Insecure in IMC

Knowledge is power, we tell ourselves, and every additional skill will enhance our ability to fly safely.

While this is true, it’s important to remember that your qualifications are only as good as the practice you put into keeping that training fresh.

For example, I did my instrument training in southern Nevada. And, like much of the desert southwest, the only clouds Las Vegas can offer are the kind that come with dangerous microbursts. For the other 362 days of the year, it’s clear and a million. So, all my training for my instrument rating was done either in a simulator or under the hood and behind view limiting glasses. I didn’t use the qualification for four long years until I refreshed it with an in-depth instrument proficiency check (IPC) in June.

And as I recently discovered on a long cross-country flight, there’s a real difference between simulated instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and actual instrument meteorological conditions. I had never actually flown into a cloud. And when it finally happened to me, it was a surprising, unsettling experience.

Many newly rated instrument pilots have also logged dozens of hours under the hood or in simulators and passed their checkrides with flying colors yet have accumulated little to no actual IMC time.

Flying through hard IMC can be exhausting. Clouds create an entirely different sensory environment than visual conditions. You peel your eyes for any sign of contrast or shadow, and your reflexes and attention are heightened so as to detect any anomaly from the aircraft.

So, when you’ve got the pedigree and the training but before you pierce that overcast deck with the pointy end of your aircraft, here are a few things that you should remember.

First of all, don’t panic. You’re on an IFR flight plan, you’ve programmed your avionics, and your aircraft knows what it has to do, clouds or no clouds.

If you have one, let your autopilot fly the airplane. Your workload already takes up a lot of headspace, and if the autopilot can take over some of that, all the better.

Trust your instruments. Yes, our inner ear may be telling us something, but our aircraft’s instruments are always more accurate than our human vestibular system. The attitude indicator will be your best friend for this one.

The biggest challenge might be managing stress while maintaining disciplined instrument scanning. Under pressure, it’s easy to fixate on a single instrument or become distracted. Prioritize your tasks and maintain that steady scan even when conditions deteriorate. That skill will come easier to you as you gain experience.

If you’re on an IFR flight plan and you are uncomfortable flying through that thick layer of clouds straight ahead, ask ATC if you can deviate from your cleared course to avoid them. As long as you know that terrain won’t be a problem, ask for a lower altitude, or maybe you see clear air above, so you can request a climb. If there’s open sky 15 degrees to the left or right, ask to go there. It may give the controllers a little more work to do, but they also want to know that you are safe and can handle the situation you are in. ATC may deny your requests, but it likely won’t hurt to ask.

If you’re really unsure about the weather or maybe afraid to get stuck “on top,” turn around, divert, or delay your flight. There’s no shame in getting out of a situation by exercising good judgment and trying another day. I’ve done that too. Maybe schedule a flight with an IFR-rated and proficient friend on a day you wouldn’t normally go up alone. File an IFR flight plan, and head into a cloudbank, just to get an idea of what you’re dealing with. It will do wonders to boost your confidence.

At ASI we like to say that getting an instrument rating is not only an achievement, it’s also a commitment to continue learning to keep that proficiency, and to remain safe.

[email protected]