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I'm a new Intrument Pilot

L

lr172

Well Known Member
Last fall, I set out to gain my Instrument rating. I did all of the training in my RV-6A and today passed my check-ride. I thought it was a great experience to learn these skills in my RV, as they taught me from the very beginning how diligent you must be on flying the airplane and that any distraction can allow you to wander. I think back to my first lesson and how far behind the airplane I was. I suppose it could be discouraging for some, but when it finally comes together, it is a great sense of accomplishment. I have to say that the advanced EFIS technology really makes some of this easy enough that I sometimes feel like I am cheating. My partial panel was covering the HXr and flying off the Mini-X :D With that said, I appreciate that I am ill equipped to fly a 6 pack airplane and would get rededial training if I ever chose to fly one.

To those that are considering going for their rating in their RV, I would encourage you to do so. The upside here is that I feel comfortable and confident in the airplane that I will be flying.

Thanks to those here that helped me by being a safety pilot!

Larry
 
Congrats on your new rating!! Nothing wrong with taking another couple lessons and flying a rental with a six pack + instructor.

I did the first part of my instrument training in a Diamond DA40 with a G1000. About 1/2 of the way through my training the DA40 was taken offline. I completed the rest of my training in an old 6-pack 172 with a 430. It was an interesting experience to say the least!

You can also just fly a simulator like FSX and select an airplane with a 6-pack. Probably a cheaper option. I fly a sim 2-3 times a week to stay somewhat current in between getting out to fly real approaches.
 
Got 'er done!

Congrats Larry! Enjoyed chatting with you a few weeks back. One of my favorite uses of the RV was training for and completing the DPE instrument ride, especially with GRT on the panel.

Well done, sir! Stay safe using that ticket for years to come.
 
Congratulations, Larry!

Just out of curiosity, how do you have your HXr and Mini interfaced to your navigation sources? I have similar GRT equipment - HX and Mini-X, and am quite curious to know how you have things hooked up.

Thanks!
 
Congratulations Larry.
As a friend said to me on my Instrument day "Remember this day, you are at the top of your game and may never be quite this good ever again".

Be careful friend. Toe in the water first.

As a side note, I read Robert Bucks book then. Much later, I read it again. Has more meaning now than it did then as a freshly minted ticket holder.
 
Thanks. I plan to get up a few times in the short term with 1000' ceilings and really work on being in the system, dealing with dsitractions and shooting approaches. I figure this is low enough to be real and high enough to keep out of real trouble. I feel that practice alone will further enhance some of my skills. It was interesting that I always felt that I was performing better and more proficiently with a safety pilot than with the CFII. I think it may have been the heightened attention required when the teacher wasn't there to lean on.

Larry
 
Congratulations Larry.

That's a great accomplishment that I hope to achieve someday. If I could only figure out a way to do the training in my RV-8.
 
Larry,

Congratulations! The trick is to stay current and to get/stay proficient. Id recommend exactly what you are planning. Look for days with decent minimums and practice being in actual and shooting approaches. Also, find a friend to be safety pilot and practice regularly. Take the opportunity to get very comfortable with using the Auto Pilot to shoot approaches while talking to ATC. Do the same by hand.
 
Canadian_JOY said:
Congratulations, Larry!

Just out of curiosity, how do you have your HXr and Mini interfaced to your navigation sources? I have similar GRT equipment - HX and Mini-X, and am quite curious to know how you have things hooked up.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The challenging part was dealing with only 3 serial ports on the Mini. I set up three relays tied to a reversion switch. The first has the DU interlink in NC and a connection to my magnetometer in NO position. The second has a connection bridged to the AP links on the HX, allowing the bridging of the MINI and requiring the HX to be turned off (I will be changing this, as I feel better with a more traditional SPDT connection for this on the AP Tx side). The third relay bridges the nav input to my two radios (a DPDT switch chooses which radio will be fed to the Mini input NAV or GPS). I also connect the dedicated Trig Transx connection going directly to the Trig format interface (this has to be left off in software or it takes over control of the transx from HX).

I have some concerns over not wanting to be changing settings if in the soup if I lose the HX and I am taking out my SL30 and KLN-90 and replacing with a 430. The 430 can only provide serial-based CDI output for GPS-horizontal and I don't plan on adding ARINC to the Mini to get VLOC CDI data. My new plan is to connect a dedicated serial port from the 430 to the mini (assuming that the 430 won't hiccup from getting air data from 2 different sources - data should be the same courtesy of the display interlink). I will run the AP Tx feed to the common on a SPDT switch with the NC to the HX and the NO to the Mini. Rx is bridged as it is a multi-cast protocol. This will allow me to simply change which device controls the servos. I will leave the Display interlink in place and give up on the magnetometer, as I don't feel that I really need magnetic heading in the case of a failed EFIS. If I declare a loss of primary navigation, I am sure that ATC would accommodate me using track instead of heading. I will probably run the trig output from the Mini to a switch in the NO position. I may skip it. I just haven't decided how important it would be to have control over the Transponder in an EFIS loss. Certainly desirable, but not sure how critical.

I will still get ILS and V & H GPS data to the Mini if the AHRS fails but the DU is still working. The CDI data is passed over the DU interlink.

I bought a 5 Ah powersonc battery that I charge through a 20A GP diode (drops about .4 volts and fits into the float voltage range). The battery connection feed the single power input to the Mini. This eliminated a B/U switch.

Larry
 
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That first solo flight into an overcast is almost like the very first time a pilot solos. Once you penetrate the cloud deck, you think well I 'm here now I got to get myself back down, by myself. :-0
 
Congratulations

Larry:
A few suggestions to aid in your new and never-ending journey...

File instruments on every cross country flight you take, even in CAVU weather and even if your destination doesn't have a published approach. The more you work with "the system", the more comfortable you'll become with it.

Practice often. Even if you fly every week in the Great Lakes area, you'll find that most IFR flying involves climbing thru layers and there will be very few times you'll actually do a full approach. Practicing is a great excuse to fly more.

Try to do as much flying as possible by hand. The auto pilot is your friend, but it can become your enemy if it turns into a necessary crutch.

Finally, relax and have fun. The more you practice, the more relaxed you'll become in actual conditions - even your passengers will notice this.

Terry, CFI
RV9A N323TP
 
Congratulations, Larry!

It was almost one year ago that I took the instrument checkride in the RV9A. It takes a lot of anxiety about weather out of cross country trips. As others have said, practice a lot and fly in the system every chance you get. Welcome!
 
real pilots FILE! nice going. i am assuming everything got to you. :)
image-8.jpg
 
Thanks for all of the advice and ideas on best managing and further developing this skill. I appreciate it.

Larry
 
Huzzah!

Larry,
Having taken the same written and checkride less than two years ago, I get how much of a milestone this is to you. How much a feeling of accomplishment.
Congratulations, Sir!
v/r,
dr
 
terrykohler said:
File instruments on every cross country flight you take, even in CAVU weather and even if your destination doesn't have a published approach. The more you work with "the system", the more comfortable you'll become with it.
Click to expand...

+1 on this. Filing instruments on every flight improved my procedures and radio skills. Now that you have the rating and understand how the system works, you can also learn a LOT by just listening to how ATC handles other pilots in the system.
 
sibriggs said:
That first solo flight into an overcast is almost like the very first time a pilot solos. Once you penetrate the cloud deck, you think well I 'm here now I got to get myself back down, by myself. :-0
Click to expand...

I concur, that first solo flight through, above, and back through the clouds was a much bigger deal to me than the first primary solo.

Congratulations!
 
Sam Buchanan said:
I concur, that first solo flight through, above, and back through the clouds was a much bigger deal to me than the first primary solo.

Congratulations!
Click to expand...

I had my first instrument flight last weekend and spent almost 30 minutes in the clouds. Ceilings were relatively high, so approaches were visual. The first 30 seconds was quite "interesting." The skills kicked in pretty quickly and I felt pretty confident. One the return flight I climbed through 3000' of clouds to get on top and it felt really good. I felt prepared and it was a very satisfying experience.

Larry
 
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