First single pilot IFR

On 10/24/04 4:03 PM, in article ,
"
wrote:


Wizard of Draws wrote:
: Climbing through 2500', I entered the clouds for the first time, alone.
: There's no turning back now. At 5000', they moved me up to 7000'. Keeping me

Congrats on the safe "experience/confidence builder." I understand your
apprehension about actual IMC as being "committed." I, personally, cannot
imagine
going all the way from PPL to IA without ever seeing the inside of a cloud.
Frightening, actually. My first "actual" was also my first "instrument"
practice for
my PPL. Scared the beejeezus out of me, taking 90% of my concentration to
keep the
wings level. For my IA rating, I insisted on not doing cross-country practice
unless
there was some actual that my instructor would do. I figure if I'm paying for
dual
from a CFII, I might as well get as much bang for the buck as possible.

In a parallel note, I did my first, "seasoned" solo IFR trip this past
weekend. By seasoned, I mean, "not completely second-guessing myself" the
whole way.
Plenty of VMC on top during the enroute. Since three centers and an approach
control
collide right near the IAF of my home-base approach, I was handed off with
little time
to spare at 1000' high for the IAP, necessitating a decending hold/reversal.
Ended up
shooting it (LOC/DME with 400' mins) to about 500', 5SM, IMC from IAF to (100'
shy of)
MDA. Pretty exciting, but definately rewarding.

Cheers!
-Cory

Thanks Cory. I do need to rephrase that slightly misleading sentence though.
I meant that it was the first time alone in the clouds. I had about .8
actual at the time that I had my IFR checkride. Not a lot, but solo is
somehow a whole different experience, knowing that there is very little room
for error and no one else to double-check you. Exciting, rewarding,
scary...there's a lot of emotions that we could name when you're in the
clouds alone. But when I got back on the ground at home, I felt probably
like you did after your approach, at least as excited about what I had just
done as I did on my first solo as a primary student.

I will be adding a number of items to my personal checklists as a result of
this flight.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino
Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.wizardofdraws.com
http://www.cartoonclipart.com