I flew with an instructor yesterday. The goal was to continue to improve control of the airplane, flying Pattern C under the hood. Pattern C is a pattern used in WWII instrument training. It is not found in the current FAA handbooks. My training did not go as planned. I got bounced around by the windy conditions, uneven heating and approaching thunder storms. With lightning coming down within 2000 feet of the airplane, we aborted the training. I still obtained 30 minutes of hood time and some great instruction.
Here are some tidbits.
First, checklists are critical to instrument flying. There are many procedures to follow. Using checklists insures the workload is managed properly. There are two approaches to checklists: do and then read OR read and then do. For example, the before take-off checklist is TLTGA (time, lights, transponder, gyro, attitude indicator). Before taking the runway, read this. On the runway, do it. A counter example, I do a pre-flight check of the airplane by memory, then I read the checklist, verifying that I did everything.
Second, remember Out, Off (takeoff), On (on the ground), In (shutdown). These are the times to record hobbs (or clock). This is to line up with the flight plan. In general, start getting a better snapshot of time, bracketing time as you would when moving from one checkpoint to the next.
Third, get in the habit of informing Ground the type of flight: VFR or IFR.
Fourth, use the attitude indicator to maintain control of the turns. In a level turn, the center of the miniature airplane center will be glued to a center of the attitude indicator (well... in slow flight with a different attitude, the 'center' is above the line).
The next flight had a great impact on me. I was helping a friend fly his plane to another airport early in the morning so the plane could be used for a Camp Fantastic (for kids with cancer) event. When I left, the conditions at Manassas were VFR. Luray had an Airmet Sierra and the trend was looking good in the next two hours. I was hopeful I could get to the destination. As I flew over Cassanova, ascending to 5500 to get over the mountains and fly direct to Linden (the FAF for VOR approach to KFRR), clouds rolled under me. I was moving in MVFR(3 to 5 SM visibility and 1000-3000 AGL cloud cover) conditions. If I stayed above the clouds, I would be in VFR conditions. My hope was that, once I got to the FAF, I could descend through an opening to get below the clouds, assuming the ceilings were high enough. I had put an extra hour of fuel in the tanks to allow for a retreat back to Manassas if needed.
As I climbed, some clouds billowed up. It is these clouds the allowed me to have my first experience of vertigo ever. I now understand why pilots who fly through clouds without proper training usually see less than two minutes of life. The vertigo came on fast. I immediately recognized it for what it was, just as the plane started to bank. I focused on the instruments, maintained a proper climb attitude, and cleared the cloud, climbing to a safe 1000 feet above the clouds. Recall that class E VFR conditions require me to stay 1000 above, 500 feet below and 2000 horizontal with 3 miles visibility.
So, I made it through that challenge. As you have guessed, since I am writing this now, I made through the next one as well. The next step was to get down to KFRR from Linden. I understand how to perform a circling approach. I am not authorized to do so, nor would I. I planned to follow the approach, but in visual conditions. KFRR is surrounded by mountains on both sides. I was going to be glued to the radial assigned from Linden.
The circling approach MDA is around 3000 MSL (well above the 740 MSL runway threshold). I figured the ceiling was about 1500 AGL. Once down that low, I would be in class G airspace , permitting me to fly in 1 SM visibility and remain clear of clouds. I just needed to get there. Well, my plan worked. As I began my turn and descent at Linden, the clouds left an opening for me to see the ground about 7 miles out in front of me. I could not see the airport. I could see that I would get the 1500 AGL ceiling I needed. I proceeded with the approach.
I also proceeded to fly over the airport without seeing it. Since I knew I flew over the airport (I was timing the approach), I had to circle back. I took a wider circle to get oriented with the area. I was in class G at this point and the clouds were safely above me. I had 5 miles visibility. In an IFR scenario, this would be a missed approach. I am still flying under VFR, using instrument procedures to get me to an unfamiliar airport in a mountainous region.
FYI, I would not fly in 1 SM visibility ever without an IFR flight plan. That does not provide a pilot enough time to scan for planes, towers and hills.
