It is my impression that the privilege of flying with a safety pilot brings down the cost of training by not having to pay an instructor as a safety pilot, while still providing the necessary training and practice of flying IFR for the practical test. If the instrument student may not file IFR, then how does the student continue his IFR training by getting radar vectors, routing, approaches etc.?
Several pilots have told me that students may not file IFR. But I have been unable to locate a specific regulation, and they are unable to quote one relating to this subject. Your feedback regarding my question is appreciated. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Lou
Greetings Lou,
As an instrument student, you cannot legally file an IFR flight plan (either a paper flight plan or one arranged verbally with air traffic control). You must be instrument rated to do such a thing.
This does not, however, preclude you from asking air traffic controllers for a practice instrument approach if you'd like to practice your instrument approaches while wearing a view-limiting device in VFR conditions provided you have a safety pilot on board. This allows you to fly an official instrument approach in VFR conditions while your safety pilot assists you in doing all the other things that are required of a VFR pilot (i.e., seeing and avoiding traffic, adhering to right of way rules, etc.).
After you've established communication with the appropriate controller, ask for a practice instrument approach. Using the words practice instrument approach tells the controller that you are not filing an IFR flight plan and you won't be operating in actual instrument conditions. Make sure you tell the controller how you'll terminate the approach (i.e., low approach, full-stop landing, executing the published missed approach, etc.).
Of course, this assumes that you are sufficiently skilled to fly the approach. In other words, if the controller asks, "Two-One-Three-Two Bravo, I show you over the outer marker. Do you concur?" As you key the mic, he doesn't expect to hear the outer marker's beeping sound in the background while you say, "I don't know, but I think someone's fries are done."
Make sure your instructor agrees that you're ready to practice your approaches with a safety pilot on board before you head out. You might also ask your instructor if he or she would approve your doing holding pattern practice, too.
If it's not too busy, most controllers are more than happy to provide you with holding clearances. When my instrument students are ready to practice these without me on board, I have them call air traffic control and say something like the following, "SoCal approach, this is Two-One-Three-Two Bravo. I am an instrument student. Workload permitting, would it be possible for you to give me a few holding pattern clearances so that I can practice holding patterns in the local area?" But please, please, please do this only when the controller isn't too busy. Otherwise, the controller just won't be able to work with you.
Although you can fly practice instrument approaches as well as holding patterns solo - while not wearing a limiting device, of course - it's always wise to have a competent and qualified safety pilot on board under these conditions.
Teaching Without Actual Instrument Time
Dear Mr. Machado,
I'm a CFI and will have my multiengine instructor rating in just a few more days.
I'm often asked why I don't have my instrument instructor rating as well. It's not that I don't want it, but what's holding me back is the fact that I have very little actual instrument time - one-half hour to be exact.
I live in Arizona; about the only time clouds roll in is during the winter, which presents icing issues, and in the summer, which presents convective activity issues - not a good combination for general aviation aircraft.
Is it wise for me to get my CFII and teach students instruments when I have very little cloud time myself?
Sincerely,
Terry
Greetings Terry,
Not having much flight experience in actual instrument conditions does not mean you can't be an effective, capable, and competent instrument instructor. It may, however, prevent you from having the self-confidence and the credibility you'd like to have as someone in the position of teaching others to fly instruments.
It would be wise for you to try to obtain more actual instrument experience when conditions are safe for doing so. Try visiting a location where you can obtain this experience. Perhaps you can combine it with a vacation. Arrange for a CFII at a local flight school to take you up when acceptable IFR conditions are present.
Considering your location, it would probably be worth your while to fly over to Southern California and experience some of our local low-stratus weather. We have a lot of it, and our controllers are more than happy to let you poke around in it as much and as often as you want. Given your location, you might even arrange to take your instrument students to Southern California to meet their instrument cross-country requirement.
Logging Complex Time
Dear Mr. Machado,
I am a newly minted pilot, and I have decided to get my complex endorsement. Can I log the flight time needed to receive this endorsement as pilot in command time since I am a certificated pilot? If I can, what regulation covers this entitlement?
Thank you for your time.
David
Greetings David,
Yes, if you are taking the training you need to obtain your complex or high performance endorsement, you can log that flight time as pilot-in-command time.
The difference here is between logging PIC time and acting as the required PIC. Your flight instructor is the legal PIC on that flight since he or she is the only one with a complex or high performance endorsement. You can log the time as PIC since you're the sole manipulator of the controls on an aircraft for which you are rated. This is covered in Part 61.51(e) of the federal aviation regulations.
The best source for answers to questions like these is online at the FAA's Web site (http://afs600.faa.gov/ data/640otherfaq/ faqpt_61.pdf). Or, if you are an AOPA member, speak to an aviation technical expert at 800/ USA-AOPA.
The Great Downwind Turn Debate
Dear Rod,
Would you do me a great favor and clear up the age-old debate about downwind turns?
My opinion is that once the aircraft is airborne and moving in a steady-state air mass, provided the turn is balanced, the indicated airspeed and hence the margin above stall will not change. Granted, the aircraft will follow a different path over the ground, but when considered separately from the earth, the aircraft is still flying in a circle.
In my opinion, the problem with pilots making downwind turns lies with their perception of speed in relation to the ground. The pilot might think he or she is going faster and try to compensate by reducing power and/ or increasing the angle of attack. This could cause a stall or spin. I say that once the aircraft has left the ground, it doesn't care about the ground at all, and the plane can't tell its speed in relation to the ground.
I would be most grateful if you could clear this up for me.
Thanks very much for your help.
Travis
(For those of you who are not already familiar with the downwind turn argument, it goes like this: In a steady-state wind, turning downwind [away from a headwind] can result in a loss of airspeed, possibly leading to a stall if the airplane's speed is low enough. Proponents of this argument suggest that the stronger the wind, the greater the loss of airspeed.)
Greetings Travis,
You're right on all counts. Excluding any effects of wind shear while climbing, descending, or turning, pilots who stall while turning downwind usually do so because of the perceptual problems you mentioned.
Unfortunately, the downwind turn argument is like a vampire: It just won't die.
Without going into the rather complex aerodynamics, I believe there is a simple way to put a stake through the heart of this argument once and for all. It involves only one question: If the downwind turn effect is indeed real, then why is it that no major airline simulator - not a single one to my knowledge - is programmed to represent this phenomenon?
After all, if this was a genuine threat to safety and lives were supposedly at risk because of the dangers of turning downwind, then sophisticated simulators would certainly be programmed to represent this hazard. They aren't.
Despite the fact that airliners turn downwind all the time, even in the jet stream, they don't fall out of the sky. If they did, an airline company would surely capitalize on the issue by adopting a name such as Bob's Discount No-Downwind-Turn Airline.
The fact is that the downwind turn phenomenon occurs primarily for the reason you stated - reaction to perceived speed in relation to the ground. The downwind turn phenomenon does not exist in real life. It only exists in the heads of those who insist that the laws of physics don't apply to airplanes in flight.
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