On 1 Aug 2003 10:02:44 -0700, (Michael) wrote:

"Iain Wilson" wrote
Anyone IR without having actually flown in IMC? My checkride is around the
corner and I've no actual IFR yet. I'm itching to experience it but the
damned weather isn't co-operating (seemed the same way with the PPL!).

When I took my checkride, I had no dual in IMC. This is not a rare
condition. There are even quite a few CFII's out there who have never
flown in IMC. The problem is lack of opportunity.

IMC that is sufficiently benign for the average instrument trainer is

When I took the flight test I had enough time in actual that my first
flights were down to minimums. I was far more proficient then than I
am now.

As far as benign...my instructor only picked stuff where he wasn't
worried about structural failure, or it sure seemed that way. I sure
didn't think the stuff was benign.

I had over 12 hours of actual and probably 15 to 20 approaches right
down o minimums and below, on NDBs, VORs, and ILSs prior to taking the
test. He was real good at getting me out to practice approaches when
the ceilings were just barely high enough to do the VOR - A to get
back into 3BS. A couple of times it went well below minimums after
we landed. There were times when I was concerned we'd have to go
back over to MBS for the ILS and have my wife come to pick us up.

Course I live in the center of the lower peninsula of Michigan where a
really clear day may be 10 miles visibility. We may get those "see
clear to the horizon" days 3 or 4 times a year on average. We get a
lot of marginal VFR down to a mile or two quite often.

There is a lot of vegetation with the accompanying haze.
If you look closely the majority of the state, including the prime
farm land is one big swamp. They just drained the swamp to create the
farm land.

not common in much of the US. For example, where I'm based IMC
usually means embedded T-storms; unless your trainer has RADAR and/or
Stormscope, that grounds you. Most rental IFR trainers don't.

You can fly in the soup around here for hours (at times) without
having to worry about thunderstorms. Sometimes you can end up in
torrential rain where the RADAR is one big red splotch, yet the ride
is as smooth as sitting in a big easy chair on a concrete floor.
OTOH, some times just the green echoes are about as rough as you ever
want to get.

About 3 or 4 years ago It was almost solid from here to Oshkosh. I
was solid from The lake Michigan shoreline to OSH. Then they ran me
way to the west for the VOR 09. Coming home we were skimming the
tops at 7,000 with about 40 miles of torrential ran before the VOR-A
into 3BS. Yet it was as smooth as silk.

The next week we weren't in the clouds as much, but it was like
driving down a road full of chuck holes. Pretty rough ride and only
about 40 miles of the whole trip (each way) was in the soup.


Roger Halstead (K8RI EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
www.rogerhalstead.com
N833R World's oldest Debonair? (S# CD-2)
My best suggestion is to do as much of your training as possible on
overcast and/or moonless nights over sparsely populated areas; under
those conditions hood training is quite realistic and will prepare you
to maintain control of the airplane in IMC.

Michael