The Pilot’s Way
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IR Part 141, Stage II: Resuming My Instrument Training
After an one-month break, I have resumed my Instrument Rating course in Florida. I had to return home to attend to some work matters, but now I’m back and continuing my training. Currently, I am on Stage II, which focuses on instrument approaches, the most challenging part of the course. I believe it’s not a…
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FAA IR(A) Written Test
What can you do when the weather is bad? Of course, the best choice is to study! Feeling confident about my knowledge, I decided to take a written test for my FAA IR certification. The exam itself wasn’t too difficult. The program interface looked exactly like Gleim’s software, and the pictures were the same as…
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IR part 141: Flying Approaches and Practicing ATC Communications
Brand-new instrument rating course students often encounter a lot of problems after feeling rather confident flying VFR. For example, quickly transitioning to a visual approach after hearing the words ‘runway in sight’ (when you should remove your hood and really see the runway), calculating the optimal speed for a stabilized approach, or executing a stabilized…
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Christmas Eve Celebration with Flight School Officials
Today is Christmas Eve and unfortunately, my instructor is not available. However, instead of flying, all of the students were invited to a dinner party at the chief pilot’s home. I was starting to miss the cozy atmosphere of being at home, so this celebration was really good for me. I just wanted to take…
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The Art of a Good Decision Making: Weather Challenges
Weather is a critical factor for any pilot, and today we were planning ILS and VOR approaches in controlled airspace. The forecast was initially good and even improving, with almost no wind, a ceiling of 4300, and visibility of 10 miles or more. After all preparations and a preflight check, however, the wind shifted to…
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IR Part 141: Instrument Approaches
Probably the most challenging, but also the most interesting, part of the Instrument Rating training program is instrument approaches. This phase of flight requires a transition from the enroute portion to landing, and demands even more attention and better multitasking skills. Although I know how to perform the approach in theory, putting it into practice…
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IR part 141: Flying Holding Patterns
The next part of the course includes flying holding patterns. Sometimes it is not possible to make the next planned step or maneuver right away, such as due to congested air traffic or rapidly changing weather. In this case, an aircraft must wait in the air. However, the airplane is constantly moving through the air…
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Passing the First Stage Check of Part 141 Instrument Rating Course
The Part 141 Instrument Rating course requires a proficiency check after every stage of training. There are a total of three stage checks and a final end-of-course check. The Part 141 course also mandates a strict order of lessons, so one cannot begin the next stage before completing the previous stage check. I had been…
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IR Part 141, Lessons 9 and 10: Improving Proficiency with VOR and GPS
It’s vital for an instrument pilot to be proficient with airplane navigation equipment. We’re continuing with VOR and starting with GPS. All airplanes have the Garmin 430, and its interface is not very complicated. However, the main problem is multitasking: it’s not so easy to fly the airplane properly and simultaneously tune frequencies while communicating…
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IR Part 141, lessons 7 and 8: Brush Up and Radio Navigation
Lesson 7 is a review of all previous lessons, focusing mainly on airplane control and unusual attitudes. Lesson 8, on the other hand, is completely new and focused on navigation, particularly VOR interception and tracking. The theory is easy, but in practice, the workload is pretty high, especially the first time when you need to…
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