Instruction Flight: Get The Rust Off
Now that the directional gyro works it is time to get moving again with this IFR rating. It’s been over three weeks since my checkride (part I: the oral exam). So instructor M and I scheduled a ride and did some local approaches, probably some of the approaches that I’ll have on my checkride.
I was pleased that I tracked altitude, heading, and the ILS much better than I expected I would. Especially the glideslope and localizer tracking was good. My problems were, however, in procedures and planning ahead. In short the “doing” part of things is going well.
I seem to have problems with planning for the next thing or two that I will need to do. I messed up the entrance to the hold because of this, didn’t brief the approaches as well as I should have, and almost made a wrong turn on one approach. The “thinking” part of IFR flying is where I’m rusty. That turn would have been a checkride bust.
M said, “You’ll never to do that again.”. And he’s right. He also thinks I’m ready for the checkride, but I want one more flight with him first to ensure I’ve got the IFR thinking part going well. Some parts of flying are mostly mechanical skill in moving the controls correctly. But IFR has a large thinking component to it. I have to maintain a mental model of where I am in relation to the approach, airport, or course I’m holding, and more broadly, to the situation I’m in. Maintenance of that mental model is where I’m a bit rusty.
So next is some practice at home (in the home “sim”), and another flight with instructor M. Then, scheduling permitting, the actual checkride.