PILOT SPIN
Pilot Zone => Pilot Zone => Topic started by: PeterNSteinmetz on September 28, 2021, 08:25:39 PM
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From PoA and of interest to me. What do people think:
"I'm finding departing into ceilings below about 750' to be the hardest part of instrument flying. Much harder than approaches to near minimums.
Excellent imc practice day today here, so I hand flew to mto to get lunch. Went imc about 400', and got behind the airplane. I kept within acs standards, but only just. I seldom have trouble flying imc, but all the times I've gotten behind have been taking off into fairly low ceilings.
I find it much easier to fly approaches. Really not much harder than cruise, I suppose because the airplane is stable and configured. On takeoff there's more things to do in a shorter span. Maybe the transition into imc is more disorienting than I'm giving it credit for.
Is this hard for everybody? Maybe I'm worrying too much about managing my engine and dropping my scan too long. Obviously engaging the autopilot makes it easy, but I feel like I need to be able to hand fly anything I'm willing to take on with the a/p, especially considering it's older than me."
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Mind set needs to be to go on the panel as soon as you lift off and not pay attention to looking out the window.
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Mind set needs to be to go on the panel as soon as you lift off and not pay attention to looking out the window.
This. You need to be established on the instruments before you enter the clag as it's much harder the other way round.
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I don’t believe we ever launched into really low ceilings in our single pistons but Mark might have alone in the twin when he flew on business every week. I don’t like launching into immediate IMC. I even hate it on commercial flights. When in IMC I like lots of altitude. When we flew as a family Mark was also very conservative with shooting to minimums, he wouldn’t do it with the kids in the plane, he’d go to an alternate with higher ceilings. That might be super conservative but our kids are still alive.
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I routinely did 300 RVR departures (in a jet). Once above 80 knots visibility disappears, and rotation is strictly on instruments.
Also above 80 knots we were committed to go.
In a GA airplane, I'm not departing a field I can't make an immediate return to.
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In a GA airplane, I'm not departing a field I can't make an immediate return to.
Curious, do you mean immediate return as in a visual approach, or immediate as in you could fly an approach at that airport to get back in?
Personally, if the departure airport (or one very nearby) doesn't have an approach, I'm unlikely to depart LIFR.