Andrew Gideon wrote:
snip
: Okay, well, I'll defer to your experience. Most of my non-training IFR
: flights have involved a lot of straight and level, with the occasional
: maneuver mixed in just to keep me awake. For early training, this seems
: like a lot of wasted time. But if you got a lot out of it, then who am I
: to argue?

I should have explained more. In addition to straight and level flying I
also got exposed to the hardest part of IFR flight: preflight decision making.
Anyone can be trained to fly straight and level and fly approaches to the
extent required to pass the practical test. What I learned was the whole
process. Is the weather OK for a limited-capability aircraft? What if
the winds are unfavorable? How far can we go assuming we need an alternate?
Which alternate is the best choice? What is the best routing? Why? Where
are the MOCA low enough to allow for diversions? Do we want to fly a route
that has a MEA at the service ceiling of the A/C? Why not? Etc. (Besides,
I had to get the airplane from VNY to 1B9.) The CFII that I hired was/is
a good friend of mine. He had been flying charter in New England and
Southeastern Canada for a couple years, and was well versed on our
local adverse weather conditions (something I am still weak on).
--
Aaron C.