transitioning from instruments to visual landing on final

"Gerald Sylvester" wrote...

The biggest problem I had was going from the IFR part to the
visual on short final. The night time might have had something
to do with it but regardles I had a hard time adjusting. I presume
this is somewhat normal. Any words of wisdom?

The instrument-to-visual transition is indeed the hardest part of the
process for many/most people. Several things help:

On an ILS, be set up perfectly as soon as possible. When you first see
the runway, DO NOTHING -- the airplane will continue to fly the LOC and G/S!

After you see the runway, go back to the instruments. Avoid the urge to
"go visual" as soon as you can.

Take only peeks at the runway until you are over the threshold. Stay on
the instruments. Even when you "break out" at minimums, stay on the
instruments, except for those peeks. At 200' AGL, you still have 15-20
seconds of flying to do, and the flare takes less than the last 5 of those.

On a non-precision approach, plan a rate of descent to get yourself at
MDA at the VDP. If no VDP is on the approach plate, construct one using DME
or timing. If you "break out" approaching the MDA, DO NOTHING until you
have oriented yourself with the runway. Then make the easy heading
corrections to establish lineup (if on a VOR or ADF approach; should be
unnecessary on a LOC) while the airplane continues at the normal rate of
descent. At 400' AGL, you still have 30-40 seconds of flying to do; there
is seldom a rush to do anything RIGHT NOW.


Did I mention -- stay primarily on the instruments until over the threshold.
:-)