An introduction to IFR & heading home 🇬🇧
- Connor Raven
- Apr 8, 2018
- 4 min read
As I write this post I find myself sat back at home in the UK, the last 5 months that I'd spent on the other side of the world has gone by in an instant.
Since passing my PPL LST last month, in the weeks that followed, I went on to pass my night rating check and I also commenced on IFR flying, which as you'll soon read, I absolutely loved! In short, IFR (Instrument flight rules) utilises imaginary waypoints in the sky or ground based navigational equipment allowing us to follow designated routes, or as there known; airways. Because, when flying IFR, we tend to fly in controlled airspace and can also determine our position on an airway or track to a waypoint relatively accurately, maintaining visual reference with the ground is of little importance. Therefore, the weather becomes slightly less restrictive and we can fly straight through all of those clouds that I had to avoid back in the VFR stage. But before we go any further let's rewind a week...
As you may well remember from my last post in March, I really enjoyed my first night flight. The MPL syllabus includes 2 dual night flights before the 4th CA check and then the solo night circuits event. After completing my first night flight I was super eager to get back up again in the dark.
Unfortunately, my second night flight didn't start quite as smoothly as the first. After dipping the oil we were lead to suspect a potential oil leak with our aircraft and once we managed to swap planes and get airborne I was struck with headset issues being unable to hear on the radio. What a pain! We were just about to call it a day and Y flight the event (Y flight means the flight ended short due to reasons other than the students performance, i.e weather or aircraft issues). However, I managed to sort out my headset meaning we could continue with the lesson. It was great fun after the initial hiccups. My 4th CA check, my PPL night rating was by far my favourite night flight. We were quite lucky in that an event in Hamilton, 'Balloons over Waikato' was being held which meant we had the best view for the fireworks that followed. After buzzing around in the circuit for an hour, my instructor climbed out and I went off solo for the first time at night. There's something about night flying I really enjoy. It's alot more relaxing than during the day and the view of the stars tops it off.
The IFR phase was with out doubt my favourite part of my training out in New Zealand. Party because it was all completely new to me and secondly, the feeling of popping in and out of the clouds up at 7000' was great fun. It made it all feel just that little bit more real and closer to the end goal as well.
The start of the IFR stage began in the simulator. We covered the basic principles of VOR holds before adapting them to allow for an approach to be made after. The basic principle of a VOR approach is to follow a specific track outbound, known as a radial, and then at a defined distance or time turn back in bound. An MDA or Minimum descent altitude is defined on the plate for the approach. At 100' above MDA we look outside to see if we can visually see the runway. At 50' above MDA if we can see the runway, we land, if not then we carry out what's called a missed approach, or go-around.
Because IFR flying involves the pilot practically having a staring competition with the PFD, it does become very tiring and mentally draining. Throw in a few maths calculations as well and it quickly can become too much to a newbie such as myself. Thankfully, we had the ability to utilise the autopilot which drastically reduced our workload. Once established in the cruise, the autopilot would come on for 10 minutes or so while I completed the cruise checks and then immediately began preparing for the approach.
The fact IFR is so demanding made it very rewarding. On all of my 3 IFR flights in New Zealand, the instructor took off, once airborne and in a safe position I'd then take control, already with the hood on. I'd then fly the whole 2 hour flight without looking outside once and only take off the hood when I was just about to land. Flying all of these procedures without looking outside, to then quickly take the hood off and find the runway right in front of you is what makes IFR very rewarding and I found there was a larger sense of achievement than in VFR flying.
After completing two IFR flights it was time for my 5th CA check and my final flight in New Zealand. My initial intentions for the flight went out the window when I found out the Hamilton VOR was going to be out for maintenance on the day of my last flight. Great! This meant I'd have to fly a route I'd never done before... On my test, which is never a good idea. Instead I planned to do a VOR/DME hold & approach at Rotorua before returning back to Hamilton to do an RNAV (GPS) hold & approach to land. In the end, the flight went really well and I made sure to have a peak outside every so often in anticipation of passing and not getting to fly again in New Zealand. Once down on the ground I completed the usual shut down checks before being told I'd passed and was free to go home! What a feeling! I then spent a day or two completing the sign out process and all the admin that entailed before making the 24 hour journey back home.
So that's it's, my 5 months on the other side of the world complete! I've now got some time off until I start in Bournemouth next month to finish off the Core phase. 13 flights left until my first taste of the airbus! Exciting times ahead...
Until then 🇬🇧
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