
 

Think ahead, plan ahead, is essential.

As you progress up the ladder the aircraft gets faster the brain get slower.

Remember regardless of the speed, 1 minute is always 1 minute, so always tinink in terms of tiem and not distance or speed.

Whne on a flight, or worse still a check ride...if you are not busy you should be... there will never be a moments stillness on your check ride, check and double check...think ahead...... and perhaps the most important of all, ALWAYS revaildate ALTIMETER settings, at every critical moment.

If Single Pilot, I always talk to myself out loud,,, it is what you do when multiple crew...it does work, trust me, I am a pilot.

In general a test is failed not because you make a mistake, but because you either hope it was not spotted, and thus have got away with it. OR try to bluff yourself out of the problem.

Stay ahead and keep alive.

glf

Break all your tasks down into small bits. If you're setting up for a procedure don't get your head down and do everything, only to look up and find yourself 150ft high and 5 degrees off heading.

Check you have the correct plate, fly the aeroplane, tune in your first frequency, fly the aeroplane, verify the frequency, fly the aeroplane, set up your inbound course, fly the aeroplane etc etc

I was taught very early on to learn to fly with one hand, if you can use just one hand to turn onto new headings, roll out, maintain altitude then you free up your other hand (which is normally holding a pen/pencil) to scribble clearances down, tune radios, grab airways charts etc, and if you can do that while maintaining a rate 1 it can help you stay "ahead of the aeroplane".

The IR is all about cockpit management.