Help me plan my IFR adventure

[AndrewX]

I'm a new instrument student. Part 61. I still need 27 hours of sim or actual IMC and 24 hours of XC. I also still need to complete the long IFR XC. I've already passed the written.

My CFII has agreed to accompany me on a 3-day IFR training trip. We are starting in Nashville (KMQY) and the general idea is to travel to the Space Coast on day one, down to Key West and back north, on day two, then back home on day three. The aircraft is a g1000 equipped C172. My goals are to gain real-life experience in the system, to log towards the time needed for my IR and to have some fun along the way. We don't have to go to Florida, so other destinations are an option.
My initial thought is to fly 3-4 hours in the morning with an approach along the way. Stop for lunch and another 3-4 hours after lunch. Repeat for three days.

I would appreciate advice and suggestions on this trip.

 

[mscard88]

6-8 hours under the hood and/or IMC may wear your butt out, especially if it ends up mostly IMC. Unless you have an autopilot and your CFI allows you to use it. IMO 3-4 would be the max daily, not saying you couldn't do 6-8 hours a day either. To make it productive training I'd suggest flying shorter legs, say around an hour, shoot an approach or two, then continue on to the next leg and repeat. If you fly straight and level for say 3 hours and shoot one approach you'd be wasting valuable training time IMO. This way you'd experience different approaches to different airports under different ATC. Sounds like a fun trip.

 

[jordane93]

Make sure your basic atitude instrument flying is up to par. It’s tough to do any other IFR training if you have a crappy scan.

 

[coloradobluesky]

Go ahead and plan the trip, but be ready to divert due to weather. Flying IFR doesn't mean you can fly into just any weather. You still have to be picky about the weather. And in your case, you are going to WANT to fly in flyable IMC. So you will be looking for THAT instead of looking for VFR conditions. Go where you can get the best IMC. Doesnt really matter very much, where you go, except for that. Fly the weather.

 

[Tantalum]

@AndrewX that's great news, congrats on embarking on this journey, it is very exciting and you will feel like a much better pilot after it

6-8 hours under the hood and/or IMC may wear your butt out, especially if it ends up mostly IMC. Unless you have an autopilot and your CFI allows you to use it. IMO 3-4 would be the max daily, not saying you couldn't do 6-8 hours a day either. To make it productive training I'd suggest flying shorter legs, say around an hour, shoot an approach or two, then continue on to the next leg and repeat. If you fly straight and level for say 3 hours and shoot one approach you'd be wasting valuable training time IMO. This way you'd experience different approaches to different airports under different ATC. Sounds like a fun trip.

I found a lot more value in my training doing a series of varied approaches and instrument "stuff" in general then just flying straight and level. Even though you are "in the system" in my opinion the majority of a 3 hr XC, even on an IFR flight plan, are going to be virtually identical to flight following, in my opinion. You may get a reroute but generally it will be just changing radio frequencies with the occasionally heading or altitude change. If you're lucky you'll get a "direct to" at some point. To me the most fun (and challenging) was complex departure procedures and working out various holds and approaches. I had a similar plan as you originally, but my CFI advised against it strongly, basically stating that I'll get a lot more value out of shorter trips with many approaches and departures.

6-8 hrs in a day is also going to get grueling and you may struggle to retain pertinent knowledge. It will be fun the first day, cool the second, and exhausting by the third. I found 3-4 hours to be the realistic sweet spot for me in my training. I would recommend a shorter leg, say 1 hr XC on an IFR flight plan, then for the way home go VFR and work out 4-6 practice approaches with ATC, some with published holds, etc., everything from ILS, RNAV, localizer, circling, LNAV, LPV, etc. and do some random non-VOR holds along the way as well. Doing that will build much more proficiency not just doing IFR maneuvers, but also with the G1000 and autopilot

I would also try to get as much actual IMC as you can. For me at least flying in the clouds was nothing like being under the hood or foggles. In clouds the whole experience is different, turbulence feels different, the airplane feels different, etc. and your stress level is naturally going to be a little elevated. It helps to get as much of the real experience with the safety of a CFI next to you as possible. In my opinion 20 simulated hours are maybe worth like 1 actual instrument hour

Just my $0.02

Cheers, happy New Year, and good luck!

 

[Scott@KTYR]

6-8 hours under the hood and/or IMC may wear your butt out, especially if it ends up mostly IMC. Unless you have an autopilot and your CFI allows you to use it. IMO 3-4 would be the max daily, not saying you couldn't do 6-8 hours a day either. To make it productive training I'd suggest flying shorter legs, say around an hour, shoot an approach or two, then continue on to the next leg and repeat. If you fly straight and level for say 3 hours and shoot one approach you'd be wasting valuable training time IMO. This way you'd experience different approaches to different airports under different ATC. Sounds like a fun trip.

+2

 

[James331]

Make sure you're the one doing ALL of the planning and filing, make sure you get experience with not only opening and closing IFR from a easy towered field, but also picking it up and terminating it from the air, and by phone, also be sure to always include your OAT in your scan.



A few targets of opertunity if able


Get a cruise clearance

Get a VFR on top clearnece

Get a pop up clearance

Shoot a ASR and/or PAR approach

Give a PIREP or two

Shoot a NDB using GPS overlay, monitoring the NDB, but flying off the GPS.

Do a circling to a missed approach

Go into a field that doesn't have a IFR approach by shooting and ( hopefully) breaking out of an approach at a nearby field that does have a IAP, and going VFR to your non IAP field, bonus points if it's a grass strip.

 

[iamtheari]

Remember that the cross-country hours required are PIC and the cross-country lesson has to be done under IFR with a filed and active flight plan, for which you cannot be PIC. You can combine them in one trip but don’t mess up and come up one checkbox short so you have to do it all over again. My vote is to go for it. That many hours under the hood and/or in actual IMC will wear you out but that is a lesson to itself. Definitely make sure your cross-country IFR lesson involves talking to more than just one center controller for a few hours.