There is only one way to fly an airplane: as well as it can be flown. This is especially true with respect to instrument flying. Unfortunately, many pilots do not fly that way because they lack either the experience or the necessary training.
Most instrument pilots are sharpest immediately after their checkrides. After that, proficiency usually erodes. Others become more skillful by taking recurrent training or utilizing their ratings during frequent exposure to a wide variety of instrument conditions.
Another way to hone IFR skills is to prepare for and obtain an airline transport pilot certificate with a single-engine rating. That's right. A multiengine airplane is not required to obtain an ATP. All you need is an IFR-equipped single, such as a Cessna 152. (One pilot used actor Jimmy Stewart's well-equipped Piper Super Cub.)
The only need for a single-engine ATP is when commanding a turbojet single or any other single with 10 or more passenger seats in air-taxi operations. Currently, the only such single is the Pilatus PC-12.
The basic experience requirements for an ATP are not daunting. The applicant must have a total of 1,500 hours that includes 500 hours of cross-country time, 100 hours of night time, and 75 hours of instrument time (actual or simulated).
The good news is that FAR Part 61 no longer requires an ATP applicant to have a first class medical certificate; a third class medical will do. A first class certificate is required, however, to exercise the privileges of an ATP.
It is a myth that all airline pilots must have an ATP. Only a captain needs one. A first officer is required to have only a commercial pilot certificate, multiengine rating, and an instrument rating (except during certain international operations). Also, an ATP is not required to fly a jetliner in Part 91 operations. Incredibly, only a private pilot certificate with a type rating is needed to privately fly a Boeing 747. Nor is an instrument rating required, but such a pilot would be limited to flying the jumbo jet in VFR conditions and below 18,000 feet.
The bad news is that ATP candidates must pass a written examination dealing with air-carrier operations. Although much of the required knowledge is unnecessary in general aviation operations, the applicant will learn much about the complexities faced by airline crews. (The best way to prepare for the written is to take an accelerated ground school course.)
Some regard the flight test for a single-engine ATP to be little more than a glorified checkride for an instrument rating. Yes, the maneuvers are identical in most cases, but more skill is needed. The applicant must prove that he is a very proficient instrument pilot. For example, when he is performing any kind of an instrument approach for an instrument rating, the course-deviation indicator (CDI) may wander three-fourths of the way between the bull's eye and full-scale deflection. During the flight test for an ATP, this tolerance is reduced by two-thirds to one-quarter scale.
My friend Jack Chrysler once asked me to prepare him for an ATP with a single-engine rating. He felt that this would be good preparation for his multiengine ATP.
After six hours of dual, Jack's IFR skills had been restored sufficiently for him to pass another practical test for an instrument rating. After another six hours, his skills were finely tuned and he was competent to pass an ATP checkride, but not before a little fun (for me, not him).
During his last lesson, I had Jack practice a series of maneuvers designed to undermine his positional awareness. I then challenged him with an exercise designed to test his judgment and skill under fire.
"Listen carefully, Jack. I am only going to give this instruction once. Okay?"
His hood bobbed up and down.
"Your manifold pressure is 23 inches. I am going to decrease power by one inch every minute until the throttle is closed. You will have no control of power. This will simulate the steady accumulation of structural icing. Your job is to land safely at any airport before power runs out, and you can no longer remain airborne. Any airport you choose will be considered to have a 50-foot ceiling. You may use all available navaids except DME, and you may not call for radar vectors. Do you understand?" (This was before GPS.)
Jack muttered an expletive as his hood again bobbed up and down. I began the exercise by reducing power to 22 inches.
Before losing another inch, he turned on the receivers, plotted a VOR fix, and began a shallow climb to grab surplus altitude.
Seventeen miles from the nearest airport with an ILS, Jack made a beeline for the outer compass locator. Minimizing altitude loss, he reached the locator at 2,300 feet agl, executed an abbreviated teardrop reversal, and intercepted the glideslope inside the outer marker. He then shot a flaps-up approach and finally thumped onto the runway with the throttle almost closed.
It was my pleasure to recommend him for a practical exam. In addition to the enhanced skill resulting from ATP training, other benefits can include lower aircraft insurance rates and improved employment opportunities.
There also is the pride of being able to truthfully proclaim to the world that you are a certificated airline captain. Well, sort of.
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