Yesterday was a great day for IFR flying in the Bay Area. The clouds were
plenty bouncy, which is very different from the rather placid marine layer clouds
that we pop in and out of during the summer. I was with an IFR student going
for a checkride in a week, and he was happy to see what it felt like.

Also the temps were warm enough (and have been for the last week),
that icing wasn't an issue, since the current system came from the south.
Often winter storms come from the north, the freezing level is down to about 4,000 feet,
and that precludes much training, since we usually need to get up to 5000 feet to
get to Stockton, and 6 or 7000 feet to get down to the Monterey area when
on an IFR flight plan. So some of those days you might think are great for training aren't really flyable.

If you do decide to get started immediately, you'll want to plan your training
(and the fun flying that you fit in between training sessions) so that you rack
up the 50 hours in cross-country time required before the instrument checkride
(unless you're learning out of a Part 141 school). It's certainly doable to get
all of that time while doing your IFR training, though depending upon your location,
you sometimes need to be flying beyond your IFR destination so you can land first
at some other airport to meet the 50 nm criteria for cross country.

Whatever you decide to do, have fun!
Max T, MCFI
www.sjflight.com

Gerald Sylvester wrote in message
ink.net...

I'm close to completing my PPL (9 days for my checkride) and planned
to go onto to get IFR training in a 6-7 months. The weather
in the San Francisco Bay area has been quite cloudy and rainy and
was thinking about starting my IFR training immediately in order
to take advantage of the IMC conditions. I know most people get
IFR rated without having ever flown in IMC. I want to do it
for real.

So a simple question......what items did you find helpful for
IFR training? This is in regards to books (my instructor recommended
Gleim, a book by Dugan (?), and the Jeppeson book), foggles (brands?),
timers, anything and everything. I'm definitely more into quality
than quantity. I'd rather spend an extra money and get best,
easiest and especially the safest.

thanks
Gerald