IFR Lesson Three: Sisyphus the Pilot
Admin note: In addition to posting about my IFR training, I’m also collecting those posts on a fixed page now. You can see it on the right navigation bar as “IFR Pilot Training”.
Finally instructor M and I get to fly! Today’s flight was out away from the airport about 20 minutes to get clear of traffic and airspace, then my instructor took control of the plane and I put on my foggles. These look like safety glasses, but most of their lens area is frosted over. There’s just enough clear area at the bottom so I can see the panel and instruments. They simulate instrument flying when I can’t see outside the plane.
I followed my instructor’s directions for heading initially, then later for altitude changes too. At one point he reminded me to use standard rate turns (3 degrees per minute) by reference to the turn coordinator. I tried but was banking too much. We decided to check this out and I took off the foggles. At our cruise speed it would normally be about a 15 degree bank to have a standard-rate turn. My T.C. showed a 1/2 standard-rate turn with a 45 degree bank. Clearly, this T.C. wasn’t working correctly. Lately it’s been one mechanical problem per lesson!
So, instead of doing full-panel basic attitude instrument training, my first non-simulated flight was with “partial panel” instead. This is the training for when one or more instruments fail.
Unfortunately, this will be yet more expense for me and my fellow airplane owners our club. And, possibly more delay for me in my training for the repair time. I will take the plane to an airport locally (within 80 miles or so) that has a business specializing in instrument repair.
With the turn coordinator covered up, my instructor continued to give me turns, climbs, and descents, but this time he covered up the heading indicator too. That left me with airspeed, altitude indicator, altimeter, vertical speed indicator, and compass. The compass is funky, but all compasses are funky like this not just mine. When I’m turning it can undershoot or overshoot depending on the heading I’m turning to. It also points temporarily more southerly or northerly when slowing or accelerating. So we worked with that for a while to get used to it.
My headings were pretty much on target as were my altitudes, I had a few “excursions”, but not too large. I’m pleased to find the airplane was more stable than the simulator. I was worried about my ability when on the sim. But not I’m sure I can learn to do this.
An aviation compass is, like all things aviation, a little different. It is read at the back of the compass. So the headings to the plane’s left are actually on the right of the compass and vice versa. To try and keep the compass more level with magnetic dip, there’s actually a small weight under the S end of the compass (for compasses used in the northern hemisphere). The inertia of this weight causes some of those compass problems. One more thing to get used to.
He then continued to vector me around till at one point he said, “Lift your foggles”. There was the moonrise through a high layer of clouds as pretty as a picture!
But the break was short-lived. The foggles came back down quickly and we worked on constant rate climbs and descents then. This was more difficult. The airplane is more sensitive in pitch than in heading. I seemed to oscillate between 200 feet per minute and 700 fpm when I was trying to pin it on 500 fpm descent or climb. I slowly dialed it in, but this will take more work. Funny, I could hold altitude nicely, but holding a constant rate of descent or climb was harder!
After some of that, he vectored me easterly for a while, then gave me more and more vectors, sometimes for a very small change. At the same time he had me descending while he watched my altitude and watched for traffic as well. I knew from the radio calls he was making that we were nearing our home airport and he was vectoring me to the entry into the traffic pattern. He continued to vector me around the pattern and gave me a cue when I should start lowering my flaps and start my landing descent.
My instructor warned me soon after that he would tell me to raise my foggles shortly and if I was able to land then I should do so. After two more vectors, base and final legs from the headings, he said, “Raise your foggles”. I was established on final, less than 500 feet above the surface with the runway about a mile away. I quickly dropped all flaps (I was high) and pulled the throttle back more to descend over the now-dark runway. The runway lights were clear and gave a great picture, We had a smooth landing and I pulled off at the first turnoff.
Now to deal with the turn coordinator!