Instruement checkride...for real this time (long)

Jack Allison wrote:
The short answer: I passed :-)

snip


It feels good to be done...but I can hardly wait to start flying IFR on
x-c trips even when it's a CAVU day.

Thanks to everyone who offered advice along the way. It's been a long
road as I started this in November of '04. Buying a plane and having my
CFII go work for the airlines for a bit didn't speed things up but I'm
very happy with the outcome. I had a great CFII and the chance to log
even more time in my own plane. Not a bad combination.

Ah, and last but not least, the updated sig. line. Cool! :-)



So glad I passed my instrument in 1970.

On 02/26/06 08:16, unicate wrote:
Jack Allison wrote:
The short answer: I passed :-)

Wow...CONGRATULATIONS!

Thanks for posting your checkride story. I'm about to begin, and have
printed out your story to re-read when more of it will make sense to me!
LOL. Hope you saved a copy, too. I wrote my private checkride story
right afterwards, and it's fun to go back and read it every once in a
while. I would have forgotten some of the details if I hadn't written
them all down.

If you like reading about other peoples IFR training, here are a couple
that I've run across which provide lots of great gems of wisdom:

This is an online log of the accelerated IFR training written
by Marc J. Zeitlin:

http://www.cozybuilders.org/2005_Instrument_Training/

Here is a good accounting of Joe Campbell's IFR training experience:

http://www.campbells.org/Airplanes/Diary/toc.html

And finally:

Ed Williams Aviation Page:

http://williams.best.vwh.net/

Ed is a CFII with lots of great information on his site.


Not having done the IA rating yet, it's a little daunting to hear
*everyone*, even those that have gone all the way to ATP, say the
instrument rating was the hardest one! Doesn't ANYONE say, "It was hard,
but not as bad as I anticipated" ???

I will ;-)

Seriously, I expected it would be much worse than it was. I had a hard
time getting over the knowledge test hump, in that initially, it seemed
like an incredible amount of information that I had to somehow learn.

However, there are lots of things you can do to make this work, and
they each just take some time, so you have to be patient and be willing
to study.

Personally, I used the Gleim test prep book (along with reading the FAR/AIM,
and other books, etc.). In the end, I got an acceptable score (okay, it
was 100%, but that was really an accident ;-) )

As far as the training goes, the CFII will walk you through it. What could
be easier than that? ;-)

Also, there are a lot of folks here with lots of great advice to help
you along your way!

--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA

Mark Hansen wrote:
Seriously, I expected it would be much worse than it was.

Thank you! sigh of relief

I had a hard time getting over the knowledge test
hump, in that initially, it seemed like an incredible
amount of information that I had to somehow learn.

I'm pretty good at studying, so I'm not as worried about the knowledge
test *or* the flight as I am about the oral exam. I'm simply *the worst*
at verbalizing what's in my brain. Now, if you could answer the
questions in writing, essay format ...

I got an acceptable score (okay, it
was 100%, but that was really an accident ;-)

;-) shaking head and grinning Yeah, 100% would be "acceptable". Kudos!

As far as the training goes, the CFII will walk you
through it. What could be easier than that? ;-)

The flight training is the part I look most forward to. And I *have*
heard one other person say, similar to what you just said, that in some
ways IFR training is easier because everything is choreographed *for*
you, rather than VFR flying, where you're looking at the options and
making a lot of the calculations and decisions on your own.

Also, there are a lot of folks here with lots of great
advice to help you along your way!

True. Thanks for posting the links to other instrument checkride
stories. I remember most private checkride stories putting me more at
ease before mine.

Mark Hansen wrote:
Do you mind if I ask why you decided to make your turn at 400' when
initially departing KSAC? I was told that, barring any other restrictions,
you should not begin a turn until within 300' of TPA when VFR, and above
circling mins when IFR.

Our clearance was: Cleared to KMHR via heading 090, radar vectors.
Climb and maintain 2000, expect 3000 5 minutes after departure...

KSAC doesn't have an obstacle DP so therefore meets the "diverse
departure" criteria (you won't hit anything if you start a climb at a
minimum of 35 ft. from the departure end of the runway, climb 200 ft/nm,
and climb to 400 ft). Lincoln, OTOH, does have an obstacle DP due to
the terrain to the East (Climbing turn to the MYV VOR then climb on
course). So...all that to say that as I was departing KSAC, I was
remembering my CFII saying you wouldn't start a turn until 400 ft. The
brain fart on my part was not realizing the noise abatement stuff for
runway 20 at KSAC. Had I waited until 600 ft., I would have been above
the circling minimums.

And by the way, if it was just a brain fart, I'll tell you what happened
when I was asked to do a DME arc and holding during part of my IFR
check-out
at the new club ;-\ ... it may make you feel better about yours.

Well, even if it doesn't make me feel better, I think that since you
offered, do tell :-)

Now, after you get a chance to relax and revel in your success, I want to
talk about staying current ;-)

Relax? What's that again? Hehe, sure, anytime you want to hookup for
currency stuff, drop me an e-mail. I figure to fly our plane a couple
more times before it goes in for some maintenance then for the annual.
I'll have more than normal safety piloting availability during the last
three weeks of March since that's when we've lined up all the work.


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane
Arrow N2104T

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

john smith wrote:
Congratulations Jack!
I will email you later about the Arrow tips.
Regards, Eric
Sweet...any/all tips/tricks/hints/etc. about the Arrow gladly accepted.


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane
Arrow N2104T

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Jim Burns wrote:
Congrats!!!
Ok, now you deserve a few days in Vegas!!

Gee, and it just so happens that a couple of frozen Iowa/Wisconsin
families will be thawing out in Vegas in March...go figure! :-)

Should we start an OSH food/party fund where everyone sends you/Jay say,
maybe $5 and you guys see what you can do at the casinos? Nah...you
guys would just buy some beer and drink it all...bad idea. :-)

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane
Arrow N2104T

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Mark Hansen wrote:

Here is a good accounting of Joe Campbell's IFR training experience:

http://www.campbells.org/Airplanes/Diary/toc.html

This is definitely a good read. I have to checkout the others.

Not having done the IA rating yet, it's a little daunting to hear
*everyone*, even those that have gone all the way to ATP, say the
instrument rating was the hardest one! Doesn't ANYONE say, "It was
hard, but not as bad as I anticipated" ???


I will ;-)

Figures... :-)

Seriously, I expected it would be much worse than it was. I had a hard
time getting over the knowledge test hump, in that initially, it seemed
like an incredible amount of information that I had to somehow learn.

To me, this is one aspect that added to the "overall harder rating"
idea. Sure, once you get your head around some stuff and can deal with
the procedures (while flying the plane), things get easier. However,
getting to this point can be mind numbing at times and can take much
more concentrated effort. In the end, I'm glad that I experienced total
brain overload while flying *and* having my CFII in the right seat.
These times were very good object lessons that you really need your act
together while flying IFR.

However, there are lots of things you can do to make this work, and
they each just take some time, so you have to be patient and be willing
to study.

Yes, patience patience patience and study study study. Lather, rinse,
repeat...


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane
Arrow N2104T

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

unicate wrote:
Thanks for posting your checkride story. I'm about to begin, and have
printed out your story to re-read when more of it will make sense to me!

Glad to hear that my experience can be of benefit to you. I've done the
same with other posts. I remember reading through all the checkride
posts from Gene Whitt's website before I took my PPL checkride.

Not having done the IA rating yet, it's a little daunting to hear
*everyone*, even those that have gone all the way to ATP, say the
instrument rating was the hardest one! Doesn't ANYONE say, "It was hard,
but not as bad as I anticipated" ???

Well, MarkH did already so there's one :-) To me, it wasn't daunting
hearing this but did help set my expectations a bit. As usual, study
and fly as much as you can. Always think of questions to ask your CFII.
Realize that there is absolutely no way to know it all but know where
to find the answers.

Congrats on deciding to pursue your instrument rating. It will be worth
it in the end. Post your progress too as I know many of us here would
enjoy reading the progress.


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane
Arrow N2104T

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

On 02/26/06 09:17, unicate wrote:
Mark Hansen wrote:
Seriously, I expected it would be much worse than it was.

Thank you! sigh of relief

I had a hard time getting over the knowledge test
hump, in that initially, it seemed like an incredible
amount of information that I had to somehow learn.

I'm pretty good at studying, so I'm not as worried about the knowledge
test *or* the flight as I am about the oral exam. I'm simply *the worst*
at verbalizing what's in my brain. Now, if you could answer the
questions in writing, essay format ...

Well, the point of the exam is not to see how well you take oral exams,
so the DE should work to determine if you know the material, and should
also allow for typical 'exam jitters'. Just take each answer slowly and
think about it. If you know the material, you'll do fine.


I got an acceptable score (okay, it
was 100%, but that was really an accident ;-)

;-) shaking head and grinning Yeah, 100% would be "acceptable". Kudos!

Well, I knew the material, but the test computer threw me nothing but the
easy ones and no hard ones. It was really strange. Just prior, I had taken
three practice tests on the FBO computer test simulator, and missed one or
two each time, so go figure ;-)


As far as the training goes, the CFII will walk you
through it. What could be easier than that? ;-)

The flight training is the part I look most forward to. And I *have*
heard one other person say, similar to what you just said, that in some
ways IFR training is easier because everything is choreographed *for*
you, rather than VFR flying, where you're looking at the options and
making a lot of the calculations and decisions on your own.

That's true. There are some things you're going to have to learn, but
they're not all that difficult (like DME arc, holding entries, etc.)


Also, there are a lot of folks here with lots of great
advice to help you along your way!

True. Thanks for posting the links to other instrument checkride
stories. I remember most private checkride stories putting me more at
ease before mine.

I think you'll have a lot of fun. Best of luck!

--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA

On 02/26/06 10:56, Jack Allison wrote:
unicate wrote:
Thanks for posting your checkride story. I'm about to begin, and have
printed out your story to re-read when more of it will make sense to me!

Glad to hear that my experience can be of benefit to you. I've done the
same with other posts. I remember reading through all the checkride
posts from Gene Whitt's website before I took my PPL checkride.

Not having done the IA rating yet, it's a little daunting to hear
*everyone*, even those that have gone all the way to ATP, say the
instrument rating was the hardest one! Doesn't ANYONE say, "It was hard,
but not as bad as I anticipated" ???

Well, MarkH did already so there's one :-) To me, it wasn't daunting
hearing this but did help set my expectations a bit. As usual, study
and fly as much as you can. Always think of questions to ask your CFII.
Realize that there is absolutely no way to know it all but know where
to find the answers.

Congrats on deciding to pursue your instrument rating. It will be worth
it in the end. Post your progress too as I know many of us here would
enjoy reading the progress.



And, just keep in mind that getting the rating is not the end of the story.
I'm going to create a separate thread on currency after getting the rating
which will offer my experience; please have a look at it.

--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA