A journal of getting my dang IFR rating after flying VFR for a decade and a half...and 'glassing up' Flash's cockpit.

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Welcome.  I'm currently studying for my IFR written exam.  In late 2007 I had about five hours of IFR training time in my logbook - training had stalled when I started building my RV-6 'Flash' back in 1996.  Now that the RV is finished and I have over five years of flying it behind me, I'm hoping to finally get my IFR rating.

In 2007, VansAirForce.net became my full time job, so I'll be needing to travel around the country covering RV events.  An IFR rating is a good thing.

Here I'll journal any thoughts as I prepare for the written, as well as document construction on a new EFIS-based IFR panel.

The adventure continues!

Kindest,
Doug Reeves

Relevant Links:
- IFR section: VAF Forums
- Glass cockpit section
- WX Page (VAF)

Later in the day back home I downloaded the demo for On-Top IFR Simulator by ASA v9.5, played with it for an hour and then bought it (demo's airspace is limited to a 75NM radius of Helen, MT.).  Lets you use a Garmin 430 (like my new panel will have) and lets you display an instructor's station on a 2nd monitor.  Hopefully should make the time in the plane less of a 'drinking from a firehose' type event.  Plan on shooting a virtual approach the day before we do it for real (with forecast winds).

Turns out hand flying a RV through procedure turns and holds takes skill (something I don't have an abundance of at the current time <g>).

SPOT returns from the lesson.

7/4/08
Fun times.  Stan left a message on my phone the night before telling me what we were going to cover the next day.  "Be ready for brief with a fueled and pre-flighted plane at 0700."  Five minutes after the briefing we were airborne, and 30 seconds after liftoff I was under the FrankenFoggles.  Took them off 1.3 hrs later.

Picked up the 310º radial out of RANGER (FUZ) and tracked it until about halfway to Bowie, somewhere around HIKAY intersection.  Switched over to BOWIE (UKW) and tracked the 310º radial on it.  Once past Bowie we turned around and, using the VOR/DME RWY 17 approach plate, tracked the 137º radial at 3,000' to the ENTUR IAF.  Used the 496 with the Bowie VOR loaded in the GoTo to determine DME distances, knowing full well we can't legally do this in real IFR conditions, but it's always nice to have a plan 'B'.

Stan made me check in with regional approach, get flight following, dial in the xponder, switch tanks and look up info on the GPS while hand flying under the hood.  His idea of fun I think....  Although Stan hasn't let me use the AP yet, I would currently consider not having a fully working dual axis AP a deal breaker for single pilot IFR flight in my RV.

15 DME from the UKW VOR we started holding (standard).  The wind was about 18kts at our altitude and it took me a couple of laps to get the feel for heading corrections.  By the fourth lap I was getting close, so we proceeded in.  Descended down to MDA by the missed approach point, then went missed and followed its instructions back to the Bowie VOR.

Having a clock that I can start/stop easily right next to the turn coordinator seems to be working for me.

After a few more minutes doing other things we flew direct 52F (me still under the hood most of the way), landed and debriefed.  I used my pocket digital recorder to record the debrief for my personal notes.  Having a CFII who spends his work days driving a Boeing means there is a real possibility he might spit out a few tips and nuggets of IFR info that will help me down the road.  My brain was mush by that point and I didn't want to risk not catching any tips that I might miss otherwise.

Stan said it was a pretty morning to fly - I wouldn't know...didn't see any of it <g>.

Special thanks to the controller on 118.1 that put up with my newbieish, tongue-tied drivel on the radio while I was 'foggling around'.

Later the next day I combined the output route tracks from the Garmin 496 with the approach plate using GPSVisualizer.com and Photoshop (image below).  Wanted to see if the real tracks were as bad as I thought they would be.  Furthest track left was the teardrop entry later in the lesson.  First hold was the second loop from the left, second was the third loop from left....got better as I interpreted correctly what the SE wind was doing.

SPOT returns from the flight.

Route of flight using Runwayfinder

A good lesson.  Fun times.

7/2/08
Current layout....might change a little on the right.

7/1/08
Took (2) practice tests yesterday for the IFR written.  Passed both.  A good sign... 

6/24/08
.5 with Ross Burgess as Safety Pilot
   (during lunch) So then Ross says, "I can go fly safety pilot with you if you want some simulated IFR."  Why not?  It's only 96*F.  Fifteen later I'm under the hood - logged .5 under the Frankenfoggles.  This trip was highlighted by 360 turns at 60* of bank  (many of them).  75kt full flap descents and climbing turns.  Recalibrated the compass on the EFIS a few days ago - it's running way smoother now.  I think Ross was easier on me than Stan, he knew I had a stomach full of food <g>.  I feel SO fortunate to be doing this training in my own RV - it's very sensitive, but I'm getting comfortable with it.  Literally putting on the hood thirty seconds after takeoff, 95% of each training flight is logged simulated IFR.
  This time under the hood was more solid than last time.  Progress made.  The avgas budget is blown for the week, but I got to fly with the jeweler and got some IFR sim time to boot.  Good times.  No planned flying next several days - gotta play grown up for a bit.

6/18/08
IFR Training Lesson #1 in Flash
   I haven't logged one second of simulated IFR since 8/15/97.  And as (cruel) fate would have it, one of the guys I fly formation with on a regular basis (Stan Price) is a CFII...and Boeing driver.  He knows that with a thousand hours in it I'm pretty comfortable now with the RV, and he's either had me on his wing or been on my wing a couple dozen times in the last year.  I suspect that might be the reason he gave me a little more to do on my first IFR lesson in Flash than I had expected.  You see, I had expected straight and level with a few turns.
   Yesterday I logged 1.5 hrs under the hood in one continuous stretch, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
   I showed up an hour early and gassed up Flash.  Took her around the pattern a few times, as I hadn't flown in over a week and wanted to make sure all the stuff was working and configured right.  .1 on the hobbs and all loose.  Let's do this thang...
   Stan showed and motioned me over to brief.  He spent a few minutes describing what he wanted out of me (don't kill us) and gave me an overview of the next few weeks.  Got in, started, taxied and took off.  Sixty seconds into the flight he handed me the foggles.  By foggles I mean 'FrankenFoggles'.  Think Silence of the Lambs night vision foggles.  Think work very well foggles.  Old school black out everything.
   I instantly felt like a 2hr rookie.  My brain actually ached as I tried to remember all the stuff that I had forgotten fifteen years ago.  He had me do straight and level for about two minutes and then we started on the vertical S's (climbs, descents, climbs, descents, etc).  Heading change left.  Heading change right (hold +/- 3*).  Climb and turn to heading this.  Descend and turn to heading that.  Track heading 350, then 270, then 090, then 360...give me ten degrees left.
   Turns out we flew all the way to Gainesville (who knew?) and then turned around.  Contacted approach, got a code and did a few laps holding over the PINCK LOM/IAF north of Denton.  First in my life...and they stunk a little, but I'm learning.
   Then we headed outbound and did a procedure turn - the little clock next to the turn coordinator worked out really nice for this.  Bang the top to start clock - bang the top to stop clock.  Got back on the localizer and shot the approach down to missed.  The approach plate called for an ADF to locate the LOM when you go missed (and I don't have one), but since it was simulated, we were VFR, and we were pretending it was an emergency, I used the 496 to identify it.  Can't do it for real but it's a nice plan B to have in my pocket.  There's an ILS that doesn't require ADF over at Alliance that we'll shoot next, I figure.
   After we went missed and I had climbed to pattern altitude, we headed back to 52F.  Stan took the plane for the last .1 and I slithered down to the floor into a pool of blubber.  I logged 1.5 honest to goodness hours of simulated IFR Wednesday.  My brain feels like Jello and my neck feels like concrete is setting up in there.
  I am GLAD I have around 1,000 hours in this RV already.  It is WAY easy to get all over the place in this thing without an autopilot and I found myself chasing it a lot more than I thought I'd have to.  I have to really watch the ball on climbs, because I tend to change heading if I don't.  When Stan told me to take off the FrankenFoggles and fly VFR again, I actually felt something go cha-click inside my brain.  It was weird for about five seconds - I'd read about that transition in the books, but didn't think it would be as pronounced as it was.
  Having your own plane that you can be flying in under 30 minutes is a Godsend for this kind of training.  Also, having your own plane can be a nightmare if your CFII wants to give you 1.5+ hood.  I now have 7.5 hrs simulated IFR time in the log, no foolin'.  Yeah, I bought Stan's lunch, and he earned it times 10.
  After lunch I went home, took a cold shower, put on a SteinAir T-shirt, started on paperwork and the normal workflow, then daydreamed about how nice it will be to have a 430 that flies holding patterns on autopilot.  My brain is silly putty...and you (and I) don't want to ever see the groundtracks of this flight.
  Later the familia motored over to El Chico to celebrate Tate finishing his basketball camp (and me not flying into the approach lights), where I ordered a margarita the size of my head.  My neck finally relaxed <g>.
  Looking forward to the next flight...

      related: The IFR section of the forums

6/11/08
  Still studying for the written.  Not cramming, just picking up the book every few hours when the kids and site are squared away (or more accurately when I need a break).  One thing I did do in the last two days was discover the 'course notes' section in the King book that came with my DVDs.  These (54) pages are a tight summary of all the concepts needed to pass - just like you had taken notes while watching the DVDs.  I cut them out of the 4 lb book with my knife, drove over to Office Depot and had them bound.  Now I can keep that balanced on the armrest of the chair in the living room and have the computer testing supplement in my lap.
  I'm highlighting the key info in the notes section and also the parts of the figures that are referenced in the questions (third pic below).  Total weight for this 'travelling IFR study set' is about 10oz and it's now my primary study tool.
  After watching the DVDs one time I took a practice test with NO review at all.  Passed with a 78 - if the question involved calculations I just guessed and went on.  I'm going to go through these notes one time (1/5th of the way through a little more than 1.5 days into it) and take the practice test again.  If I pass I'm going to go take the real test.
  I'm not cramming too hard on this, just 30 minutes here and there maybe every other day while the kids and wifey are watching another episode of Are You Smarter Than America's Favorite Dance Video Idol Investigator Unit (or something to that affect).

  Q: Who's gonna make a 100 on his IFR written?
  A: Not me (but I'll pass it )

1. The book I cut out the 'notes' section from.
2.  The 'notes' bound at Office Depot ($2.50)
3/4.  The new, combined study package.

5/29/08
   Flash is ready for IFR training.  The Dynon remote compass is installed, calibrated and functioning properly.  The Garmin 496 is talking to the TruTrak Pictoral Pilot heading autopilot (as well as the HSI function of the Dynon) and the ASA flight clock is mounted next to the TnB indicator.  There are a couple of minor housekeeping chores to do - readjust the compass on the far right side, label a dedicated power switch to the Dynon/496 and waterproof the canopy seal a little better.
  Nothing new to report on the 'new new' panel.  Stein will call me one of these days with an update, I suspect.  I'm on his schedule with this so no worries.  Whatever he says is fine w/me.
  Bring on those procedure turns!

5/22/08
   Finished watching the King IFR DVDs all the way through.  Here's what is covered in the AIM section - the last one covered:

ATC Clearances and Services
- Contact Aproaches
- Visual Approaches
- Cruise Clearance
- Clearance to VFR on Top
- Clearances
- Radar Service

Airport Ops. And Traffic Avoidance
- Apts w/o Control Towers
- Traffic Avoidance and LAHSO
- Wake Turbulence and Hydroplaning

Runway Environment
- Runway Markings and Lights
- VASI and PAPI
- Airport Markings and Signs

Flight Physiology
- Spatial Disorientation
- Hypoxia and Hyperventilation
- Night Flying and Landing Illusions

Just for grins I immediately took the practice test without reviewing a single thing I've looked at since 3/27/08.  If the question involved doing a formula or mental gymnastics I just took an educated guess.  Total time taking test was (21) minutes.  I wanted to see how bad I'd fail...and I ended up passing with a 78.3%.  Go figure!  All this is amazing, as I would expect to get somewhere in the area of a 50% with my nine brain cells, having not looked at half the material in a month and a half.   No review at all - not one second.  A nice data point showing some of this King DVD stuff stuck in me noodle.

The hope is that with a couple of weeks review I might be able to consistently pass, which would be nice.  These DVDs were a good idea (at least for me).

Developing....

5/13/08
   Pics of the existing panel's IFR upgrades online at: http://picasaweb.google.com/VansAirForce/FlashPanel051308.  Gearing up for real, honest to goodness IFR lessons in the RV.  Dynon upgraded with remote compass, OAT probe and input from 496.  ADI installed on pax side, compass move over left one hole, wires cleaned up behind the panel and a nice box for AF/D, approach plates, etc ready for use.  Up next, hardwiring 496 into power bar and autopilot.

5/8/08
   Finished the FARs section of the King IFR DVDs (screen capture below shows what was covered).  Did you know if you have (2) VORs and one fails in flight during an IFR flight, you MUST report that failure to ATC?  I didn't know either...(but I do now).  AIM section next...wish me luck <g>.
  

5/7/08
   Panel getting more complex...and expensive.  I'm going to shift some finances around and change the long term focus a bit.  The RV-3B project that I was hoping to start in the near future will be pushed back a couple of years so I can budget for a little more flexibility in this panel.  I'm going to go with (2) 430W units, and either a simple ADI on the right or a Dynon 180.  The entire center is now all Garmin.
  This gives me (2) GPSs, (2) VORs, (2) radios and (3) separate artificial horizons.  Lots of stuff can fail and I still have tons of options.  An autopilot that will fly holding patterns and an EFIS that will display approach charts.  I can shoot GPS or ILS approaches from either seat safely.
  I'm also going to finally finish out the interior!  I've been flying 5+ years with primer on the inside cockpit walls.  Gonna try to make the interior look like a nice touring sedan.  Now that Susie is flying with me more I want to make sure she's the most comfortable she can be.  I'll start that dirt simple RV-3B in a coupla years if we're still on track for all the usual stuff (college savings, etc).
  Current panel layout (and if all goes as planned you'll be able to see it in person at the SteinAir booth at OSH):

5/5/08
   Latest panel layout.  Expect it to change.  Whatever final form it takes, we're planning on having it on display in the SteinAir booth at OSH.  More to come (like I gotta tell you that <g>).

5/4/08
   Finished the 'Weather' section.  Going through this got me to add some more links to the top of the VAF WX section.
  Starting FARs next...

5/3/08
   A little progress to report on the rating.  I finished 'Flight Instruments' and have started 'Weather'.  Got to give a little shout out to Martha and John on these topics, as I had gone through the primary/secondary instruments in various flight scenarios before and it didn't stick.  After watching Martha lay it out I actually got it - and it was simple.  They have a way of saying 'this is how you remember it' that seems to stick in my 9-celled brain.
  Work begins on Flash next week to get the panel up to IFR lesson standard - installing a remote compass for the Dynon, adding a clipboard for approach plates, re-sealing the top of the panel for water, etc.  It'll be over at Monk's for most of the week I suspect.

4/24/08
About halfway through 'Flight Instruments'.  Still amazed at all the stuff I've forgotten over the last decade and a half of VFR flying.  I do have to give credit to Martha and John King for making me UNDERSTAND why the compass lags and leads - the graphics they use may make you sleepy after awhile, but they do work.  I have discovered I'm a graphical learner.  I'll never forget it again.
  Yesterday, while watching the DVD on my laptop waiting in the car for Susie to do some stuff, I re-learned:

• Lag and Lead of the magnetic compass
• Horizontal lift component, centrifugal force, vertical lift component (and skid/slip's effect on them)
• Rates of turn (increases and decreases in rates and radii of turns and their relationship to increases and decreases in airspeed, bank and rate).

Onward to all the turn coordinator stuff I've forgotten now...then shortly into the primary/secondary instruments.  Holy cow, there's hope for me yet.

4/22/08
Tinkering still with the new panel layout.  IFR test prep study continues with the King DVDs.  Reacquainting myself with the use of the E-6B (IAS/CAS/Wind problems/etc).  On disk four now - working my way through true, pressure and density altitudes now.  Finished with both the 'Holding Patterns' and 'Flight Planning' sections.  Getting there!
  

4/17/08
Started and finished the 'Holding Patterns' section of the King DVD.   Took 1.6hrs.

• Holding Pattern Speeds
• Holding Pattern Timing
• Holding Pattern Entries
• Holding at a DME fix
• Holding at a VOR

...and a couple dozen questions on determining which type of entries to make given various clearances from ATC.  My head hurts a little...

My scratch pad on some of the questions.  GPS has spoiled me.

4/15/08
Studying continues with Martha:  RMI, ADF, HSI, VOR, DME approaches.  All the three letter stuff...  Amazed at what I have forgotten flying strictly VFR for the past decade.

4/1/08
Approach plates section complete.  Here's the TOC of that part.  Each video is about five minutes long followed by questions.

The 'roadmap' continues...

3/31/08
First DVD complete.  Now on approach plates.  See Doug.  See Doug study.  Study Doug.  Study!

3/29/08
En route section of the King IFR Test DVDs complete.  I actually understood it, which is saying a lot.  Went through the questions at the end of each section and got 'em all.  I actually think I have a shot at this thing.  It's on a laptop I keep next to a chair in the living room - I plug the iPod ear buds in it and the kids can make all the noise they want.  A nice improvement from the please be quiet studying routine in a book.  Confidence level high.  Attacking approach plates now...

DP doesn't stand for Dr. Pepper anymore...

3/27/08
The King IFR Knowledge Test DVDs came in the mail today.  I installed the software on my laptop, went through the 'how to use' clip, then went through the following clips and questions over the next two hours:

Low Altitude Charts
------------------
Airspace
Airways
Minimum Navigation Equipment
VOR Changeover Point

Airway Altitudes
------------------
Minimum En Route Altitude
Minimum Obstruction Clearance Altitude
Minimum Crossing Altitude
Minimum Reception Altitude

IFR Flight Operations
------------------
Class G
ATC Frequencies
FSS Frequencies
Airport Lighting
Localizer Symbols

First impression is very positive - making a difference with my retention percentage.  I'm sold.  Having someone point to a thing on a chart in a video and explain what it's for allows my feeble brain to absorb the info a little better for some reason.

3/24/08
Was talking with Rosie a couple of weeks back and he said he was using the King IFR training DVDs to study for his test and checkride.  He's a visual kinda guy (his words).  I must admit, studying for the test using the ASA Written Test Prep book can get pretty dry for me, I've found.  In an attempt to get the written out of the way a little sooner, I have an IFR Knowledge Test Course and IFR Rating Checkride Course (DVD) inbound to the house as of today.  I'll let you know if I retain stuff better...
I only have about nine good brain cells, and four of those are dedicated to reminding me to put food in my mouth and not my ear.  Anything that helps me understand all this will be appreciated.

Feb - Mar '08
Holding pattern.  Life....taxes...spring break....sick....and a thousand other excuses.

2/14/08
Happy Valentine's Day!  Dynon back on right brings radio stack back to left a little more, and placed in line with 430W screen.  No off-the-shelf annunciator panel (might build own and run across top of EFIS).  Outline for large, custom glove box.  Use Photoshop to print out exact-size representations of the avionics and used pennies for switches.

click for 1,500 pixel wide version

2/7/08
Playing around with paper cut out to the size of the actual instruments (I'll deny ever using my wife's scrapbooking cutter).  Pennies represent switch/breakers and the autopilot is the TruTrak AP100.  Can't decide where I want the Dynon - on the left or right.  Using my existing audio panel (SL15), annunciator panel (ACU), nav/com (SL30) and transponder (SL70).  Putting the Dynon on the right moves the radio stuff a little more in the middle, just above where my throttle hand would be anyway.  On the other hand, having them a little more to the right is no big deal - my radios are about in that spot right now and with over a thousand hours in the plane currently I'm perfectly content with them in that spot.  Three good reasons to have the Dynon on the left:  1) dedicated HSI if need be  2) can use the 'list' feature to program all the checklists, etc that I would need and 3) completely independent flight instruments right in front of me.

Definitely going with the approachfaststack.com hub system.  Whatever I end up doing I'll leave ample room for a big glove box on the right.

This is fun...

before lunch version

after lunch version - Dynon and 430W screens roughly in line.  ACU above Dynon. 
I like the space left over under the two AFS 3500's - I envision a slit-like, felt-lined shelf just big enough to
hold a few folded maps, charts, pencils, etc...

after dinner version - moved the Dynon and 430W up a bit
to be more in line with the AFS EFIS screens.  Yeah, I know
this'll change a thousand more times....but it's fun.

2/5/08
New panel blank arrives.  I'm committed...

1/31/08
Talked with Alex DeDominicis.  He has agreed to be my CFII.

1/30/08
Talked with Tim Hass of approachfaststack.com Wednesday.  I'm thinking about using their modular wiring system.

1/29/08
Studying continues.  Currently re-wrapping my brain around primary and secondary instruments in pitch, bank and power.  Fun stuff (not).  Today I ordered a new RV-6 tip up instrument panel blank from Van's - I'm $42 into the project.

1/28/08
  A revision in mindset.  I want the Dynon over on my side in case everything and their cousin goes blank - it can be a nice plan 'C'.  The Dynon will be flush mounted.  I'm now thinking about building a whole new panel from scratch, ordering all new equipment (except the Dynon and SL30) and selling all the existing instrumentation in a few months when I make the cut over to the new panel.
  This new version uses a Garmin 430W Waas-enabled GPS (also gives me a 2nd radio).  That's the future of approaches I'm continually told.  Leaving room for a map box on the right side.  The AFS 3500's can work completely independent of each other and either can be used for primary flight instruments (and I still have the Dynon).  Even though the SL40 is shown here, I'm keeping my SL30 (NavComm) so I can use the ILS if the GPS unit fails.  All (3) EFIS systems have battery backups.
  Thinking this should cost just at a billion dollars.

1/24/08
Just throwing some panel ideas area in Photoshop.  I know all the sizes are wrong, but I'm wondering what is involved and what I can use from the existing panel.  Initial thinking is to move the Dynon over to the right side, keep the 496, intercom and SL30.  All this reminds me I need to proved a good 'before' panel picture.

1/15/08
Bought IFR exam test prep and related books from Tina's Pilot Shop at 52F.  The journey begins (continues....actually).

12/11/07
New workbench on side of garage completed.  Swings down to allow entry into passenger side of my car.