The Instrument you can live without

I make it a practice not to go on hypothetical flights. Too many things can
go wrong

"Chris W" wrote in message
news:Ftx0f.851$sE3.515@lakeread07...
If you were about to go on an IFR flight, and for some unknown,
hypothetical reason you had to pick one instrument in the standard six
pack that you could not use, which one would it be?

--
Chris W

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Hypothetically speaking, of course ...

{;-)

Jim



"John Smith" wrote in message
...

I make it a practice not to go on hypothetical flights. Too many things can
go wrong

RST Engineering wrote:

Turn coordinator is the LAST one I'd care to give up.

Well, I actually have a turn and bank indicator as opposed
to a turn coordinator, the latter being a bit more useful,
but it is hardly the "LAST" one I'd give up.

The AI, ASI, DG & Altimeter.... these are the instruments
I rely on the most for an approach. Yes, the TC is "handy"
for accurate timed turns and holding patterns if you lost
your DG, but that wasn't the essence of the earlier question.

Besides, once you know your airplane you can establish the
correct bank angle with the AI for holding pattern power
(airspeed) to give you a standard rate turn just as accurately.
If you have littel or no experience in a plane then the TC
is more useful to you... at least for a while.

Yes the TC is very nice but I know the feel of my airplane
well enough that I can fly a good approach without it.

Chris W wrote:

If you were about to go on an IFR flight, and for some unknown,
hypothetical reason you had to pick one instrument in the standard six
pack that you could not use, which one would it be?

I figured the VSI would be the one most people could live with out.
Only one person said the one I was wondering if anyone would mention.
For me, as someone who hasn't started my flight training yet, I am going
off my experience with MS Flight simulator. I haven't done much IFR
type flying in the simulator but I do use the instruments a fair
amount. The one instrument I almost never even notice is the AI. Maybe
it is just the way I think, but I find scanning the other instruments to
be the best way for me to get the feel for what is going on. In a real
IFR flight I wouldn't want to be with out the AI just to maintain
redundancy, however it would be what I use to confirm what the others
are telling me not the other way around . As for the VSI I find I use
it a lot but it may be because it is so hard to trim the plane in the
simulator. I have heard from pilots that have experience with real
simulators, that simulators just seem to more trim sensitive than the
real thing.

--
Chris W

Gift Giving Made Easy
Get the gifts you want &
give the gifts they want
One stop wish list for any gift,
from anywhere, for any occasion!
http://thewishzone.com

"Chris W" wrote in message
news:Ftx0f.851$sE3.515@lakeread07...
If you were about to go on an IFR flight, and for some unknown,
hypothetical reason you had to pick one instrument in the standard six
pack that you could not use, which one would it be?

--
Chris W

Easy, VSI

But airspeed is the only one I have actually lost in flight. Speared a bird
with the pitot on climbout, the bang was worse than the instrument loss.

Marty