Not smart enough

Morgan3820

Morgan3820

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I just received my copy of the FAA's Instrument Flying Handbook with the idea of pursuing an instrument rating. After thumbing through it, I have decided that it is too much to learn and I am not smart enough to get my IR. Should I get a second opinion or just quit before I kill myself and any passengers? :dunno:
 
I will say that the instrument rating is / seems more intellectually challenging than the private rating, but I personally believe that anyone who can pass their private written and oral can pass the instrument written and oral. I'm not a CFI, but having been through this kinda sorta recently, and I think that a lot of that book stuff that you have to memorize for the test either makes a ton more sense once you start flying or is completely useless in the aircraft and you'll forget it eventually anyway.

Like anything else pilot, do whatever works for you to pass the written, and get in the plane with an instructor that teaches in a way that works well for you, and you'll get it. There are plenty of people who aren't math geniuses that have their instrument rating!
 
Take it a chunk at a time. You can't look at the whole because it becomes intimidating quickly.
 
Morgan3820 said:
I just received my copy of the FAA's Instrument Flying Handbook with the idea of pursuing an instrument rating. After thumbing through it, I have decided that it is too much to learn and I am not smart enough to get my IR. Should I get a second opinion or just quit before I kill myself and any passengers? :dunno:
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Like my mom said... If you think you can't do it, you're right.
 
timwinters said:
One step at a time....
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Greg Bockelman said:
Take it a chunk at a time. You can't look at the whole because it becomes intimidating quickly.
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Yep. Small steps. You CFI isn't going to take you up on your first lesson and expect you to shoot an ILS with needles centered and expect you to know how to set everything up. Just like your Private, your instructor will break the procedures into small building blocks and build on them as you progress.
 
The FAA instrument books are terrible. Try another book, such as ASA's Pilot's Manual series or Rod Machado's instrument books.

Btw, an instrument rating isn't just for shooting approaches to minimums. It still adds substantial usefulness and comfort without much added risk when the ceilings are in the thousands of feet.
 
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dmspilot said:
The FAA instrument books are terrible. Try another book, such as ASA's Pilot's Manual series or Rod Machado's instrument books.
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Or Bob Gardner's Complete Pilot

Or Peter Dogan's Instrument Flight Training Manual

Or Richard Taylor Instrument Flying


The FAA books are good reference material, but they aren't well designed for the rookie student.

And once you do get started on training, don't forget your cat and your duck.
 
Don't get flustered. I see IR material as one big flow chart. One action leads to another.. And then you land.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Or Bob Gardner's Complete Pilot

Or Peter Dogan's Instrument Flight Training Manual

Or Richard Taylor Instrument Flying


The FAA books are good reference material, but they aren't well designed for the rookie student.

And once you do get started on training, don't forget your cat and your duck.
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"cat and duck"?? Ok I'll bite. What are you talking about?
 
I tell people that I believe getting my IR was one of the most complete and challenging mental undertakings I have ever experienced. That said, as everyone else has said, you need to tackle it in small chunks.
 
My parents had a sign in our house that they would always point to when we wined about something we couldn't do. It said....

"Never say I can't, you can if you try"
 
If you can get your private, you can get your instrument rating. I thought the same thing studying for the ATP written. I thought, "There is no way in hell I am gonna be able to study and pass this thing in a weekend" Just taking it one step at a time I was able to do it. Instrument rating is no different.

Or if you are more a visual learner, try the King Videos or some of the other DVD products out there.
 
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Do you intend to fly instruments often so that your really proficient? Have your family on board when running into a hard instrument situation? You may save your life by not getting the ticket. Many very bright people have died after getting in over their head. . ( a doctor recently) astronaut flying a Cessna not long ago, on and on. Many times they come unglued under pressure. The airline pilot near buffalo a classic example.
 
That's how I felt when I began studying for my private... it made me more determined to learn it, don't give up!
 
Jimmy cooper said:
Do you intend to fly instruments often so that your really proficient? Have your family on board when running into a hard instrument situation? You may save your life by not getting the ticket. Many very bright people have died after getting in over their head. . ( a doctor recently) astronaut flying a Cessna not long ago, on and on. Many times they come unglued under pressure. The airline pilot near buffalo a classic example.
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I would like to read about the astronaut, do you have a link?
 
I don't consider myself exceptionally smart by any means and presently, the only thing I do for a living is teach instrument students. Just saying. A lot of that stuff will become easier to understand once you have a little bit of background to base it on and if whatever II you choose to go with is worth his salt, you will spend a considerable amount of time on basic attitude flying (personally, I spend a good deal of time on partial panel basics as well and I've found it to make the introduction of the all dreaded partial panel approach much more intuitive)and navigation 101 (vor tracking/intercepting etc) before you even touch the more complicated stuff like holds, approaches,mans flying in the system. Just like a house, if the initial foundation is strong, the higher bricks should fit on nice and easily.
 
Go for an instrument flight after some decent ground instruction, see what it's all about, get excited, then start studying some of the high quality texts referenced earlier.

I learned most of it through Machado's Intrument Survival manual. Skip the reading on the instrument scan, it'll bore you to tears and won't have much relevance just yet.

Having the ticket and staying proficient will absolutely change your level of confidence as a GA pilot.

Also, the ugly truth about instrument training is that it bears almost no resemblance to the real experience of flying IFR on a long term basis. The vast majority of my IFR flights are either VMC, or VFR over the top. Maybe 25% of the time I got through a layer on the way up or way down, and maybe 3-5% of the time, I really get put to the test and am in IMC for prolonged periods (30mins to 2hrs). The shear utility of having an instrument rating is awesome. I've lost count of the trips I would've otherwise cancelled.
 
At risk of sounding a bit short, you have the wrong attitude. Know you can do it, and prove it. I have difficulty fathoming the idea that someone who is a licensed private pilot isn't "smart enough" to get an IR.

Success is mostly about work. Unless you exited the womb with foggles on, in which case you'll breeze through the whole IR rating.
 
Jimmy cooper said:
Do you intend to fly instruments often so that your really proficient? Have your family on board when running into a hard instrument situation? You may save your life by not getting the ticket. Many very bright people have died after getting in over their head. . ( a doctor recently) astronaut flying a Cessna not long ago, on and on. Many times they come unglued under pressure. The airline pilot near buffalo a classic example.
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I wonder if you even have an instrument rating. Are you CTLSi under a new login?
 
Nope, you aren't smart enough and should abandon any career hopes outside the wide world of manual labor.
 
Morgan3820 said:
I just received my copy of the FAA's Instrument Flying Handbook with the idea of pursuing an instrument rating. After thumbing through it, I have decided that it is too much to learn and I am not smart enough to get my IR. Should I get a second opinion or just quit before I kill myself and any passengers? :dunno:
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Quit now, it's good to know your limitations and respect them. Unless you are flying for a living or on a tight business schedule, you'll never need to go IFR. In 25+years and 2500 hrs I have rarely flown IFR and have gotten through VFR where IFR would not have been a good idea by flying low. This is not without its own risks.

If your flying is for enjoyment, and you look at the book and say, "I don't think I'm going to enjoy this" the you should quit now at it and maintain VFR. I promise you, you won't have fun doing your instrument ticket, it's not about fun, it's about work and getting work done. I would suggest however that you maintain proficiency at doing a level 180° turn and a wings level climb under the hood as a minimum for an escape maneuver.
 
Henning said:
Quit now, it's good to know your limitations and respect them. Unless you are flying for a living or on a tight business schedule, you'll never need to go IFR. In 25+years and 2500 hrs I have rarely flown IFR and have gotten through VFR where IFR would not have been a good idea by flying low. This is not without its own risks.

If your flying is for enjoyment, and you look at the book and say, "I don't think I'm going to enjoy this" the you should quit now at it and maintain VFR. I promise you, you won't have fun doing your instrument ticket, it's not about fun, it's about work and getting work done. I would suggest however that you maintain proficiency at doing a level 180° turn and a wings level climb under the hood as a minimum for an escape maneuver.
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Wow. I usually agree with your posts, but my personal experience is much different than you state here.

Agreed, I do not fly a lot of IMC either. But it there have been flights where I needed the rating and flew solid IMC for an hour or two at least. More frequently, it lets me get up or down through an overcast layer with maybe MVFR below and CAVU above. Or it lets me be confident about flying above a scattered layer and not worrying about whether it will close up on me. Since I always have flight following if I haven't filed it is trivially easy to ask the controller for an IFR clearance to descend through a layer. Usually the end of that conversation is "Cleared for the visual ..."

Regarding fun, I had a great time getting my rating and I enjoy shooting practice approaches, which I usually have to do to remain current (not enough real IMC as you say). I just like the challenges and the satisfaction of getting it right. It's a great excuse to go flying. Obviously YMMV and the OP's MMV as well.
 
steingar said:
Nope, you aren't smart enough and should abandon any career hopes outside the wide world of manual labor.
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That hurts my feelings :sad: :sad: :sad: Crushing my budding hopes and dreams...you must be a...liberal.

So, ignoring you, I am going to listen to the other posters can do spirit and forge ahead.

Thanks to all of the other posters for their encouragement and good advice!
 
airdale said:
Wow. I usually agree with your posts, but my personal experience is much different than you state here.

Agreed, I do not fly a lot of IMC either. But it there have been flights where I needed the rating and flew solid IMC for an hour or two at least. More frequently, it lets me get up or down through an overcast layer with maybe MVFR below and CAVU above. Or it lets me be confident about flying above a scattered layer and not worrying about whether it will close up on me. Since I always have flight following if I haven't filed it is trivially easy to ask the controller for an IFR clearance to descend through a layer. Usually the end of that conversation is "Cleared for the visual ..."

Regarding fun, I had a great time getting my rating and I enjoy shooting practice approaches, which I usually have to do to remain current (not enough real IMC as you say). I just like the challenges and the satisfaction of getting it right. It's a great excuse to go flying. Obviously YMMV and the OP's MMV as well.
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The utility of an Instrument Rating seems like it would vary quite a bit regionally. Some places have a lot more IMC than others.
 
timwinters said:
One step at a time....
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Or like I tell my kids - You can only eat an elephant one bite at a time.

Their response always was "why would I ever want to eat an elephant, that doesn't make sense"
Being older now they finally admitted it makes perfect sense.:D
 
Thinking again about what was said in post#1, the quantity and complexity of the items to be learned are very daunting to someone who doesn't have much more than a VFR PPL background.

I remember reading the first few books and quickly getting lost/confused amongst the new acronyms, chart symbols, power and performance instruments, regulations, procedures, and the list goes on. It is a lot to learn.

But like any journey, it's just one step at a time. And as many in this thread have shared, look around for other learning resources (textbooks, videos, live events) that fit your way of learning. And it might be more than one that helps you.

For me, lost comms procedures was a bit mystifying at first, but then I found a section or two in some of the books and a video or two on line that made it much easier to remember the details of the this important area of IFR flying.

But eventually, like your PPL, you will get to the end of the journey. And then, you get to look back and marvel at how much knowledge you've gained and how well you have learned to apply that.

So take your time. Read the books or watch videos. Even better, go fly on an IFR flight with a good pilot who is willing to take time and explain how he conducts the flight from the initial planning/briefing through to shutting down at the end.

Best of luck to you!!
 
Hand a calculus book to a bright young student who has not yet taken that class. Ask them to flip halfway through the book. It will look difficult, nearly impossible to them. But if they start at the beginning, they'll get it. Same concept.

Henning may be right, though. If it doesn't look like fun and you don't need it, it may not be worth the hassle.
 
F01LA said:
Hand a calculus book to a bright young student who has not yet taken that class. Ask them to flip halfway through the book. It will look difficult, nearly impossible to them. But if they start at the beginning, they'll get it. Same concept.

Henning may be right, though. If it doesn't look like fun and you don't need it, it may not be worth the hassle.
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There's a whole new level of risk that gets introduced as well.
 
F01LA said:
Hand a calculus book to a bright young student who has not yet taken that class. Ask them to flip halfway through the book. It will look difficult, nearly impossible to them. But if they start at the beginning, they'll get it. Same concept.

Henning may be right, though. If it doesn't look like fun and you don't need it, it may not be worth the hassle.
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Funny thing about that analogy - the OP's profile page lists his occupation as chemist. You should have used an organic chemistry text as the example. (Although opening such a book to the first page may still cause some angst, given how much basic chemistry knowledge they presume the reader already has. The analogy being organic chemistry is to basic chemistry as instrument rating is to private pilot certificate. Um, nevermind. I don't think that analog works.)
 
Jim Logajan said:
Funny thing about that analogy - the OP's profile page lists his occupation as chemist. You should have used an organic chemistry text as the example. (Although opening such a book to the first page may still cause some angst, given how much basic chemistry knowledge they presume the reader already has. The analogy being organic chemistry is to basic chemistry as instrument rating is to private pilot certificate. Um, nevermind. I don't think that analog works.)
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So then physical chemistry would be the ATP analogue?

When the P-chem professor started with the statement that 'a grade of C is as good as most you can expect and is perfectly acceptable', I knew that it was going to be a long two semesters. My grade was acceptable, just :goofy:
 
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