We need more action on this site.

[ramjet555]

A while back, I was handed a little black bag with "foggles" inside.


I was used to the a good old "hood" and
when the student complained he could still see out,


I just grabbed a chart , folded it over his head and put his head set back on him.


Problem solved.

[ScudRunner-d95]

Regarding action on this site we just had our best month ever as far as hits and page views go. Also we have had a number of new signups and our ranks keep growing as word spreads.

Now regarding your post nothing beats actual IMC however I shutter to think of some of the instructors I have encountered over the years doing real IMC training. 

[Eric Janson]

It seems that with a few exceptions Flight Training has become "the blind leading the blind" - although you could say that about the entire Industry.

I've found the Simulator to be a good way to train/refresh IFR skills. Handy being able to set whatever weather you need.

The level of realism in the latest generation of Simulators has to be seen to be believed - expensive though.

Still cannot simulate the Somatogravic Illusion - that's been a factor in several recent large jet crashes.

Too bad they don't make a full motion Cessna single Simulator.

[Rookie Pilot]

[quote author=ScudRunner link=topic=5269.msg13507#msg13507 date=1483331422]
Regarding action on this site we just had our best month ever as far as hits and page views go. Also we have had a number of new signups and our ranks keep growing as word spreads.

Now regarding your post nothing beats actual IMC however I shutter to think of some of the instructors I have encountered over the years doing real IMC training.
[/quote]


Exactly. And some have fatally crashed, taking others with them. Get your rating -- I orginally did just for insurance, in case I got caught IMC, not to fly it  -- then Get Actual Experience. Gradually, starting with cruise IMC. Take a safety pilot more experienced, do some approaches in actual.


Then when you need it,there is a little experience to fall back on.  I have today maybe 80 hours in actual conditons now. Not much, better than nothing though.

[Slick Goodlin]

One thing that I found made a difference was to throw Foggles on the student then take them up over a layer.  While the instructor effectively gets VMC (which allows more focus on the student), the student has no visual reference to the ground because those little corners of the window they can see are just white cloud tops.  Obviously this just works for basic instrument flight but that's the foundation of it all.


Chuck if you feel so strongly about two stage Amber, why not figure out how to modernize it and make a fortune while making a difference?

[Colonel]

As is usual with flight training, people are eager
to skip the basics and build upon a weak foundation.

IFR flying is no different than VFR flying - you must
first solidly master the basics before you advance to
the tricky stuff, even if the AvCan experts tells us
this is old fashioned and unnecessary.

The very first task to be mastered during IFR training
is being able to hand-fly on the dials without a visual
horizon, and maintain any given heading and altitude,
and be able to gently transition to any other given
heading and altitude.

PPL's get 5 hours of hood time - not even for the night
rating, just for a bare PPL - and I am always amazed at
instructors that are trying to teach them to fly partial
panel NDB approaches, at that stage.

As is usual in aviation today, everyone wants to skip
over the fundamental basics and build upon as weak
a foundation as is possible, so that the worst possible
pilot is produced.

Once a student can hand-fly on the dials, they next
need to learn:

1) [i]when [/i]to get on the dials ([b]not transitioning will kill you[/b])
2) recognizing indication failure (eg vacuum pump)

(1) is an essential skill, and killed JFK, jr and so many
others over the decades.  Even for night VFR, which
is really IFR, despite what any TC big belly will tell you.

(2) is a very advanced skill - systems failure - and can
only be taught after the fundamental skills have solidified,
unlike what the AvCan experts tell us.

I only instructed for a quarter of a century, so what
would I know compared to some AvCan keyboard jockey?

[DeflectionShot]

[quote]As is usual in aviation today, everyone wants to skip
over the fundamental basics and build upon as weak
a foundation as is possible, so that the worst possible
pilot is produced.[/quote]

I've run into quite a few guys who can barely land in a crosswind yet they're always carrying on how they're going for their IFR rating next....

[Colonel]

I know.  It's really depressing.

[pdw]

[quote author=Chuck Ellsworth link=topic=5269.msg13501#msg13501 date=1483320560]However I am sure there are a lot of people here who will examine this question and come to the same conclusion I have.[/quote]


Ok, i'll back you on that. My 5 hrs under the hood were in sunshine (why) and whatever the instructor did I never once got confused. Didn't know what the deal even was until leaning left on very hazy lake Simcoe soon after the night-rating. Those 5 hours helped .. but really the city of Barrie emerging off the right wingtip below immediately did away with the feeling of 15-30deg right-banked despite obeying level (the spatial disorientation). When was amber discontinued?

[Colonel]

I used to do as much as possible of the 5 hr PPL hood
at night.  TC got very angry at me about that.  I have
no earthly clue why, but it was best for the student so
I just ignored the whiny fat bastards and kept doing it.

In the USA, night is an integral part of the PPL, but in
Canada, further north, where the days are shorter, the
PPL does not include night, so if they got late on a trip
after their got their PPL, their first night landing was solo.

I thought that was a bad idea, but I am a [b]BAD PERSON[/b].

Because I'm such a shitty instructor compared to a TC
big belly, I really wanted my students to experience
new stuff dual first, instead of solo.

So, we would do that 5 hours of hood at night, which
would include maybe a pinky takeoff, and total night
landing.  0.8 hours under the hood, and 0.2 night,
which just drove TC fucking insane when they saw
it in the PTR.

What a bunch of useless assholes.  Night VFR is
extremely dangerous - more accidents, and 'way
more fatal accidents - even if no one at TC has a
clue about that, and tries to stop training for it.

It's important to remember that [b]TC doesn't give
a shit about safety[/b].  [u]They couldn't care less if you
crash or not, or if you live or die[/u].  [i]They only care
about the stupid fucking paper[/i].  That is their only metric.

Once the light bulb goes on, and you learn the
lesson of the above paragraph, things start to
make a lot more sense.