Hi guys
Thank you for all your answers. You were all very helpful. I wanted to
practice those patterns because I heard an airline here in Argentina
was using them for its sim checkride so I wanted to familiarize myself
with them.
I think these figures or any combination a CFII will put together can
be quite helpful during instrument training specially if they are used
as transition bewteen basic attitude flying and instrument approaches.
And they can also be very helpful to maintain proficiency.
Yesterday I spent a couple of hours in the sim doing many different
figures and I thought it helped me improve my scan. Specially after I
tried them a second time with no attitude indicator. I had to work
real hard but it was also very rewarding.
You see, I have about 1500 hs total time but in a recent flight, a
checkride for an argentine license, I had no trouble detecting a
malfunctioning VOR, negotiating with ATC to do an instrument approach
at an internacional airport, inserting my C150 among the flow of B
767s and Airbuses and tracking the ILS altough I had never flown that
approach before(in the sim or in the plane). Neither did I have any
problems entering holds or approaching VORs from diferent radials.
However all through the flight I strugled to maintain my altitude with
100 ft of my asigned one. Or my heading within 10 degrees.
The reazons for this is, I think, that I already know way to do
instrument approaches. I can brush them up and I do so on a regular
basis and that's enough to remember how to read a chart or what kind
of entry metod to use to enter a hold. However the only way to fly the
aircraft proficently is to fly often. For the last two years I have
been flying about once a month and that's hardly enough to be safe.
I think in the future I will spend at least part of each simulator
shift just working on basics because they are more easily lost.
I think it's also fun to try them. I mean, flying an ILS approach can
be challenging enough with a good croswind or with weather close the
minimuns, but when was the last time you tried to do a 360o turn with
45o of bank, followed by a climb at 400 ft/min. When was the last time
you did a 180o turn with a standard rate of turn but doubling your
airspeed halfway? It's harder than it sounds believe me, I know.

Take care