When we were kids, we all used to spin around until we were "dizzy". Trying
then to walk straight ahead and upright, when you can actually SEE the
(real) horizon, is nearly impossible. The confused disorientation of a
"tumbled" inner ear is almost overpowering. I'm in the middle of my
instrument training. I haven't experienced true spacial disorientation, but
I can guess from the above experience, that it will be very easy to lose it
in hard IMC. The thought makes me concentrate very carefully on those
needles.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


"T o d d P a t t i s t" wrote in message
...
Jose wrote:

This is one of the first things one must learn in instrument flying -
trust the instruments over your inner ear. They are less likely to be
lying to you.

When someone hasn't experienced true IMC, this is hard to
understand. Referring to it as "your inner ear" makes it
seem like there's some inner instrument that you can just
ignore and use the aircraft instruments instead. In fact,
that "inner ear" is yourself. You KNOW FOR A FACT that you
are turning right when the AI says you are turning left.
You have to do what you know is WRONG because those damn
instruments are telling you to and you know that doing the
wrong thing can kill you. It's definitely tough, but it can
be learned.
--
Do not spin this aircraft. If the aircraft does enter a spin it will
return to earth without further attention on the part of the aeronaut.

(first handbook issued with the Curtis-Wright flyer)