First actual today

JCranford

JCranford

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JCranford
Im currently IR training so did my XC today. Weather was perfect for it. Nice broken layer for the first leg, in and out between layers for the second leg, and solid IMC for the third leg. Good times!
 
Better than wearing foggles huh? ;)
 
Awesome. Glad you liked it. There's more to come!! :)
I almost went flying into IMC today. Just for S&G. We had a great benign IMC layer that was not threatening to come down anytime soon, mild showers, no icing. I am kicking myself now for not going. Because I realized my currency expires in 3 weeks. Dammit.
Going tomorrow, though, hoping that the ceilings won't lift too fast in the morning. :)
 
Awesome stuff for training. I'm an ATP and only have 12 hours or so of actual. Only 1.5 of it was in a plane without and autopilot. The rest are in transport category aircraft. Wish I had your learning experience.
 
I'm not much of an autopilot guy when flying VFR, but that sucker is indispensable for IFR!
 
JCranford said:
I'm not much of an autopilot guy when flying VFR, but that sucker is indispensable for IFR!
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Did it work correctly? I remember when we were reviewing at the hangar Friday, the AP tossed an unexpected error when it powered on.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Did it work correctly? I remember when we were reviewing at the hangar Friday, the AP tossed an unexpected error when it powered on.
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Worked like a champ! Pretty cool letting the AP do the whole VOR procedure turn. And thanks for the help Mike. I used the stuff we talked about and it made it easier!

Crappy picture, but there wasn't much to see
IMG_0024_zpsywjwyphp.jpg
 
you didn't get any cloud stuck on your wings, didja?
 
mtuomi said:
I feel actual is a lot easier than simulated.
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In some ways it's easier but in many aspects it's just different and there are situations where the "real thing" is significantly more difficult. What's easier is mostly the fact that you can look at anything in or out of the cockpit just by moving your eyes and your peripheral vision isn't impeded by the view limiting device on your head. You also eliminate the hassles of donning or removing sunglasses or reading glasses that occur with foggles or a hood.

What's different (not necessarily harder or easier) is that the texture of the clouds plus an occasional glimpse of the ground as you go in and out of the clouds provide visual cues that may be helpful or disorienting. You also get to experience the various changes in vertical air movement that are common in and near clouds. At night you get the distraction of strobes, nav lights, and beacons reflecting back at you which are also useful for determining if you are actually in a cloud.

What's more difficult are things like having to transition from gauges to visual when the visibility sucks at the end of the approach, ignoring the slanted "false horizons" of irregular cloud tops, and the typical apprehension that comes with flying inside "real" clouds, especially close to the ground.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
such fun!
I got some in Austin yesterday too. 1&1/2mi/500' - ils
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Oh yeah, Saturday was much lower than Sunday, with drizzle, rain and lower visibility. Glad you had fun.
Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Austin? We could have gone out for a beer or something.

OkieAviator said:
I did my first actual down to minimums in Austin. Was flying into KEDC, VFK the entire way minus the last 20 miles.
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A few weeks ago, I too shot an RNAV to mins, into Georgetown (just north of EDC). Warm IMC but about 50' above mins. :)
I shot too approaches down to maybe 200' above mins yesterday. It was a lot of fun too. (better than hood training)

Small.jpg
 
To me, it's still amazing that we can descend from above a cloud deck like Lou's photo, trusting in the system, following the proper steering commands, and if we did it right, the runway magically appears off of our nose.
 
AggieMike88 said:
To me, it's still amazing that we can descend from above a cloud deck like Lou's photo, trusting in the system, following the proper steering commands, and if we did it right, the runway magically appears off of our nose.
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Amen!

I went with a non-pilot passenger, dove into the clouds (well, not literally), came out the bottom and called "hey, the rwy is exactly where I left it!"
He actually found the humor in that sentence. I explained to him that's it's an old instrument pilot phrase. :)

I always double- and triple-check my stuff before I go into clouds and I also have backups. I want to make sure that when I come out the bottom, I'm not in death-spiral or searching for a rwy in the wrong place. :) And the reward for the discipline in my flying is great. The rwy sure is where I left it. :D

Now go bust a cloud, people!
 
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