"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
...

Well you sure got a lot more practice than you were planning on. After that,
your next flight should seem like a walk in the park.

2. Have the approach for returning to the airport loaded or in standby
just in case you need to return quickly. I did not do this and it added
needless stress loading everything.

This was one of a handful of things my CFII really hammered on about.
Anytime you departed in IMC, the rule was to have the plate for the approach
in use up on the yoke, with one box tuned to the approach in use, and one
box tuned to get you to the first fix in your clearance.

Still, it's good to get tested under pressure and pass. You can't be
prepared for every event. I got my IR back in September and haven't done
solo IMC yet, but I do hope my first experience will be a bit smoother than
yours!

-cwk.