A big and hearty welcome to Instrument Ground School! We’ll be going through much of the ‘getting started’ material to foster success in the course ahead. Then, we’ll talk big picture and what you can expect of yourself along the way.
Most of IFR is thinking outside the airplane, but we all know that there’s a major task involved in learning to fly the airplane by reference to instruments. In this lesson we’ll go in-depth on those Instruments, some scanning techniques, and things you can do now to prepare for Flight Training.
Every flight, VFR or IFR, can be analyzed from the beginning with the PAVE checklist. This is a memory item you’ll become accustomed to throughout this course. In this lesson we go over that PAVE checklist and what is required for safe and legal IFR flight. Then, we’ll talk about Human Facts involved in IFR.
Have you ever wondered how an IFR flight is managed, from point A to point B? Sometimes in training, everything seems a bit scattered and you may not know how the pieces fit together. In this lesson we start with the end in mind, and introduce you to the difference phases of flight.
IFR flight builds on the many solid and sound flight planning techniques that you’re used to in VFR. Except now there are some more guidelines and a more defined ‘path’ through the sky. We’ll talk about solid IFR flight planning and what that means for your flying ahead.
Now we’re on our way… it’s time to taxi, takeoff and depart the airport. But wait… there’s a lot more to it in IFR! So, we’ll go over all the little steps and what they mean in the grand scheme of things. And to do almost all of it by reference to instruments?
We’ve reached our top of climb, and now we’re looking at the flight ahead from an enroute perspective. This is a time when things slow down a little bit, but we can do a lot to prepare for the flight ahead with proper planning.
It’s about time to get to our destination. Now we start to execute the arrival, a possible diversion due to weather, and the possibility of a hold (although rare). We’re not quite there yet, but we’re going to keep getting prepared.
Perhaps one of the more anticipated lessons. Who doesn’t want to know more about approaches? It’s a strategic, precise way to approach the airport with reference only to instruments. This is where all of your skills and planning come to fruition.
We’ve covered the course content… now what? This is a great polish off lesson to give you perspective on the days, weeks and months ahead as you do your Written Test, Flight Training, and prepare your flying-self for instrument rated flight.