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te927

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te927
Hello,

I'm an 80 hour PPL that just started an Instrument Rating(2 hours so far). I am training under Part 61 and have about 30 of the required XC hours under my belt. I did my PPL in a 152 and got checked out in a Warrior after my checkride. I am doing my IR in the Warrior and Red Bird Sim.

I have been doing my cross-countries in the 152 to save money and had my first two instrument lessons in the sim. I haven't flown the warrior in a while.

Does anyone not recommend switching back and forth between different airplanes during training? I like the slow and cheap ($20 less per hour) 152 for the cross-countries, but it's not IFR equipped.

Any other pilots just starting their IR out there?

Thanks
 
I am basically doing the same thing as you. I have 22 hours towards the instrument rating. About 8 in an IFR warrior, 10 in an IFR 152 and the rest in a sim with my instructor.

I don't mind switching back and forth. But I have plenty of hours (non IR) in each airplane and I can fly them equally as well. If you want to do some of your work in a non-ifr 152 (I am assuming it has at least a 6 pack and a VOR) That's fine. You can practice VOR and localizer approaches, and air work. Its good to be proficient under the hood in more than one aircraft. Just keep current in the warrior, make sure you have plenty of time doing approaches in it (that the 152 is not equipped for) and make your final couple hours of checkride prep be in the warrior.

That's my plan anyway

And congrats on taking the leap into the IFR world - you'll learn an awful lot.
 
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I've done a lot of switching between airplanes lately. I also got my PPL in a 152, and flew various models of 172s (SP, R, RG, P) for Instrument and Commercial. I'm now working on CFI and Multi, switching between a 152, a 172RG, and a PA-44, and it does take some getting used to, especially when developing a "feel" for V-speeds. After a few flights in the Seminole, coming down on final in a 152 feels pretty slow! But it's something you adapt to and eventually get used to. And although it is important to maintain proficiency in each airplane you're using for training, I'd say focus on the procedures, emergency checklists, approaches, etc. in the Warrior, since you are working on IR and that is the one that is IFR equipped, and I'm also assuming you'll be going on your checkride in that same plane.
 
I personally don't think switching up aircraft in training is a great idea if you can avoid it. You're trying to learn a new aircraft and its characteristics, while at the same time learning a new skill set that you're trying to apply to that aircraft. With a 152 and a Warrior they're both pretty simple, so that does help you.

I've got five different aircraft (each a different type, except for two Navajos, a -310 and a -350). Each plane has completely different avionics with a completely different panel. It can, at times get confusing. As a student, it's more confusing still.

Something else to consider: There's no reason why you can't do cross country time during your instrument training. That's what we did most of the time as I started my IR with about the same hours as you. We flew to an airport, did our approaches (and a landing to make it legal XC time) and then came home.
 
I agree with Ted. It's better to stick with one airplane and get more comfortable with the locations of all the buttons and knobs.
 
Speaking as an instructor who specializes in instrument training, I agree with the others suggesting staying with one aircraft type during IR training, especially at your rather low level of experience.
 
+1. Especially as your training progresses and tolerances become increasingly important.

Ron Levy said:
Speaking as an instructor who specializes in instrument training, I agree with the others suggesting staying with one aircraft type during IR training, especially at your rather low level of experience.
Click to expand...
 
Ron Levy said:
Speaking as an instructor who specializes in instrument training, I agree with the others suggesting staying with one aircraft type during IR training, especially at your rather low level of experience.
Click to expand...
I'd say there's a good chance that using the more expensive airplane for the entire training program will actually cost less than using a less expensive plane for part of it.
 
Thanks for the responses.

I am planning on flying the warrior for all of my training flights. I am only thinking of flying the 152 for my cross-country time building, which will probably only be about 5 more flights. Once I have my xc time up to 40 I'll switch exclusively to the warrior. Just don't want to spend too much on non-IR related flying, so I can take lessons more frequently.
 
In that case you'll be fine! The warrior is easy to fly.

As others have said you can combine x/c with an IR instructional flight. Just touch at any airport more than 50nm from your home base and you can log the whole flight as x/c
 
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