rje@cae780.UUCP (Bob Evans) (01/06/86)
The FAA reduced the number of hours required to get an IFR ticket
from 200 to 125 - do any of you CFIIs have any comments on this ?
What about those of you with newly acquired IFR tickets ? Or those
(like me) still getting ready to get it ?
Does anyone want to offer personal insight into his/her capability
differences between 125 and 200 hours ?
I've only been reading the news for 4 - 5 months, so if this is a well
worn topic, forget that I mentioned it.
Bob
FROM: Robert J. Evans, CAE Systems Division of Tektronix, Inc.
UUCP: tektronix!teklds!cae780!rje
{ihnp4, decvax!decwrl}!amdcad!cae780!rje
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USNAIL: 5302 Betsy Ross Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054
AT&T: (408)727-1234 x4819ladkin@kestrel.ARPA (01/08/86)
In article <1737@cae780.UUCP>, rje@cae780.UUCP (Bob Evans) writes: > The FAA reduced the number of hours required to get an IFR ticket > from 200 to 125 - do any of you CFIIs have any comments on this ? > What about those of you with newly acquired IFR tickets ? Or those > (like me) still getting ready to get it ? > > Does anyone want to offer personal insight into his/her capability > differences between 125 and 200 hours ? > I have 200 hours, mainly in an Archer, and obtained my instrument rating as soon as I could after the rules were changed. I've been flying for 15 months, out of Palo Alto in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the rating is a boon! I respect the weather, I'm never tempted to cheat, I can find airports at night in areas I've never been to before (or, rather, ATC finds them for me), and I believe I'm wiser and safer than I would have been without the rating. All of which should be understood relative to my inexperience. Getting the rating was enjoyable, hard work. I have only 5 hours actual IMC so far, 3.5 of it from San Diego to Oakland last Dec 29. I broke the trip into 3 legs in case the weather got worse, or I tired out. The last two were at night, and the final 1.5 hours was solid IMC, in light to moderate turbulence. Ordinary stuff for experienced pilots, but as much as I would want to handle right now. Examiners treat you alike, I would imagine, whether you have 200 hours or 125 hours. They make sure you have the proper dose of humility in the face of mother nature, pass you if you can fly the instruments, and ensure you've memorised the phrase "Clouds can bite!". If you have the hours, go for the rating. By the time you pass the flight test, you'll know whether you need more experience. Three cheers (in this case) for the FAA! Peter Ladkin ladkin@kestrel
jc@sdcsvax.UUCP (John Cornelius) (01/08/86)
Attitude is probably more important than hours when going after ANY rating. Reducing the number of hours from 200 (to qualify for an IFR rating) may not be the best of ideas. I will relate here a chronology (my own) which may strike a familiar note with some of you. 60 Hours Received my private ticket and was greatly relieved. My primary instructor had taught me good habits. I thought I knew a lot. After all, I had read a lot and flown a lot over the last few months and I felt like I had had 12 pounds stuffed into a 10 pound head. 125 Hours By now I have had enough close calls, actually surprises, that I think I know what it is that I don't know. I've taken my first few extended cross country flights and experienced great diversity, not to mention occasional adversity. 200 Hours I've now taken additional instruction (including instruments) and fixed some of the things that I knew might get me into trouble someday. As in rogue, I feel much more skillful now, I feel much smarter now. I am unbelievably cocky. 400 Hours I now have a greater understanding of how little the sky is, how large (and ubiquitous) other airplanes are, and how fickle nature is. I also appreciate the frailty of mechanical devices having spent a year as maintenance officer for a flying club. I have learned that the first turnout isn't that important having blown a tire trying to make it. I finally understand the physical principles involved in this undertaking. I feel much more cowardly now. I feel much more tense when surprised. I revert to some of my low-low time practices like not becoming committed to a course of action if I don't understand what's going on. I perceive instruments as a valuable tool for finding VFR conditions. I notice similarities between things I have done and things showing up in _Retrospective_. 500 Hours I AM more skillful now, and for that matter smarter too. I expect to become much smarter in the future. I recognise that one day I may die in an airplane. I intend to postpone that for another 40 years. I do not intend to be flying the airplane in question but anything is possible. I am more relaxed when surprised and more attentive during routine operations. I now know WHY many of the things that I was told were important are important and often it has nothing to do with what the CFI or FAA said was the reason. The foregoing not withstanding, I am humble as hell. Perhaps the question should not be, "At what number of hours does a pilot become competent enough" but rather, "At what number of hours does a pilot become humble enough". John Cornelius Western Scienitific
doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee) (01/13/86)
Note that the requirement for 125 hours is at the *end* of the
instrument training. It is quite possible for someone to have spent
virtually the entire 125 hours on flight instruction, first for the
private license and then for the instrument rating.
I don't hold much hope that such a person is going to be able to retain
such a large amount of essentially new information and procedures. (I
freely admit that I couldn't). I certainly wouldn't want to be in the
same clouds with one of these 125-hour wonders on his first unsupervised
cross-country trip.
--
Doug Pardee -- CalComp -- {hardy,savax,seismo,decvax,ihnp4}!terak!dougron@r2d2.UUCP (Ron Schweikert) (01/17/86)
> The FAA reduced the number of hours required to get an IFR ticket > from 200 to 125 - do any of you CFIIs have any comments on this ? As a CFII who has done a lot of instrument work and trained others, this new regulation (like all) can be good if not abused. I took my first solo IMC flight to pick up some friends stranded by weather while the ink on my instrument ticket was still wet. The flight though bumpy went fine. I have to admit the anxiety level of actual IFR solo was a bit intense the first time. I don't see any problem with this reg IF YOU CAN REMAIN LOGICALLY CURRENT. By that I don't mean your six approaches/hours/month stuff. Unfortunately for some of these new grads, I fear that their overall experience level may not prepare them for situations which instructors cannot possibly cover. Of course if you spent 250 hours (or 1000) in "severe clear" taking friends to a local restaurant for lunch etc., then the number of hours you have is moot. The key is your actual experience level. The best instructors are those that teach their students to be pilots, not airplane drivers. They must impart to their students that they now have a license to learn. Teach a student pilot aerodynamics, judgement, common sense and the belief that he doesn't know it all yet, and I believe you probably could have a safe 125 hr. IFR pilot. Set realistic personal minimums while you learn and you should do okay. My first few flights in IMC I set minimums of 600-1000 ft ceiling with 3 miles visibility. Still got a lot of actual. As I became more comfortable (and conditions warranted) I began to lower (slowly) personal minimums. (Note: These minimums were IMMEDIATELY after finishing my instrument training. If you're a bit rusty, definately increase these!). To new IFR students, "Don't kid yourself". Nailing an approach to minimums with a hood on and another person in the other seat is (to me) easier than doing it solo in actual conditions. You can't cheat! The pucker-factor is definately real! But don't let that stop you. In one instance, it is a bit easier. You can relax more, sit up straight and fly like you usually do rather than hunched over with a hood and having an instructor critique your every move. As you do it more, you WILL become more comfortable with it. And as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing more satisfying than a long cross-country flight in the sunshine, on top of a solid cloud deck followed by an approach where those beautiful runway environment lights appear out of the haze right as you approach minimums. What a feeling of accomplishment. Study hard, concentrate, learn from others, then go out and do it. You'll love it! Ron Schweikert (My apologies for posting, rather than replying by mail. I hoped this would apply to other students reading also. In addition, it is long because I feel this is an important topic not to be taken lightly or misunderstood.) Happy Flying! -- ...{allegra|hao|ucbvax}nbires!r2d2!ron (USENET)