From: reece@eco.twg.com (Reece R. Pollack)
Subject: Re: Logging time for the Inst
Reply-To: reece@eco.twg.com (Reece R. Pollack)
Organization: The Wollongong Group (East Coast Operations)
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 92 20:30:58 GMT


In article <4675.164.uupcb@ssr.com>, dick.zeitlin%acc1bbs@ssr.com (Dick Zeitlin)  writes:
|>RS> .Foreground -- so what's the learned opinion on logged time requirements fo
|>  > .Instrument rating? Do I really need only a minimum of about 9 hours instru
|>  > .instruction to meet all IFR instruction requirements? [this question does
|>  > .ask if I need only a MAXIMUM of 9 hours...]. Is buying a package deal such
|>  > .the above as bad an idea as I think it is? Can one count student training
|>  > .instrument time toward Instrument rating requirements as well?
|>
|>Pragmatically, it doesn't matter what the FARs say... It matters what
|>the DE says.  Discuss it with the DE that'll do your checkride, and
|>see what he says.  When it comes checkride time, you're really not going
|>to want to argue the point with him, are you?
|>
|>My own philosophy is that it doesn't pay to skimp in any way on IFR
|>training.  Far more than VFR, if there's a hole in your training, it's a
|>potential killer...  There's far less margin when you're solo and ATC
|>starts vectoring you around the sky near cumulogranite when you're on
|>the gages.
|>
|>FWIW, I had about 11 hrs. of actual before I did my checkride, and some
|>of that was hard! IFR.  But since then, I've never had a moment of
|>saying "What the heck am I doing up here!" when shooting NDBs to minima.

I have to agree with Dick on the importance of proper and complete IFR
training. When I read about people getting their -IA rating with little
or no actual IMC experience, I cringe. Most people (myself included)
transition to simulated instrument by turning control over to the
instructor or safety pilot, and only taking control back when they're
comfortably oriented. This just isn't the way it happens in actual IMC.

My first IFR lesson was a trip back from North Carolina to Maryland when
weather grounded me during an attempted VFR vacation trip. After receiving
an IFR clearance over the phone, my instructor and I launched into 1.5 mile
visibility and 700 foot ceilings. The clearance and wind conditions called
for a 180 degree climbing turn immediately after takeoff, and I entered solid
IMC 45 seconds later, while trimming, turning, climbing, and looking for an
NDB. I'd always prided myself on the precision of my hoodwork, but within 30
seconds I knew I was in over my head. Had it not been for my instructor sitting
next to me, I would have been in deep kimchee. Two nerve-wracking hours later,
we successfully completed the VOR 14 approach to GAI, cutting into and out of
the clouds at the MDA.

I've now accumulated 25 hours of instrument time towards my -IA rating, with
more than 6 of those being in actual IMC. I still hope for CAVU weather when
going on a pleasure jaunt, but eagerly search the sky for the dreary grey
stuff when a lesson approaches. I can't imagine feeling comfortable filing
IFR with only an hour or two of actual, regardless of how many hours of
simulated time I'd accumulated.

--
Reece R. Pollack
PP-ASEL -- Octopus Flying Club (based GAI)
"My eyes search the sky, desperately for rain..."
Newsgroups: rec.aviation