Wrapping up Stage I in the IFR training Syllabus

With predominately good weather, only one flight got canceled recently due to low level wind shear alerts (wind speed at 2,000 AGL was in excess of 45 MPH). Navigation work under simulated instrument condition was the name of the game. Of course partial panel work (simulated and actual) was included for good measure, as were stalls and steep turns.

I learned how to fly a DME arc which is using a VOR as the reference point and flying part of a circle around it using the DME to provide range from the station to leave you with a pretty neat flight path. I learned to fly a localizer both inbound to the runway and outbound as a reference to intercept a certain navigational intersection. On Thursday October 25th I went for the Stage I check, where my basic instrument skills, the concepts and procedures I should have learned during the last 2 months were evaluated.

Chaos in the Pattern

It was early in the morning (or late at night) the sun had net yet come up when I left my house for lesson number 8 in my IFR training, all I wanted was to get through the lesson checking off all the required tasks whichout much unnecessary excitement. In the beginning it appeared the would be the case, engine start was normal and we were ready to taxi, Ground Control asked us to give way to a Learjet 31, N29SR to pass east-bound on Taxiway Alpha on an early morning run to Chicago. All was going well.

The lesson was progressing without incident. No abnormalities were found during the run-up and we was cleared for takeoff on the calm wind runway, RWY 28. I demonstrated tracking the Runway 10 LOC (Localizer) outbound with reverse sensing. My proficiency with constant rate / speed climbs, turns, descents and any combination thereof was examined. Not the easiest thing in an airplane without an Attitude Indicator (AI), remember it failed on September 11th 2012 and has not yet been fixed. It has been placarded (photo below), however when the instrument is still visible it still creeps into your scan. Here's a tip I discovered mid-flight: completely cover the failed instrument, in my case I used a folded piece of paper.