How to Become a Pilot: Learn to Fly in the Clouds & Personal Update

After you become a Private Pilot, it's time to learn how to fly in the clouds!  Getting your Instrument Rating is the next step.  Even if you're flying for pleasure the instrument rating is great to have, but it definitely comes at an additional cost.  If you've decided you'd like to make aviation into a career, this is a must have!

Instrument Flight

Isn't it amazing that we have the technology to fly without seeing outside?  Instrument flight is when pilots fly by reference to their instruments.  To simulate this, students go "under the hood" so they cannot use outside visual references.  When nearing an airport, pilots use an approach procedure (as pictured) to safely descend out of the clouds to make a visual landing.

The training to become instrument rated includes further training on:

• Air Traffic Control Clearances & Procedures
• Flight by Reference to Instruments (obviously)
• Navigation Systems
• Instrument Approach Procedures (pictured)
• Emergency Operations

The Six Pack

In an airplane, you have six basic instruments... aka the "six pack." They include: 

1. Airspeed Indicator (PS)
2. Attitude Indicator (G)
3. Altimeter (PS) 
4. Vertical Speed Indicator (PS)
5. Heading Indicator (G)
6. Turn Coordinator (G)

Three instruments are a part of the Pitot (not a typo, pronounced: pee-toh) Static Pressure System (PS) and three are Gyro (G) Instruments.

After you initially learn how to fly using only these instruments...enter: emergency scenarios.  This is when an instructor simulates the failure of flight instruments and you have to compensate and continue to fly the aircraft safely, on the correct heading and altitude with a partial instrument panel.  So much of training is simulating emergencies and learning how to recover or maintain safe flight!

Like Private Pilot training, once you complete your training, written exam, and are endorsed to take your check ride, you will complete a flight and oral exam with an examiner (new standards here).  The next post in this series about How to Become a Pilot will overview the other common licenses and ratings you need before you are employable and can start earning money with your skills.

Personal Update...Promoted!

An exciting piece of news to share on my journey is that I was recently promoted to Check Airman.  It is definitely an honor and something I feel proud about as all the other Check Airmen are well respected and great pilots! I will continue in my role as an instructor, responsible for X number of students, but now I will also assist in assessing students at major checkpoints--called "progress checks."  In the short time I have been assessing, I have been able to recognize more about how I can grow as an instructor.  Here's some recent pictures from work:

One of my students passed his Private Pilot check ride! = 1 Bar.

Promoted! Exchanging the 3 bar epaulettes for the 4 Bars with friend Chad.

Arizona sunshine early morning.