My first big IFR mistake...

My instrument ticket has been very useful to me. Even in my little arrow.

In fact, it looks like I may be using it for my trip from vegas to phoenix this
weekend with the weather we have been having.

Michael wrote:

"Mike Rapoport" wrote
Wow! I can't believe all the posts recommending ways of disabling the ADF!

Why not? Once you buy into the idea that an instrument rating isn't
actually very useful in the sort of airplane he will be flying, and is
just a piece of paper to get, it makes all the sense in the world.
Disabling the ADF makes the piece of paper easier to get.

Dumbing down the test so that you can pass it is not a good idea and that
philosophy is not going to make anyone good at anything.

Except passing tests.

I like the idea of using a flightsim to practice.

I do too, especially since you can (a) stop the action to think while
you're coming up to speed and (b) get a track showing what you did
immediately afterwards.

I also think that NDB approaches are the second-best exercise in
situational awareness available - NDB holds are the first. Once
situational awareness is mastered, it actually takes very little time
to learn NDB approaches. Thus my advice is this - focus on knowing
where on the approach plate you are, every minute. Know where the
wind is coming from. It's perfectly legitimate to draw a wind arrow
on the approach plate once you figure out the wind, and it can make
visualizing your correction easier. Remember, the procedure turn is
not cast in stone. You can go more than a minute outbound before
turning 180, and if there's a stiff headwind from that direction you
probably should. How many degrees you should lead your turn onto the
FAC becomes obvious when you keep wind and distance from the beacon in
mind. Keep in mind that heading, bearing (absolute and relative),
course, and track are all different things. Know the differences.

Once you get to that point, you won't need the rules, the mnemonics,
the tricks, or any of the rest of that garbage. The corrections will
become intuitive.

Thus I have a suggestion about the best way to use flight sim. If you
are not sure what the needle is telling you or how to correct, DON'T
GUESS. Stop the action and figure it out, then start again. You will
find that with time, you will not need to stop anymore. At that
point, start doing them in the plane. I think you will discover that
a couple of hours is all it will take to become proficient.

Michael

Jeff wrote
My instrument ticket has been very useful to me. Even in my little arrow.

It seems like my attempt at subtle humor (at the expense of some
posters) fell flat for lack of understanding. Yes, at times an
instrument rating can be useful, even in a light single. I've
actually made a couple of business trips IFR that couldn't legally be
done VFR in a TriPacer - and that's about as little as it gets; way
smaller and less capable than an Arrow. It may not be the rule, but
it can happen.

My point is that those of us who actually use our instrument ratings
for flying weather that can't be flown VFR on a regular basis have a
fundamentally different outlook on getting the ticket than those who
rarely use the rating in anger. We understand that passing the
checkride is just a relatively trivial adjunct to learning the
necessary skills for surviving in the weather, and it would simply
never occur to us that someone who needs to disable an instrument to
pass the checkride has any business flying weather in the first place.

Therefore, I made the implicit assumption that anyone recommending
that course of action must have already bought into the idea that an
instrument rating wasn't something you use to fly in weather.

But it's just not funny if you have to explain it.

Michael