Briefing an approach plate, especially while flying

Ray Andraka wrote:

Peter, out of curiosity, what percentage of your total time since
you got your rating are in actual IMC?

First of all, my sincerest apologies for making any kind of claim, as
Usenet claims are almost always laughed off by the reader. I certainly
did not expect to have this thread drift off topic into how many actual
instrument hours we all have, nor for it to become a "mine is bigger
than yours" contest.

Looking back at my logbook (which I recently converted to Logbook Pro),
it appears that I am running around 15% actual IMC to total time.
Since starting my instrument rating in October 2002, I have since logged
about 470 total hours.

I'm based in the Northeast as well (KPVD), also fly for Angel
Flight when I can get away from work.

How do Providence's winters compare to Syracuse, NYs? I sincerely do
not know, other than to say that if your winters are a lot like
Hartford, CT's (where I lived one year several years ago), then you must
have more sunshine.

According to my logbook, I flew 25 Angel Flights (around 140 hours)
since starting with them last May. BTW, this was for both AF Northeast
out of Lawrence, Mass, and AF East out of Philadelphia.

Without looking at my logbook, I'd guess that about 10% of my time
is in actual.

Then you and I are pretty close.

More often than not I only in get a couple of tenths of actual in a
flight. If the weather is low, the tops are usually also low and
at 6000' you often wind up on top or between layers.

What do you fly? I suspect that this may explain the difference between
us. I flew all of those hours in a C172. Low, slow, and slow to
climb.

This week I received my complex, high performance endorsement for a V35
Bonanza so I now understand the difference climbing at 1,100 feet per
minute makes at blasting through the layers. I also realize that I will
not log nearly as many hours in this aircraft in the upcoming year, due
to the performance differences between this aircraft and the C172.

If you are flying 750 hours a year or so, I am truely envious. Could
be a difference in what you log as actual. I only log actual for the time
when I am in IMC, not on top or between layers with good visibility.

Please. After reading these groups for the last three years, I am very
comfortable with what constitutes actual time. I only log actual hours
in terms of when I need instruments to fly. I do not log VMC while on
an IFR flight plan as actual instrument time.

--
Peter







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