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After showing a "normal" friend of mine (they say pilots are not quite normal) an Instrument Approach plate, she said to me "I thought all you have to do is land the plane!" Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Weather does not always permit us to do a visual landing, or we are required by ATC to hold for spacing, and we therefore need help from our aircraft's instruments and certain ground facilities such as VORs, NDBs and ILSs to guide us down to where visual reference to the runway can be established.

I remember studying for my Airlaw and Ops CPL exam and looking at these plates not having a clue what was going on and thinking "Would I ever be able to do this stuff?" Even determining the entries for holding patterns was a mission at that stage. Unfortunately one has to pass the written exam before you can do the actual procedures, but once you start physically flying them, either on the simulator or in the aircraft, everything falls into place.

It will benefit you, both training-wise and money-wise, if you have the use of a simulator to start your instrument training on. Unlike the simulator, the aeroplane does not have a pause button! You are in a much more relaxed environment and can get a good idea of how to fly the actual procedures before flying them in the aeroplane without all the extra stress of radio, turbulence etc. Also, after you have "flown" the approaches, you are able to see exactly what the pattern looks like on the computer screen. The law states that a maximum of 20 hours simulator instrument time under instruction may be logged towards your Instrument Rating.

The real fun comes though when you jump into your aeroplane to actually go and fly the patterns! And yes, you will once again get to fly with those delightful foggles or if you're really, really lucky, with what they call "The Hood". My first VOR (VHF Omni-directional radio range) hold was flown at HBV and then we flew back to Wonderboom for the despised NDB (non-directional beacon) approach. The NDB approach is, honestly, not that bad. I suppose because we tend to be lazy, the NDB is not a favourite amongst pilots because a lot more work is involved than with the VOR. Corrections for wind have to be continually made and the ADF (Automatic Direction Finder) has to always be re-aligned with the Direction Indicator. If you have flown accurately, the reward is to look up when you've reached your missed approach point and see the runway directly ahead of you it's an absolutely amazing feeling of achievement! The other exciting event in my training was when I flew my first "mini-LOFT" (Line Orientated Flight Training) from Wonderboom to do the ILS (Instrument Landing System) approach at Lanseria. Receiving my first real instrument departure was cool it sounds so damn professional! And then getting to chat with the "big boys" under radar control was pretty wild in itself! After completing a very successful ILS, we flew back visually to Wonderboom. I couldn't believe how easy it seemed after flying purely on instruments for such a long time. It's a good idea to take a bit of a break in between your training, because all the concentration does drain you and you must make sure that you are not flying fatigued.

Not only will you be doing approaches and holds, but you'll also practise and perfect the instrument flying you will have done in your Night Rating, such as stalls, steep turns, recovery from unusual attitudes and limited panel flying. Apart from the 20 hours simulator time, you will need to do another 20 hours minimum under instruction flown with reference to the instruments only for your Instrument Rating (for a Commercial Pilot's Licence with Instrument Rating). Your instrument time from the Night Rating can count towards this. After you and your instructor are both happy and comfortable with the standard of your instrument flying, you will test with a designated examiner. It is easier to have all your Commercial Licence requirements, like your PIC time etc. before testing because after completing your Comm test, you have 30 days in which to get everything done and then test for your IR. If you have all your requirements up to scratch, they may even combine the Comm and IR test into one. If you can afford to do your Twin Comm/IR, as I am doing, it is also beneficial as it eliminates the need to re-test for your Multi-engine IR and also makes job hunting a little easier.

If you are considering getting your Instrument Rating, be prepared for a lot of hard work and concentration. The training is pretty intense and you have to be totally focused at all times. I'm not saying it’s all work and no play because after all, when can flying ever really be called "work"?

Questions or comments?
Email me: ngarden