Fogged in

I’m kidding.

I think no one really loves flying under the hood or behind the somewhat-less-clunky foggles. Especially not students new to this whole flight training thing.

When you begin in the left seat, the first thing you learn is to keep your eyes outside as much as possible. Flying under visual flight rules requires great situational awareness and the ability to navigate by identifying landmarks on the ground and comparing what you see down there with what you see on a paper map or your flight planning software. So, most of your time is spent looking out the windows.

But, as we learn in FAR 61.109, before you qualify for your private pilot checkride, you’ll also need “Three hours of flight training in a single-engine airplane on the control and maneuvering of an airplane solely by reference to instruments, including straight and level flight, constant airspeed climbs and descents, turns to a heading, recovery from unusual flight attitudes, radio communications, and the use of navigation systems/facilities and radar services appropriate to instrument flight.”

Flying with foggles on, even if unsettling, is a really important element of private pilot training. Why?

VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) remains one of the most lethal accident causes for general aviation pilots. The AOPA Air Safety Institute’s thirty-fifth Richard G. McSpadden Report notes that in 2023, the most recent year for which full accident statistics are available, there were 10 noncommercial fixed-wing accidents that resulted from VFR into IMC. All of them were fatal.

It’s important that student pilots are introduced to instrument flying early, for you to gain an understanding and appreciation of how it feels when you can’t see outside. Your instructor in the right seat will direct you, and of course make sure the flight remains safe at all times.

The first thing you need to know when visibility is restricted is to trust your aircraft instruments, rather than what you may feel. Sometimes, when we travel through foggy conditions, our bodies can lie to us, and the organs we use for balance can be out of whack. The vestibular system in the inner ear allows pilots to sense movement and determine orientation. But a pilot in a prolonged coordinated, constant-rate turn in fog may feel like they are not turning at all, so they increase the bank even more…and that can lead to a graveyard spiral from which it is difficult to recover, if you can recover at all.

The point of foggle or hood training is to learn how to scan all your instruments effectively, interpret them correctly, and make wise decisions based on what you see. When visibility is restricted, your instruments will save you. You’ll learn the basics for your private pilot checkride, and you’ll perfect your scan during IFR training.

According to the FAA’s Active Civil Airman Statistics, in 2025, about 70 percent of all pilots had an instrument rating; that’s up from 59 percent in 2003. If we strip out the ATP-rated pilots (for whom an instrument rating is a requirement), 30 percent of private-only and 93 percent of commercial-certificated pilots had earned their instrument rating.

The more you know, the better off you’ll be. It’s always a good idea to have that training in your logbook, and also, of course, to keep it fresh. (And yes, there’s a reg for that too: 61.57(c).) You never know when you’ll inadvertently enter a cloud deck that you may need those skills to get out of.

Spatial disorientation happens quickly, and, if you’re unprepared and on your own, it’s unsettling to say the least. Trust me on this one.

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Resource: Richard G. McSpadden report