Wizard of Draws wrote in message news:BD8F446E.28C81%jeffbREMOVE@REMOVEwizardofdra ws.com...
Today was the first time I've ever been established on approach, in actual.
A bit unnerving if I say so myself. Partly because it's been a month since
I've been able to fly.
We (another instrument pilot and I) started down into La Grange (KLGC) after
we were cleared for the approach and had to intercept the localizer while
still in the clouds. I over-banked a bit at first. We only had to descend
through about 2000' of cloud deck, but it sure felt like a lot more. We
broke out at ~1500' AGL, a little to the right of the localizer and above
the slope.

I think it will be a lot more hours before I attempt any single pilot IFR.

Sounds like a good plan with regards to acquiring more time. Due to
knee surgery I hadn't flown in about month, so yesterday I went up
with my instructor to brush up and get back in the groove. While we
didn't have much IMC during the approach phase, we made most of the
return trip back in IMC. After getting the IR my first trip without a
CFI in IMC was with another pilot, so I'm a fan of this gradual
approach into single pilot IMC. Just having another pilot next to you
that could help out if things started going wrong definitely increases
your confidence. While I have a few guys that I will go up with as
safety pilots, it's my goal to go up with my instructor every 2-3
months. I also asked him to call me on any day where the ceilings are
near minimums and he doesn't have a student, even if it means ducking
out of work. :-)

Congrats on the first step.

Dave