Newsgroups: rec.aviation.ifr
Date: Mon,  9 Nov 1992 16:32:42 -0500 
From: Jeffrey Dunkle <jd5f+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Single "Anything" IFR

After being off the net a few days and coming back to the thread on
"single engine" ifr.....here's a few more perspectives.

I do fly actual IFR in a Skyhawk routinely.  I've encountered light to
moderate ice, approaches to minimums, etc. There are calculated risks
involved in this practice, but there are ways to manage these risks,
most of which have been thoroughly deliberated in this thread.

Radios, alternators, vaccuum pumps, and instruments fail with a good bit
more frequency than the engine itself.  Single engine doesn't mean
single "everything".  The large singles almost all come "stock" or
"frequently optioned" with dual vaccuum sources and dual alternators. 
Mooney even has a dual battery option.  Much of these redundancies can
be mimiced by us Cherokee and Skyhawk drivers.  

Single engine - if it fails, you ARE going to loose altitude.
Management techniques - scrupulous engine maintenance.
     Loran or GPS with nearest airport emergency feature
     Higher practical altitude for "glide".
     Knowing surface winds so you head into them during engine out
decent          when all else fails.

Single vaccuum source - Flying a single engine airplane with only one
vaccuum source, especially a dry vaccuum pump is just plain
dumb.....these units fail about every 700 hours, so at least, as has
been noted, a Precise Flight alternate vaccuum source should be
installed.

Single alternator - Electrical/radio failure.  Flash lights (always have
several) and a hand held nav com.  Another "ideal" back up would be the
Garman GPS 100 AVD, their data base pannel mounted unit.  Its the only
pannel mounted GPS or loran with a built in nicad and will run for about
3 hours after power failure.  The alternator and battery can "fall off"
the airplane, and you could navigate to safety.  (This is also true of
other portable lorans/GPSs, of course).

Single copies of each gyro.  I trust if you're reading this net you at
least know which gyros are electric, which are vaccuum, and why, in your
plane.  If you don't, don't fly again till you do.  If a gyro fails, vs
its power source, the best insurance is frequent partial pannel
practice.  Get stick-on covers for the gages and have your hood time
buddy whip 'em out when you least expect it.  Instrument covers are also
a wise tool to have when you do have a gyro failure for real.  Covering
the offending gage assures its out of your scan.

Single "flight plan".  Always know which direction to go to get to the
nearest VFR weather.  Having an alternate strategy when things go to
heck is a must.

So, even though you only fly with one engine, most other "single"
devices which are involved in the process don't have to cause you great
difficulty.  About 5 years ago, my flying club lost a Skyhawk, though
all aboard survived virtually unhurt, when an alternator failed during
solid IMC.  The pilot load shed his electricals and continued till
battery power was almost gone, making radio navigation impossible (given
the onboard equipment).  He found a small hole in the overcast, got
below at about 400 feet agl, and made an elective emergency landing in a
field.  The plane flipped when the soft ground "grabbed" the wheels. 
Today, with portble nav coms and other devices, it would be possible to
safely navigate to an aiport under such an emergency.  This is an
example of a statistically more likely scenerio than an engine failure.

Jeff Dunkle