Briefing an approach plate, especially while flying

Ray Andraka wrote:

Peter, out of curiosity, what percentage of your total time since
you got your rating are in actual IMC?

First of all, my sincerest apologies for making any kind of claim, as
Usenet claims are almost always laughed off by the reader. I certainly
did not expect to have this thread drift off topic into how many actual
instrument hours we all have, nor for it to become a "mine is bigger
than yours" contest.

Looking back at my logbook (which I recently converted to Logbook Pro),
it appears that I am running around 15% actual IMC to total time.
Since starting my instrument rating in October 2002, I have since logged
about 470 total hours.

I'm based in the Northeast as well (KPVD), also fly for Angel
Flight when I can get away from work.

How do Providence's winters compare to Syracuse, NYs? I sincerely do
not know, other than to say that if your winters are a lot like
Hartford, CT's (where I lived one year several years ago), then you must
have more sunshine.

According to my logbook, I flew 25 Angel Flights (around 140 hours)
since starting with them last May. BTW, this was for both AF Northeast
out of Lawrence, Mass, and AF East out of Philadelphia.

Without looking at my logbook, I'd guess that about 10% of my time
is in actual.

Then you and I are pretty close.

More often than not I only in get a couple of tenths of actual in a
flight. If the weather is low, the tops are usually also low and
at 6000' you often wind up on top or between layers.

What do you fly? I suspect that this may explain the difference between
us. I flew all of those hours in a C172. Low, slow, and slow to
climb.

This week I received my complex, high performance endorsement for a V35
Bonanza so I now understand the difference climbing at 1,100 feet per
minute makes at blasting through the layers. I also realize that I will
not log nearly as many hours in this aircraft in the upcoming year, due
to the performance differences between this aircraft and the C172.

If you are flying 750 hours a year or so, I am truely envious. Could
be a difference in what you log as actual. I only log actual for the time
when I am in IMC, not on top or between layers with good visibility.

Please. After reading these groups for the last three years, I am very
comfortable with what constitutes actual time. I only log actual hours
in terms of when I need instruments to fly. I do not log VMC while on
an IFR flight plan as actual instrument time.

--
Peter







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Peter,

I didn't mean at all to be inflammatory. I was just curious how you had amassed so
much actual in such a short time. I fly a '65 Cherokee Six. Solo in the winter I can
see climbs better than 1500 fpm, but in IMC I try to keep the climbs tame. Fully
loaded on a hot summer day, I often struggle to get 500 fpm. My flights tend to be
cross country, about 3 hours is typical, and more often than not it is only IMC on one
end. If I were to go up on an IFR day and fly approaches to the local airports, that
could easily boost my actual time considerably. PVD is about like HFD for weather,
although ours goes down before HFD often because of the proximity to the water. I
don't get much IMC in the winter because of the icing potential. I am envious of the
amount of flying you get to do. I've been averaging a bit over 100 hrs/yr. There
just aren't enough hours in the day or dollars in the bank to get much more than that.



--Ray Andraka, P.E.
President, the Andraka Consulting Group, Inc.
401/884-7930 Fax 401/884-7950
email
http://www.andraka.com

"They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin, 1759

Peter R. wrote
Most of the remaining IMC hours I accumulated by flying missions for Angel
Flight Northeast. IMO, flying for AF is an excellent way to develop and
retain proficiency, as it offers mission-oriented flying that must be given
a lot of thought before canceling flights, unlike a typical $100 hamburger
run.

I absolutely agree. In fact, most of my IMC time was accumulated
flying for Angel Flight South Central. But I still can't understand
how you managed to rack up so much IMC time. It took me about 3 years
to rack up 75 hours of actual IMC, and I've been known to actively
seek it out.

In any case - to answer your original question, I think you're
briefing too much stuff. When I brief an approach, I brief only the
FAC, MDA/DH, the MAP, the first segment of the miss, and anything
really special about the approach. I will also brief the circling
procedure/runway alignment if applicable.

IMO the only really critical part of the approach is the bottom 1000
ft or so. That's where you have to make a snap decision about having
the necessary visual cues, and then quite possibly fly to the runway
using a blend of visual and instrument references. There's a big
difference between remaining in the protected airspace and actually
being able to land, so precise flying is at a premium.

In a light airplane, almost any mistake can be fixed if you are at or
above 1000 ft AGL. Unless you've actually pegged the needle(s), you
can sort it out. Therefore, I only brief the stuff prior to the FAF
and after the first segment of the miss in a general way, for
familiarity. I don't think it's any big deal to glance at the plate
if I forget a heading or an altitude.

After the FAF is crossed, I don't look at the plate anymore. I'm
dividing attention between keeping needles centered and looking
outside.

If I've decided to miss, I've briefed the first segment (what heading
do I fly) and I start my climb (and turn if applicable) - then I look
at the plate. After all, precision isn't as important anymore, and as
long as I stay in the protected airspace I'm OK.

The bottom line is that you only need a very few memory items, and
trying to retain too many will only hurt you. Don't try to remember
anything unless you are going to need it between crossing the FAF and
starting the climb on the miss.

Michael

Michael ) wrote:

In fact, most of my IMC time was accumulated
flying for Angel Flight South Central. But I still can't understand
how you managed to rack up so much IMC time. It took me about 3 years
to rack up 75 hours of actual IMC, and I've been known to actively
seek it out.

South Central would be Texas, no? Aren't most of your clouds the type that
make nasty thunderstorms?

--
Peter












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Peter R. wrote in
:

South Central would be Texas, no? Aren't most of your
clouds the type that make nasty thunderstorms?

Some, especially in spring and summer, but not necessarily most.
In the winter we get lots of relatively benign clouds. Texas
does cover a rather large area, though, and it varies somewhat
by region.

--
Regards,

Stan

Peter R. wrote
South Central would be Texas, no? Aren't most of your clouds the type that
make nasty thunderstorms?

That's certainly true much of the year, but with a Stormscope it's
quite manageable. I can't recall the last time I scrubbed a flight
for T-storms.

I suspect, though, that much of the difference may be vertical
development. In my neck of the woods, a summer IFR flight of 2-3
hours might only involve 20 minutes in the soup, mostly in small
chunks.

Michael