I have a whopping 150 hours. My plane is ok for IFR. I have no desire to do hard IFR. I would like to be able to punch through a couple thousand feet of warm clouds to get where I want to be. My question is, should I do it now, or wait till I gain more experience? Cheers…Rob

Do it now! There is no better time. Then you will be able to gain experience as the years go by.

I wish that I had done it before I got up here. I have a VFR Commercial but that and a buck... 50 mile limit from point of origin. Kind of worthless but it will help with insurance. When I do get the IFR done, I will most likely take one of those crash courses (I know, poor chice of words) and do it in 10-15 days. It took me the better part of a year to get my PPL and there was a lot of stuff that isn't retained between spaced out lessons.

Did mine in '95. I had a BLAST. Tough to stay current with the weather being either VFR or suicide. I use it quite a bit for the marine layer on the coast and occasionally to get home when I don't want to spend the night in BFE. I'd do it now in a heartbeat if'n I was you.
Dave

Thanks guys. I appreciate the advice. Cheers…Rob

Rob,
I've had my rating just over a year. Used it once coming though a layer, a whole 12 to 15 minutes at the most. I would say if you can afford it, go for it. I would have like to have done mine 15 years ago, but life, kids and all real world thing kept me vfr until I could save up. I did the 10 day course at Sheble, in Kingman AZ. You can alway find a safety pilot to stay current with the hood, howevert charts can break the back. Also no rating will take the place of good judgement. Fly safe, Bub

I'm glad I got mine back in the 80's when it didn't cost so much for fuel and an instructor. I was taught by a young CFII that had grown up in a family of instructors. He taught the 3 or 4 day ground school and did the flight training as well. He knew the system inside and out and I wish he was still in the area. I have never found another instructor with his insight and ability to convey the aspects and theory behind IFR flight so well. I know some very good aviators that are wonderful pilots and can do anything with a plane but this guy knew every regulation, every bit of info on an enroute chart or approach plate and every nuance, shortcut or pitfall that a pilot could face "in the system". The family business is long gone and somebody else has taken over their hangar and business. I still keep an eye out for him when I fly commercial as I know he gotta' be left seat in an A300 or ? by now.

BTW, my first approach after getting my ticket was at SFO, rny 28R ILS, weather was 900 ovc and 2 miles in fog...

Mark

900 ovc and 2 miles in fog? Hell, that's considered normal VFR conditions around Puget Sound!

Eric

zero.one.victor wrote:900 ovc and 2 miles in fog? Hell, that's considered normal VFR conditions around Puget Sound!

Eric

Same here except for the jumbo on the ILS 28 left, just to make sure you don't stray too far from the localizer.

Mark

If you are going to wait until you have more time under your belt, make sure that time is cross-country. More time in the pattern or flying around not talking to controllers and you might as well be on your MS FlightSim in the kitchen under a cloud of steam from the teapot. Communications are a big distraction for new instrument students, and XC time with radar coverage/FF will take you a long way toward making you comfortable on the radios in actual IMC or under the hood.

Intensive courses can be great if you have the time. It's all about proficiency. Check out Instrument Flight Solutions at KWVI for a good program.

Welcome Uncle!
Good to have another CFI in the wings.
There are plenty of us that appreciate the appropriate input!

Rob,
More training never hurts. I was a CFII 20+ years ago. I would always tell my students that if you don't do it for a living and you're not willing to spend the time and money to maintain proficiency then just use it to punch through a layer of clouds that is well above the ground. Safe IFR flying requires well maintained equipment and frequent practice. Even good equipment quits so lots of partial pannel work is a must. I had one ex student roll a 182 into a ball (he wasn't even scratched) doing something I told him to never do. This guy was an amazing instrument pilot. He could do an approach without an altimeter (timing descents using the VSI), without an attitude indicator, no DG (timed turns) and no DME (timing to the MAP). No GPS back then. Two stop watches going and never miss a beat. He still screwed up doing a circling approach at night. I explained what he did and took him out two days later and showed him the optical illusion that nearly killed him. Lesson: even proficiency doesn't compensate for good judgment. Take the training but then use your head.

Thanks guy’s, all this helps. Hi Denis. I see you made it over here. I know you will like board. Regards…Rob

Well, here we are a year and a half later. I just passed the IFR written after 2 months of study. I got a 97%

I hated learning about all the junk I don't even have in my plane. To top it all off they don't teach JACK about GPS. I have a Garmin 430W and a 250XL.

Now the fun part starts.

Cheers...Rob

RobBurson wrote:.... To top it all off they don't teach JACK about GPS. I have a Garmin 430W and a 250XL....

especially know that the FAA is moving in the direction of GPS mostly because of the cost. look at this:

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/WAAS_Approaches_Outnumber_ILS_199172-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS

I found one school in the valley so far that does GPS IFR training and I'm probably going with that.

Congrats Rob, that's a great score.

Congrats on your written score. You did better than me. But I'm cursed with a "right" sided brain and always have trouble with written tests. I passed mine okay and am doing much better with the flying part. I am now doing final tune-up work for my checkride. You are in Oregon so you will probably get some good actual IMC time. I'm so glad that all my training wasn't under the hood. There's nothing quite the same as the real thing. Go for it, and try to fly at least two or three times a week when possible, otherwise you will be spending too much time reviewing the past lesson. If you like being challenged, you will enjoy IFR training. I did, but now I'm looking forward to getting it over with after thinking of little else for the last 7 months. I'm in Puget Sound area and will put it to good use. Good luck....... John

Hey trev, interesting. Looks good for us GPS users.

bmurrish, thanks!

whynotfly, good luck on your check ride. I'm down here by Portland and your right we get plenty of actual IMC.

Rob

I did an accelerated course, spent a good deal of the time on the ground learning the Garmin 430/530. In retrospect, it seems like it might be easier to avoid all of that during the flight training, not have one for the check ride, (less for the examiner to torment you with) and then pick it up with your instructor after you get your ticket.

Just my opinion.

gb

gbflyer wrote:I did an accelerated course, spent a good deal of the time on the ground learning the Garmin 430/530. In retrospect, it seems like it might be easier to avoid all of that during the flight training, not have one for the check ride, (less for the examiner to torment you with) and then pick it up with your instructor after you get your ticket.

Just my opinion.

gb

I agree I did the same thing but be ready to answer questions during the oral about GPS. Just cause you don't have it in the plane doesn't mean they can't quiz you on it. BTW congratulations