Instrument Rating

I passed the instrument rating test last Friday.

Its one of the hardest ratings to get in aviation, and is not a fun experience. I am glad its over and done with.

I finished the rating in about five months with twenty five total lessons on the club Skyhawk N172EF.

The aircraft is well equipped with a GNS-430, and an auto-pilot; not necessarily a good thing for the rating, as you have to master more instruments. But after you pass, you feel happy that you did learn the GPS and auto pilot assisted approaches.

The oral part of the test went quite well. I did not miss much.

The practical test was not pleasant. Throughout the test, I was nervous, and made silly mistakes. I was certain that I would fail at any time, but things worked out OK.

The test was at an unfamiliar airport for me (SFM), however, I was told that all approaches will be made to that airport. I was prepared.

I was asked to make a no gyro VOR approach which I executed fine. The VOR is only four miles from the runway, making it quite a bit of a challenge with prevailing tail wind and thermals.

The GPS approach was screwed up, because I forgot to toggle the NAV/GPS function, hence had to do a missed approach. Got a lesson on that from the DPE during the flight.

Did the third, and last (ILS) approach fine. The DPE told me to go below DH, all the way to the surface to simulate engine failure in zero visibility. He told me to keep the needles centered, while descending at two hundred feet/minute, with the hood on. The aircraft touched down with a thud without an event. Going below the DH was actually a lesson from the DPE, not a test.

After all said and done, I got a certificate to move on to the next rating.

During the IFR training, I extensively used X-10 and CH-products based flight simulator at home, to practice all sorts of holds, and approaches. I feel that it was extremely helpful towards the end, after I had good habits ingrained by the instructor. I flew about twenty five hours on this home assembled simulator, none of which could be logged.

I did the rating during frigid NE months when the club aircrafts are mostly available. The training included six valuable hours of cloud time, with some exposure to icing and its recognition.

Now the rating is behind me, and the summer is here, I can start traveling, and posting pictures.

Cost and time for the rating are:

 

Item	$Cost/Time
Total written test prep time (at home study)	1 Week
Total flying duration	11/19/2012 - 4/26/2013
Total hobbs time (including the test)	56.7 hours on Skyhawk
Total instrument time (including the test)	44.1 hours on Skyhawk
Number of lessons	25 lessons
Ground instruction	2 hours / $70
Foggles, FAR/AIM, PTS	$51
ASA oral study guide	$13
Instrument/Commerical Jeppesen Manual (Used, 1996)	$10
Written test prep software Dauntless	$40
Intro lunch with the instructor	$30
X-10 flight simulator (Yoke, Pedal cost not included - add $200)	$70
Written test fee	$140 (Got $10 AOPA discount)
Practical/oral test fee	$300
Instructor's fee at $35 an hour	53.9 hours, $1887
Flying cost at $110 per tach hour	4951
Total cost/time	$7562, 5 1/2 months