The Start of Instrument Rating

And just like that, after seven long months out in sunny Phoenix, here I am back in the UK. I feared that I would have been suffering with severe withdrawal symptoms, especially with both the temperature and precipitation levels being on the complete other end of the spectrum, however it wasn't so bad. I got particularly lucky since I arrived just after what was reported as the worst band of weather Britain had experienced in 100 years (or something like that in the headlines).

With only five days at home with the family, I headed back up to Kidlington to begin what most people describe as the most difficult stage of the APP First Officer course. The first two days were a welcome back with a brief of what was to come during the IR stage. Most of it was to be expected with a lot of new things to get used to. For instance: almost constant icing conditions, IFR routes and stricter RT. Of course there was the all important Wings Graduation Ceremony, where we were presented with our wonderful golden wings and two gold bars, giving others the illusion of appearing much more smarter and important!

It’s been just under two weeks since I have started and I have so far done three simulator sessions and two flights. The biggest obstacle so far being the simulators; for one they are all Beechcraft King Air simulators (with speeds adjusted for the Seneca), so the dial layout is rather different, and secondly they are a nightmare to keep in trim. On my first flight I lost count of the amount of times I climbed and descended +/-200ft! But as with anything, it just takes a bit of familiarisation. Because none of the Seneca or Warrior sims were transported from Goodyear to Mesa during the academy move, and being without any Archer TX or Seminole simulators, all of our Foundation Flight Training was done in the aircraft. There are pros and cons to both, it is great to have more time in the aircraft with the feel of the environment, particularly when it came to doing asymmetric circuits. At the same time, simulators can be paused with weak points spotted and fixed immediately, which has definitely been helpful so far during this IR stage.

What strikes me so far is the amount that has to be done during a flight. Staying on top of the plane is vital when you are speaking to different people, making sure that you are cleared to enter airspaces, making sure you are tracking towards/away from beacons correctly, getting navaids ready for the next leg, and at the same time flying the aircraft well. Everything on its own is not difficult, however throw it into a nice cocktail and things can very quickly get overwhelming if the PIC well, doesn't act like a PIC.

Practice exercise in the sim

As I have mentioned, I had my third simulator which is the best session I've had to date. It was by no means perfect, but it is giving me confidence at this stage. The best way I can describe the IR stage so far, is that it is like practicing for Progress Test 4, only harder. In the USA, we all did approaches to airfields that have VOR/DMEs, which are all nice and accurate since the receiving antennas aren't affected by aircraft movements and positions. However back here in the UK, we'll be primarily using NDBs for the approaches into airfields, which aren't as accurate as VORs and the errors have to be accounted for. The main error is the ADF dip, which is when the ADF needle gives an erroneous reading (usually up to 10˚ in the direction of the bank). This is due to the receiving antenna being at a banked angle to the beacon. Therefore care needs to be taken when assessing and making corrections when tracking along a desired radial to or from a beacon.

NDB DME into Runway 19 at Oxford

Screenshot of my last attempt at the NDB DME approach into Runway 19, during the final approach. Top illustrates my NDB tracking, centre is the glide path, and the bottom shows speed deviation. Getting there on the glidepath and speed, but as you can see my NDB tracking needs a bit of practice (although my instructor thinks that the top reading is exaggerated as the diagram is more meant for ILS approaches, so that cheers me up a bit).

The IR stage consists of 30 hours of simulator time, and 20 hours of flight time in the Seneca II. Tests come in the form of an RT test, and two checkrides: The internal ‘170A’, followed by the Instrument Rating Skills Test. I’m not entirely sure why they call it the 170A, but I’ll be sure to put it into a future post once I do.

I am really enjoying it back here in Kidlington, everything feels very professional, and with the IFR style planning and routes, it feels much more like being an airline pilot. I am also very fortunate to have my instructor Richard Gwinn, who is an ex-British Airways and Easyjet captain so he really does know his stuff, and an amazing sense of humour too, whilst at the same time being able to enforce discipline when me or my flight buddies do anything wrong. Our instructor expects my group to be at school and available 7 days a week, which I don’t mind at the slightest. There is a lot of ground to cover at this stage so it is important to stay in the flow of things, and with the weather being so unpredictable, it is always advisable to stick around in the event a slot becomes available, which is exactly how I have been able to fly twice so far. 

The first flight was really a VFR familiarisation flight to get us used to the operations in Oxford, along with some general handling. The second flight threw us a lot more in the deep end, which was a practice IFR round trip. This flight gave a much better insight into IFR flying conditions, particularly emphasizing the need to have the navaids set before each turning point, which are essentially the en-route beacons or GPS waypoints. And also getting to fly the real aircraft, whilst putting in the simulator knowledge to the test. 

What is quite spectacular is flying through clouds for the first time, it is just a magnificent sight to be that close, and even more amazing when you fly through and come bursting out the other side. It was also pretty cool to see Blenheim Palace and Silverstone Race Track along the route when I was backseating someone else's flight! 

Much more to come during this stage of the training. Whenever I have down time I keep myself busy by reading and practicing on the Elite procedural simulators in the academy, which all students can always access for free. Whenever I do get the time though, I will update where I can on this exciting and crucial stage of my training.

Cool clouds