Damaged the Budget Today

I upgraded from my ridiculously cheap and poorly performing Flightline
headset to a DC H20-10 in preparation for my IFR training. I haven't flown
with the DC's yet, but I will Saturday afternoon. My rationale here is
two-fold in that if I am in need of communicating, it would be a good thing
to not only have some equipment I can reliably communicate with, but to
initiate my IFR training at an airport that is controlled (KDWH) rather than
the admittedly fine uncontrolled airport I initially trained at (KCXO); the
choice of which will obviously requires a level of conversation surpassing
simply shooting the breeze.

The FBO where I bought the headset- Mercury Flight Systems- seems to have a
solid, while expensive, approach to the IFR experience. Rather than making
loads of short XC's, they seem to stress longer ones;
Houston-Memphis-Houston being one example. Obviously, there will be a lot
of shorter excursions in the curriculum, but I have to say that the idea of
flying under an instrument flight plan on major excursions is a challenging
surely and valuable experience. These people seem honestly concerned with
making me a proficient IFR pilot rather than simply preparing me for the
checkride, which is the general impression I got from the operation where I
obtained my initial certification. Any comments on this would be greatly
appreciated; being trained to pass the PTS is one thing, and thoroughly
understanding it is another, IMHO.

Apparently the training will be conducted in a C-172 upgraded to 180hp with
a CS prop; since I have some (short) time in a Super Decathlon this won't be
totally new to me. Instrument flying will be new, other than than my brief
exposure required by the Private program, and I am looking forward to it.
This is a challenge I really want to master, and any suggestions you all
might have as concerns beginning training would be greatly appreciated.

Wendy

You won't be sorry for buying the headset. I'm sure it's much quieter than
your cheaper set. That can be very important on long xc's in IMC as it will
reduce your fatigue level. The next step will be when you upgrade to an ANR
set which will further reduce the fatigue level.

Try and schedule as much time in actual IMC as possible once you start
shooting approaches. You may find that it is significantly different than
flying under the hood. No pun intended, but it can be a real eye opening
experience.

Kobra

"Wendy" wrote in message
...
I upgraded from my ridiculously cheap and poorly performing Flightline
headset to a DC H20-10 in preparation for my IFR training. I haven't
flown
with the DC's yet, but I will Saturday afternoon. My rationale here is
two-fold in that if I am in need of communicating, it would be a good
thing
to not only have some equipment I can reliably communicate with, but to
initiate my IFR training at an airport that is controlled (KDWH) rather
than
the admittedly fine uncontrolled airport I initially trained at (KCXO);
the
choice of which will obviously requires a level of conversation surpassing
simply shooting the breeze.

The FBO where I bought the headset- Mercury Flight Systems- seems to have
a
solid, while expensive, approach to the IFR experience. Rather than
making
loads of short XC's, they seem to stress longer ones;
Houston-Memphis-Houston being one example. Obviously, there will be a lot
of shorter excursions in the curriculum, but I have to say that the idea
of
flying under an instrument flight plan on major excursions is a
challenging
surely and valuable experience. These people seem honestly concerned with
making me a proficient IFR pilot rather than simply preparing me for the
checkride, which is the general impression I got from the operation where
I
obtained my initial certification. Any comments on this would be greatly
appreciated; being trained to pass the PTS is one thing, and thoroughly
understanding it is another, IMHO.

Apparently the training will be conducted in a C-172 upgraded to 180hp
with
a CS prop; since I have some (short) time in a Super Decathlon this won't
be
totally new to me. Instrument flying will be new, other than than my
brief
exposure required by the Private program, and I am looking forward to it.
This is a challenge I really want to master, and any suggestions you all
might have as concerns beginning training would be greatly appreciated.

Wendy

In a similar vein - I decided that since I was going to be going for my
commercial and then CFI rating after finishing my instrument (which I'm
presently, on) I would finally get one of those ANR headsets. The Bose is a
little to rich for the lint that's in my pocket, so I bought Lightspeed's
20L ANR headset from and eBay auction. I had been using the Lightspeed
passive headset - QFR Solo in the previous couple of years.

Anyway, I decided to 'christen' the headset by using it on one of my
instrument lessons. I put it on, without pressing the ANR 'on' switch, find
myself thinking "well, this is hardly anything",, then I realized I hadn't
turned on the ANR and pressed the button,,,, WOW,,, I was sold as I 'heard'
the sound and the engine roar drop to nearly nothing. I was such a happy
customer that I decided to get a Lightspeed 20 3G ANR headset and just
placed an order for one, a couple of days ago - it's supposed to arrive
around Monday. It has slightly better ANR with a cell phone input and an
automatic shutoff to protect the user from leaving the headset on inside the
headset bag. Looking forward to checking it out on my instrument lesson
next Thursday.

If there are any 'fence sitters" on getting the ANR headset I have to tell
ya to get one! The part that surprised me most was how fatiguing that
engine drone could be over a couple hours of instrument flying and how
refreshed I felt without that noise in the background during my instrument
lessons. The way I felt was like night and day.

By the way, if you want to use a good 'best price finder', I've become a big
fan of www.froogle.com . It's how I bought my latest headset - cost me $459
with FREE shipping via UPS. I'm pretty thrilled!!!

--
--
Good Flights!

Cecil E. Chapman, Jr.
PP-ASEL

"We who fly do so for the love of flying.
We are alive in the air with this miracle
that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"

- Cecil Day Lewis-

Check out my personal flying adventures: www.bayareapilot.com
"Wendy" wrote in message
...
I upgraded from my ridiculously cheap and poorly performing Flightline
headset to a DC H20-10 in preparation for my IFR training. I haven't
flown
with the DC's yet, but I will Saturday afternoon. My rationale here is
two-fold in that if I am in need of communicating, it would be a good
thing
to not only have some equipment I can reliably communicate with, but to
initiate my IFR training at an airport that is controlled (KDWH) rather
than
the admittedly fine uncontrolled airport I initially trained at (KCXO);
the
choice of which will obviously requires a level of conversation surpassing
simply shooting the breeze.

The FBO where I bought the headset- Mercury Flight Systems- seems to have
a
solid, while expensive, approach to the IFR experience. Rather than
making
loads of short XC's, they seem to stress longer ones;
Houston-Memphis-Houston being one example. Obviously, there will be a lot
of shorter excursions in the curriculum, but I have to say that the idea
of
flying under an instrument flight plan on major excursions is a
challenging
surely and valuable experience. These people seem honestly concerned with
making me a proficient IFR pilot rather than simply preparing me for the
checkride, which is the general impression I got from the operation where
I
obtained my initial certification. Any comments on this would be greatly
appreciated; being trained to pass the PTS is one thing, and thoroughly
understanding it is another, IMHO.

Apparently the training will be conducted in a C-172 upgraded to 180hp
with
a CS prop; since I have some (short) time in a Super Decathlon this won't
be
totally new to me. Instrument flying will be new, other than than my
brief
exposure required by the Private program, and I am looking forward to it.
This is a challenge I really want to master, and any suggestions you all
might have as concerns beginning training would be greatly appreciated.

Wendy

Oops... forgot to mention. I'm planning on using the 20L headset for
passengers. I figure the exceptional noise reduction might be especially
good for new or first-time passengers - can't help thinking the engine drone
contributes to at least, some of their stress.

--
--
Good Flights!

Cecil E. Chapman, Jr.
PP-ASEL

"We who fly do so for the love of flying.
We are alive in the air with this miracle
that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"

- Cecil Day Lewis-

Check out my personal flying adventures: www.bayareapilot.com

I am all for long, multiple XC's.
Since I own my own plane, I only had to pay for the instructor, I specifically
requested alot of XC's, I would check the weather and whenI saw actual in the
los angeles basin I would call him and say hey we have weather, wanna go fly.
I also did some night IFR up to cedar city, Utah from las vegas.

flying these approaches gave me time to do actual IFR and not just "shooting
approaches", so you get the whole thing, arrival procedure, approach, vectors,
all on one approach.

Wendy wrote:

I upgraded from my ridiculously cheap and poorly performing Flightline
headset to a DC H20-10 in preparation for my IFR training. I haven't flown
with the DC's yet, but I will Saturday afternoon. My rationale here is
two-fold in that if I am in need of communicating, it would be a good thing
to not only have some equipment I can reliably communicate with, but to
initiate my IFR training at an airport that is controlled (KDWH) rather than
the admittedly fine uncontrolled airport I initially trained at (KCXO); the
choice of which will obviously requires a level of conversation surpassing
simply shooting the breeze.

The FBO where I bought the headset- Mercury Flight Systems- seems to have a
solid, while expensive, approach to the IFR experience. Rather than making
loads of short XC's, they seem to stress longer ones;
Houston-Memphis-Houston being one example. Obviously, there will be a lot
of shorter excursions in the curriculum, but I have to say that the idea of
flying under an instrument flight plan on major excursions is a challenging
surely and valuable experience. These people seem honestly concerned with
making me a proficient IFR pilot rather than simply preparing me for the
checkride, which is the general impression I got from the operation where I
obtained my initial certification. Any comments on this would be greatly
appreciated; being trained to pass the PTS is one thing, and thoroughly
understanding it is another, IMHO.

Apparently the training will be conducted in a C-172 upgraded to 180hp with
a CS prop; since I have some (short) time in a Super Decathlon this won't be
totally new to me. Instrument flying will be new, other than than my brief
exposure required by the Private program, and I am looking forward to it.
This is a challenge I really want to master, and any suggestions you all
might have as concerns beginning training would be greatly appreciated.

Wendy

Another thing, alot of people wont fly with an instructor after getting their
rating, personally, if I see some good wicked weather, I will call my instructor
and see if he wants to fly. My goal is to get experience in all kinds of
different weather, do all the flying my self, just have him with me incase
things get out of hand.
My commericial instructor right now is the same guy I used for my instrument, I
just got new avionics in my plane (garmin 430,garmin x-ponder and some other
stuff) and am going up with him for some commericial work and instrument work
so can practice doing approaches with the new GPS.

the key to good instrument training is to have a good instructor who is
experienced in hard IFR and knows what you can fly into safely.


Wendy wrote:

I upgraded from my ridiculously cheap and poorly performing Flightline
headset to a DC H20-10 in preparation for my IFR training. I haven't flown
with the DC's yet, but I will Saturday afternoon. My rationale here is
two-fold in that if I am in need of communicating, it would be a good thing
to not only have some equipment I can reliably communicate with, but to
initiate my IFR training at an airport that is controlled (KDWH) rather than
the admittedly fine uncontrolled airport I initially trained at (KCXO); the
choice of which will obviously requires a level of conversation surpassing
simply shooting the breeze.

The FBO where I bought the headset- Mercury Flight Systems- seems to have a
solid, while expensive, approach to the IFR experience. Rather than making
loads of short XC's, they seem to stress longer ones;
Houston-Memphis-Houston being one example. Obviously, there will be a lot
of shorter excursions in the curriculum, but I have to say that the idea of
flying under an instrument flight plan on major excursions is a challenging
surely and valuable experience. These people seem honestly concerned with
making me a proficient IFR pilot rather than simply preparing me for the
checkride, which is the general impression I got from the operation where I
obtained my initial certification. Any comments on this would be greatly
appreciated; being trained to pass the PTS is one thing, and thoroughly
understanding it is another, IMHO.

Apparently the training will be conducted in a C-172 upgraded to 180hp with
a CS prop; since I have some (short) time in a Super Decathlon this won't be
totally new to me. Instrument flying will be new, other than than my brief
exposure required by the Private program, and I am looking forward to it.
This is a challenge I really want to master, and any suggestions you all
might have as concerns beginning training would be greatly appreciated.

Wendy

Here are some comments and suggestions (I'm sure others will disagree with
parts):

The school should use a written syllabus, and you should have a copy. The
training should be broken down into phases, typically:
1. Basic airplane control
2. Basic navigation
3. Approaches and holding
4. Cross-country flights
There might occasionally be good reasons to deviate from the syllabus, but in
general you should be proficient in each phase before moving on to the next.
Beware of an instructor who has you doing ILS approaches on the 2nd lesson.
Doing an IFR cross-country early on can be useful to let you see how things
work, but your role will be more as an observer than as an IFR pilot.

Make sure you have a copy of the Instrument Rating Practical Test Standards
(available at http://afs600.faa.gov/AFS630.htm). Refer to it frequently
during your training, not just at the very end before the checkride.

It's better to do cross-countries with three legs, instead of retracing your
initial route. For example, instead of Houston-Memphis-Houston, do
Houston-Memphis-Little Rock-Houston.

You shouldn't need to do "loads" of short cross-countries. The syllabus I use
has four cross-countries, including the "long" 250 nm one, and together they
take about 10 hours. If you need a lot more, it's probably because you didn't
spend enough time on the earlier phases.

Go to a range of airports, both towered and non-towered.

I think that there's little value in long cross-countries - you don't learn
much droning along at cruise for three hours. The main value is in the flight
planning and dealing with different conditions. If you do decide to do a long
flight, try to get a day when the weather's not uniform along the route, and
pick a route with varied geography. I guess you have to go pretty far from
Houston (and not towards Memphis) to see some mountains.

Barry


The FBO where I bought the headset- Mercury Flight Systems- seems to have a
solid, while expensive, approach to the IFR experience. Rather than making
loads of short XC's, they seem to stress longer ones;
Houston-Memphis-Houston being one example. Obviously, there will be a lot
of shorter excursions in the curriculum, but I have to say that the idea of
flying under an instrument flight plan on major excursions is a challenging
surely and valuable experience. These people seem honestly concerned with
making me a proficient IFR pilot rather than simply preparing me for the
checkride, which is the general impression I got from the operation where I
obtained my initial certification. Any comments on this would be greatly
appreciated; being trained to pass the PTS is one thing, and thoroughly
understanding it is another, IMHO.

"Barry" wrote
Here are some comments and suggestions (I'm sure others will
disagree with parts):

Barry, even with somewhat limited experience, I would have to
agree wholeheartedly with your entire post!!

Bob Moore
ATP CFI USN
PanAm (retired)

These people seem honestly concerned with
making me a proficient IFR pilot rather than simply preparing me for the
checkride,...

In my opinion, that's a very important thing. I got my instrument rating
five years ago after a too-long training period, much of which was caused by
my first instructor's view that if I had "done" everything that would be
required on the checkride, then I was OK to go, and of course I simply
wasn't. My second instructor's first words after landing from my first
flight with him were, "You're not a confident instrument pilot". I replied,
"Bingo! We're going to get along fine." We worked until I was a confident,
competent, instrument pilot.

"Barry" wrote in message
...
Here are some comments and suggestions (I'm sure others will disagree with
parts):

(Very good stuff snipped)

Thanks, Barry- great advice, and I do appreciate it. I just got off the
phone with the FBO and their course structure is much the same as you
suggested. And yes, one has to go a looong way from Houston to find
mountains

Wendy