On Feb 14, 8:14 pm, "John R. Copeland"
wrote:
wrote in ooglegroups.com...

I have 250+ hours in VMC. I know how to control an aircraft. In VMC
you have this big horizon out the window available to judge your
attitude. In IMC, you just have the instruments. You have to learn
to ignore all physical sensations (no flying by the seat of your pants
here), and trust your instruments. The first part of every instrument
training syllabus I've ever seen emphasizes the ability to control the
airplane first and foremost. An autopilot will do this for you, but
that's no excuse for not knowing how to do it yourself. I don't want
to die from stupidity!

I learned to fly before private pilots received any instrument instruction.
Few of our airplanes had any gyros at all.
In those days, it was drilled into us that a non-instrument pilot,
trapped in IMC, had a life expectancy measured in minutes.
Sounds like you understand that.

I've heard the audio tapes of hapless VFR pilots losing control in the
clouds. I don't want to contribute my name to that list!