IFR Lesson 2
This was to be my first lesson in the plane as the last one was in the sim. Before I got to the airport I self-briefted weather and saw that we were ok for visibility, ceiling, and winds. Interestingly enough (and instructor M pointed this out later) there’s little to no wind on the surface while at 3000 feet winds are 38 knots, and at 6000 feet they’re 50 knots. That can be a problem. My plane only flies 100-120 knots!
While it’s not good to take passengers on days like today due to turbulence, it’s pretty cool to fly in slow flight in these conditions. You can go backwards - with reference to the ground at least. Meanwhile, your airspeed is perfectly normal. Planes fly with airspeed after all, not ground speed, so while this is cool it is quite safe.
I filed my ADIZ flight plans for the Washington D.C. ADIZ airspace, assured the briefer that I knew the ADIZ procedures. Then, when I got the airport started my preflight.
I checked all the usual things on my checklist, and since this is an evening/night flight I also checked the lights as well. And since this is for IFR training, I checked the pitot heat. The pitot tube is used by the airspeed indicator. The pitot heat is used to prevent or remove ice that can prevent the airspeed indicator from working properly.
After all, IFR stands for Instrument Flight Rules so I need to know my flight instruments are working properly. IFR is opposed to VFR or Visual Flight Rules. In VFR I fly with reference to the sky and ground I see outside the airplane. I already know how to fly VFR, I’m a current private pilot. But, with IFR you can fly in clouds when you can’t see the ground. To do this requires as much additional training as learning to be a pilot in the first place. Then when I pass the examination after this training, I’ll have my instrument flight rating.
After preflight M and I get into the plane, brief each other on the flight (mostly he briefs me and I verify a couple things). However we stop there since when I try to start the engine, nothing happens. Or, more correctly, the starter whirrs, but doesn’t engage the flywheel to turn the engine. This happened last winter too, but we thought we’d resolved it. I guess not.
So, plans changed, in the short term M and I went back to the simulator and practice more straight-and-level flight, constant speed and constant rate climbs and descents, and started with partial panel (when some instruments fail) and turns using only the compass.
My instrument scan isn’t consistent. I’m getting fixated on one or another instrument. I’m told that I need to split my attention across the instruments. But, it’s more like time sharing of software in a computer. Check each in turn and move on to the next.
It still basically feels like I’m juggling angry monkeys. But this is my second lesson. I’m told it gets easier. It had better!
Longer term plan changes: Tomorrow morning I got back to the airport and deal with the starter. And maybe cancel next week’s lessons if I need a mechanic.
January 25th, 2009 at 23:39
You’re doing wonderfully, Malcolm. You’ll find that IFR is a real “thinking person’s” game, especially when you get into navigation and or NP approaches (Non-precision) Then you’ll be juggling angry monkeys and calculating 3 dimensional geometry in your head simultaneously.
Seriously, my instructor put it this way, once: IFR is really quite simple. All you have to do is pat your head and rub your stomach while standing on one leg…
on a beach ball.
Have at it!