"Mark Hansen" wrote in message
...
On 03/21/06 03:13, wrote:
: checkride. The FARs stipulate that you need a minimum of 15 hours of
: of instruction from a CFII (thought I suspect there are few who have
managed
: to get away with only 15 hours from a CFII prior to taking their
checkride).
: The rest can be flying around under the hood with a safety pilot (who
doesn't
: even need to be instrument rated). I personally spent quite a few hours

IIRC, I believe I was one. Being the cheap ******* that I am, I flew a
lot with PP-VFR safety pilot friends to accrue the experience, and paid
for only the 15 hours CFII time required. That was more than enough CFII
time. So long as you don't develop bad habits, safety-pilot time is good
enough for you to learn yourself how easily you can kill yourself if
you're not good enough.

: shooting approaches with a safety pilot on board prior to my checkride.
It : was excellent practice because I didn't have a CFII on board to
"bail me out"
: should I get all confused as to what the needles were trying to tell
me. : (The job of the safety pilot is, of course, to make sure you don't
bonk
: into anything....).

Technically, usually bonk into any-*ONE*. If you're flying instrument
procedures by the book there should be plenty of wiggle room (by
definition).


I have never tried bonking in a small plane. the 3000ft high club does not
sound as good.