What the flock is my problem??

[Flylo]

What a day, I feel like I've been drug through a knothole.

I spent almost 2 hours in actual IMC today shooting all kinds of different approaches and hacked 'em up like a big dog.

This is only my second time in real IFR but I've got over 20 hours of simulator time plus maybe 10 more under the hood and have never had anywhere near the problems I did today in the real stuff. By the time I'd get on course, my altitude would go to he!! and by the time I got back up (or down) to wherever I was supposed to be, the #@## needle would be gone off to Jones' one way or the other. The only excuse I have is that there was a pretty good breeze blowing and I had to put in about a 15 degree correction angle when it was directly off the beam but I was still way, way, behind the airplane all the time.

My instructor said I was "fixating" on whatever instrument I happened to be correcting for at the time but it sure seemed to me like I was about to roll my eyeballs right out of their sockets trying to keep up with all that shi$. I kept expecting the controller to ask if I was having a seizure but he must've been too busy laughing to ask.

Soooo, I guess my question is, does everyone go through a droolin' spastic moron phase like this or should I just go ahead, sign up for the special Olympics and then sue the bast*rds for a refund since they obviously haven't taught me a da^n thing?
.

 

[flyer172r]

Don't feel too bad. Being in actual is a lot different than being under the hood. I don't know what hodd you use, but most of the ones I've seen are pretty easy to cheat with. You can usually see a little bit out the corner and the side. Keep at it, and keep working on a rapid instrument scan. It'll come. And 2 hours is a fairly long time to be shooting approaches, I wouldn't be surprised if fatigue may have played a part towards the end.

 

[LR25]

Relax, you will be OK.

And yes, guys who fly all different kinds of airplanes screw up that bad also.
We just try not to do it all the time, but it happens.

It sounds like you were fixating, with time you will hone your skills.

 

[Goose Egg]

Keep in mind that 30 hours of instrument time isn't really a whole lot. Enough to pass a checkride, perhaps, but still a lot to learn. Don't be so hard on yourself. It'll come (but be aware that berating yourself will only shortchange the learning process.)

-Goose

 

[minitour]

just remember to relax and keep up the scan.

It does sound like you were fixating at times...possibly emphasizing or omiting(sp) if you were able to keep basic attitude control, but fixating sounds like the problem.

anywho, that's lots of high workload actual. 2 hours enroute isn't so bad since you'll be tracking an airway and perhaps checking intersections/fixes, then you go to your arrival/approach and bang.

Don't be too hard on yourself man...you'll get it!

-mini

 

[Flechas]

Don't worry too much, IMC is a diferent game than simulated. A couple more hours in it and you will feel ok. The first time you get in the clouds is a little overwhelming, you have a few more bumps, you may get some spacial disorientation, now you have a fight between you eyes and your other senses trying to figure out what's going on. Next time you will see you will be more familiar and will do a lot better. Also don't forget that everybody has good flying days and not so good flying days, no matter how many hours you have, you will have a hard landing, a sloppy approach, you name it. Good luck with the rest of your rating. The instrument rating is probably the most challenging and satysfying rating.

Fly safe.

 

[minitour]

The instrument rating is probably the most challenging and satysfying rating.

Fly safe.

Definitely most challenging check ride. Approach, miss, approach, hold, approach no gyro, circle, land. Toss in some unusual attitudes and such and...there ya go.

Feels great though!

-mini

 

[greygoose]

Just wait until the days when you get 500 ft off the ground on the approach and you still havent entered the clouds. Wx reporting 1800rvr and vv of 100, that will mess with your head.
One of the best ways to grasp inst flying is to fly cargo, thats where youll get your ass handed to you.

 

[Flylo]

Thanks for the encouragement.

I feel a little better after having so many of you say that there is a definite difference in flying real IMC and hood time on a sunny day. Maybe I was subconsciously cheating with the Foggles or a hood on, but I wasn't trying to nor was I aware of it.

After thinking about it for a while, there are several factors that probably contributed to my ordeal. First, is that I've only been flying once a week; I'll bet I could do a lot better if I flew at least one more time each week. Another is that we were having trouble with the radios most of the flight; we had to ask the controller to repeat several times and we actually lost contact with him for a while at one stage, so that probably contributed to my not concentrating on "flying the plane" like I should have but it's also something I'll just have to get used to I guess. The other is that the airplane I was flying is one that I've only flown for about 10 hours and it's a handful for me on a sunny VFR day let alone one where you never see anything until you break out at the end of the runway on final. It's a Mooney 20G with the "Armstrong" retractable gear. I may not be able to fly very well but let me tell you, you don't wanna' arm-wrestle me.

Well, never say die; I just called my instructor to see if he was up for another round since it's still IMC around here today and he said OK but it'd have to be this afternoon as he had some things he needed to do this morning....... something about Valium and a parachute .

Thanks again for the replies.
.

 

[Mr. Cole]

I've found that I fly better in IMC than under the hood any day. But you said that you have 20 hours in the sim, 10 under the hood, and probably about 3 IMC. In my opinion you haven't had enough time in the plane in either actual or simulated to feel really comfortable. I agree that the sim can very challenging and certainly very frustrating, but throw in getting bounced around and not being able to see anything outside and it's a different world. You also mention that you were flying a strange airplane, which certainly couldn't have helped. And has already been mentioned, two hours just shooting approaches under the hood can be exhausting. I can only imagine how draining it must be in IMC. If my instructor saw that I was getting tired we would call it a day. If you're getting exhausted you're not going to learn anything and more than likely wasting your money.

Dave

 

[Snakum]

I had a drooling spastic moron flight about two weeks ago, but my next flight was just fine.

And I thought it was just me!

Minh
(Drooling and Spazzing)

 

[User546]

By the time I'd get on course, my altitude would go to he!! and by the time I got back up (or down) to wherever I was supposed to be, the #@## needle would be gone off to Jones' one way or the other. The only excuse I have is that there was a pretty good breeze blowing...

Relax, and don't worry about it. I found myself in the same situation in a King Air 90 a couple months ago. Hand-flying a full VOR approach (no vectoring) in IMC almost down to mins. It happens to everyone, just always remember the funadamentals of instruments and that information will never let you down. And, never EVER be afraid to go missed and try it again. If you're not stabilized early on, chances are it's not going to get better for you, and as your descending to the ground at 500fpm, thats not a time to be trying to jockey for control of the aircraft!

Your a low time instrument student, and what happened is very typical. Yea, the wind may have been blowing a bit and causing some correction, but you knew that, and you knew what you had to do. That's real life flying right there. You'll become quicker, smoother, and more proficient as your training progresses.

 

[Jmmccutc]

actual time is something that you've got to practice in to get used to...where do you do your flight trainging at? if it's sunny all the time i feel bad for you...i had 15 hrs actual time before i even got my rating...just get more practice in the soup and you'll start doing better...get your ass to ohio and start building some actual time...

 

[bobbysamd]

Flying in actual

This is only my second time in real IFR but I've got over 20 hours of simulator time plus maybe 10 more under the hood and have never had anywhere near the problems I did today in the real stuff . . .

Your experience has been primarily sim. Don't forget, a sim "flies" differently than an airplane. Moreover, ten hours of airplane hood time really isn't that much. I agree with the others that hoods let everyone cheat to a certain extent.

The funny thing about actual, though, is that it's easier in some ways than being under the hood. Any kind of hood is somewhat uncomfortable, limits your view and a distraction, but actual is easier because your view is unlimited. It's only you and the gauges.

One's first few forays in actual IMC are exciting, and great fun. You'll do better next time.

 

[Metro III]

Imc

I got my Instrument rating in AZ. Most IMC in a C172 in AZ isn't pretty. I didn't get any actual IMC until after my checkride. It was in a Seminole with an instructor. I only had around 10 hours in the airplane. I felt much like what you were describing. I did very well with the hood on, even on my checkride, examiner wrote in my book "Very Satisfactory". I thought I had it down, until I actually tried it. Don't worry though, it was all in my head and probably yours too. It didn't take long before I was as relaxed as I was on any approach. Just stay with an instructor until it all comes together, trust me it will and you'll know when your safe to do it on your own.

 

[Sig]

DUDE!

One thing I always noticed (a thousand years ago, back when we mixed our own paint to draw diagrams on the cave walls) with students who beat themselves up like that two things were usually true:

1) they were waayyyy too hard on themselves;
2) they were pretty dang good on the guages.

Being too hard on yourself undermines everything, though. I was as nervous as a longtailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs as a new CFII when we'd get into actual... after a couple of sessions of watching it go downhill really fast in IMC, I realized it was really NO BIG DEAL [emergencies notwithstanding]. Of course, that's with two (almost) brains in the cockpit. Nowadays, an 1800 RVR approach is an exciting chance to make it all come together (again, with almost two whole brains up front).

Long/short: let the II do the evaluating. Keep on keepin' on.

I like your attitude- you'll push yourself to be the best you can be. Just give yourself some credit, man!

 

[User546]

I got my Instrument rating in AZ. Most IMC in a C172 in AZ isn't pretty. I didn't get any actual IMC until after my checkride.

Same story here. Got all my ratings in Arizona, and by the time I had finished all my training, I had a wopping 0.8 of actual in my logbook - and that was in a 172.

First real actual I logged after that was my first flight in a Citation, hitting the soup about 5 seconds after my first takeoff. Talk about trial by fire!

I've never understood why people think that actual is much harder to fly in then in training. Staring and interpreting your gauges is no different when its clear blue skies outside, or you can't see pass the nose cone in IMC. If anything, I strive in IMC enviroments, because you HAVE to be on your game in that situation, or it could have very dire consequences.

Maybe someone can explain it to me.

 

[aeronautic1]

You have to pick your equipment better

I learned a long time ago. Never fly in hard IMC without an autopilot. Believe me, it's worth the extra $10 per hour!!


"Propellers are for boats!!"