New IFR Pilot!

[[email protected]]

Hey all... just figured I'd share that I passed my IFR checkride a
week or so ago. If anything, actually passing made me more leery of going
out on own. Don't want hubris, but need to figure out what I can do.

Just as a side note, I got to use it a bit last weekend coming
back from Ohio. VFR at departure and destination, soupy for an hour
enroute over WV. Got to play with light ice at 9000'. I had an out
though, as the MEA was 5000' and there wasn't ice below 8500'. Good,
"relatively safe" learning experience, I think.

Anyway, just thought I'd share.

-Cory

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* The prime directive of Linux: *
* - learn what you don't know, *
* - teach what you do. *
* (Just my 20 USm$) *
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[James M. Knox]

wrote in
:

> Hey all... just figured I'd share that I passed my IFR checkride a
> week or so ago. If anything, actually passing made me more leery of
> going out on own. Don't want hubris, but need to figure out what I
> can do.

Congratulations. I know it was a LOT of work, but admit it... now that
it's done - feels good, doesn't it?

Don't worry too much about anything "special" - your own common sense (and
if you survived this far, you have some) will pretty much keep you out of
trouble. Frankly, you are about as good at flying on the gauges right now
as you ever will be. So just apply a reasonable conservatism and expand
your envelope as you go... you'll do fine.

What you *will* learn a great deal (and eventually wonder how they ever let
you out on your own "way back when") is how to work within the system.
Until weather forecasting and flow control get down to an EXACTING SCIENCE
(I figure in about 1000 years), flying IFR is always going to be an
exercise in flexibility. You do all that wonderful preflight planning
(which *is* a good thing), and it survives precisely as long as it takes
you to get your first clearance. Huh? That's NOTHING like what I filed!

Welcome to the real world.

With practice you will eventually get comfortable with reworking everything
on the fly (pardon the pun). And you will learn the fine art of horse-
trading with ATC for something you both can live with. Just takes time...

Again, congratulations.

-----------------------------------------------
James M. Knox
TriSoft ph 512-385-0316
1109-A Shady Lane fax 512-366-4331
Austin, Tx 78721
-----------------------------------------------

[Dan Luke]

> wrote:
> Hey all... just figured I'd share that I passed my IFR
> checkride a week or so ago.

Congratulations; you are now a duly authorized member of CLAGG, the Congress
of Legally Authorized Gauge Gazers.

Now go file and fly somewhere!
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

[Hilton]

wrote:
> Hey all... just figured I'd share that I passed my IFR checkride a
> week or so ago. If anything, actually passing made me more leery of going
> out on own. Don't want hubris, but need to figure out what I can do.
>
> Just as a side note, I got to use it a bit last weekend coming
> back from Ohio. VFR at departure and destination, soupy for an hour
> enroute over WV. Got to play with light ice at 9000'. I had an out
> though, as the MEA was 5000' and there wasn't ice below 8500'. Good,
> "relatively safe" learning experience, I think.

Perhaps it's just me, but hearing "passed my IFR checkride a week or so
ago", "Got to play with light ice...", and "safe learning experience" in the
same short post...

My advice:
1. You just got your certificate - be safe(r).
2. Don't play with ice - it kills.
3. That was not a safe learning experience. It was an experience, right
after getting your certificate, that tucked away a thought in your head that
"it is safe to fly in light ice", and the more of these types of experiences
you tuck away, the more slippery the icy slope becomes - so to speak.

You broke FARs, you were not operating within the limitations of your POH,
and this was not a safe learning experience. Don't think for a minute it
was anything other.

Just my view...

BTW: Congratulations on getting your Instrument Rating.

Hilton

[hnelson]

"Hilton" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> wrote:
> > Hey all... just figured I'd share that I passed my IFR checkride a
> > week or so ago. If anything, actually passing made me more leery of
going
> > out on own. Don't want hubris, but need to figure out what I can do.
> >
> > Just as a side note, I got to use it a bit last weekend coming
> > back from Ohio. VFR at departure and destination, soupy for an hour
> > enroute over WV. Got to play with light ice at 9000'. I had an out
> > though, as the MEA was 5000' and there wasn't ice below 8500'. Good,
> > "relatively safe" learning experience, I think.
>
> Perhaps it's just me, but hearing "passed my IFR checkride a week or so
> ago", "Got to play with light ice...", and "safe learning experience" in
the
> same short post...
>
> My advice:
> 1. You just got your certificate - be safe(r).
> 2. Don't play with ice - it kills.
> 3. That was not a safe learning experience. It was an experience, right
> after getting your certificate, that tucked away a thought in your head
that
> "it is safe to fly in light ice", and the more of these types of
experiences
> you tuck away, the more slippery the icy slope becomes - so to speak.
>
> You broke FARs, you were not operating within the limitations of your POH,
> and this was not a safe learning experience. Don't think for a minute it
> was anything other.

> Hilton

Actually this is an interesting subject for discussion in the group. I would
agree that if I were getting any Ice at 9000 and I could ask for 7000 I
would. However here in California if you "operate within FAR's and POH about
forcast icing" then your IFR ticket becomes basically a "fog license". So is
"light ice" a part of IFR flying or do we just stay out of the clouds below
5 degrees C. The situation may be different in the midwest and northwest
where significant IFR conditions may exist without icing conditions being
present.
Howard


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[[email protected]]

In my own defense, I would like to say that a bit of enroute IFR
shortly after obtaining the ticket is exactly what I was looking for in a
"safe learning experience." I knew I didn't need to worry about the
weather at the end, so I could work on working the system.

The light ice was unexpected, but with >10 degree of temperature
separation between the icing at freezing altitude and the MEA enroute, it
was about as "safe" as an icing experience can be. Besides, unless you
mothball the plane from October to May, ice is something that you might
accidentally find yourself in. In a higher stress situation, the overrich
mixture engine miss I experienced while climbing from 7-9 with carb heat
might have required more neurons than I could spare. Now this goes in the
memory bank to poll later.

: 1. You just got your certificate - be safe(r).
VFR only? Aside from the unexpected ice, that's about the only
thing safer than some enroute soup.

: 2. Don't play with ice - it kills.
Yes it does. This flight taught me to respect how quickly ice can
be found, even when unexpected. Since I'm not willing to stop flying for
6 months when it's possible to do so, I'm trying to learn more about icing
potential, etc.

: 3. That was not a safe learning experience. It was an experience, right
: after getting your certificate, that tucked away a thought in your head that
: "it is safe to fly in light ice", and the more of these types of experiences
: you tuck away, the more slippery the icy slope becomes - so to speak.

Again, I maintain that it was as safe as an accidental encounter
with ice could be.

: You broke FARs, you were not operating within the limitations of your POH,
: and this was not a safe learning experience. Don't think for a minute it
: was anything other.

There are *huge* discussions elsewhere about whether "flights into
known icing conditions" mean "conditions favorable to icining" or actual
reports of icing.

: Just my view...
Which you are entitled to, and I (somewhat) agree. It's about
managing risks and I'm certainly not about to go trapsing around looking
to turn my Cherokee into a popsicle.

: BTW: Congratulations on getting your Instrument Rating.

Thanks... :)

-Cory


--
************************************************** ***********************
* The prime directive of Linux: *
* - learn what you don't know, *
* - teach what you do. *
* (Just my 20 USm$) *
************************************************** ***********************

[Tarver Engineering]

> wrote in message
...
> In my own defense, I would like to say that a bit of enroute IFR
> shortly after obtaining the ticket is exactly what I was looking for in a
> "safe learning experience." I knew I didn't need to worry about the
> weather at the end, so I could work on working the system.
>
> The light ice was unexpected, but with >10 degree of temperature
> separation between the icing at freezing altitude and the MEA enroute, it
> was about as "safe" as an icing experience can be. Besides, unless you
> mothball the plane from October to May, ice is something that you might
> accidentally find yourself in. In a higher stress situation, the overrich
> mixture engine miss I experienced while climbing from 7-9 with carb heat
> might have required more neurons than I could spare. Now this goes in the
> memory bank to poll later.
>
> : 1. You just got your certificate - be safe(r).
> VFR only? Aside from the unexpected ice, that's about the only
> thing safer than some enroute soup.
>
> : 2. Don't play with ice - it kills.
> Yes it does. This flight taught me to respect how quickly ice can
> be found, even when unexpected. Since I'm not willing to stop flying for
> 6 months when it's possible to do so, I'm trying to learn more about icing
> potential, etc.

Then you should know that icing is statistical in nature and you should
leave those conditions promoting icing; as soon as possible.