IFR- Stump the Chump
Posted by Barbell_Baker@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 30 comments
Hello flying crew, I have my IFR checkride in two weeks and have been looking forward to making this post- try and throw some curveballs my way too!
Jzerious@reddit
Take your pick, I also have mine coming up on May 7th đ€
What are the different kinds of departures?
How do you know your aircraft can make a specified climb gradient?
VFR day, 10+ mile vis, no clouds. Your destination airport doesnât have an IAP, do you need an alternate?
What airports qualify to be alternates?
Who can do an IPC and when do you need it? What can you do after your currency expires (say 6.5 months after your checkride)
What is a cruise clearance.
When can you do a VCOA?
Types of fog. Weather associated with different pressure systems and fronts. Basically all weather, understanding weather is important. Can you read the different textual and graphical reports/forecasts
Barbell_Baker@reddit (OP)
SID- Standard instrument departures are published routes used to transition from the terminal environment to the en route environment. SIDs reduce pilot and ATC workload due to being published procedures. They guarantee obstacle clearance as well, as long as the performance of the airplane can meet the criteria.
ODP- Obstacle departure procedures exist to guide the pilot around conflicting terrain, but do not exist to streamline traffic like a SID. They guarantee obstacle clearance but do little to aid in workload reduction.
Diverse departure procedures- These exist when a pilot is not flying a SID or an ODP. As long as the pilot clears the departure end of the runway by 35 feet,l and climb 200ft per NM, they are guaranteed obstacle clearance. The pilot may turn on course at 400 AGL.
Climb gradient is calculated by: (groundspeed/60)*required climb gradient
To verify if your aircraft can adhere to the climb gradient, calculate the density altitude and refer to the performance charts on what your vertical speed will be.
Yes, you need an alternate. Any time your primary airport does not have an IAP, an alternate must be filed.
Suitable alternate airports must be far enough from the primary airport to avoid experiencing the same meteorological conditions. However, they must be close enough to prevent the pilot from flying outside of legal fuel requirements. Weather conditions cannot be forecasted to be less than the following for the approaches available at the alternate: precision approaches- 600 ceilings, 2sm visibility. Non precision approaches- 800 ceilings, 2sm visibility.
Any DPE or CFII van do an IPC. You need it after your approach and holding/intercepting/tracking currency lapses after 12 calender months. If currency expires 6.5 months after my checkride, I can recruit a saftey pilot so I can log 6HITS under the hood. The saftey pilot needs to be at least a PPL and be rated for the aircraft.
A cruise clearance is a clearance that permits the pilot to climb/descend within a block of altitude at will, without needing further clearance. However, descending out of this block means the pilots cruise clearance is void and they will need to request permission to climb/descend.
You can do a VCOA anytime as long as it is visual conditions. You must request this early on during ground operations.
Radiation fog, upslope fog, steam fog, advection fog, precipitation fog, ice fog- all form under different circumstances but as long as the temp/dewpoint are the same, fog will form. High pressure systems will yield low stratified clouds, smooth air and hazy visibility. Low pressure systems will yield cumulis clouds, potential for thunderstorms, good visibility and choppy air. Cold fronts move very quickly, and wedge under warm air- they are responsible for very poor weather including hail, thunderstorms and tornadoes. During frontal passage the temperature will drop with gusty conditions remaining. Warm fronts engulf and push cold air away, meaning that ceilings will drop the closer you get to the frontal boundary. Steady precipitation is to be expected, with an increase in temperature during frontal passage. A Weather briefing consists of: adverse conditions, synopsis, current conditions, forecasts, and NOTAMS.
Figured I had the time to answer all of these lol
mild-blue-yonder@reddit
Double check the weather youâd expect in high pressure systems and low pressure systems.Â
randombrain@reddit
Your first sentence is correct, your second sentence is not.
Purple_BuCkt@reddit
What are some signs you have encountered structural icing on the propellor? What are some ways to manage this?
jhj0604@reddit
Why do some ILS approaches require RADAR while others don't?
Do you really need 45 minutes of reserve fuel when flying on an IFR flight plan?
If you are flying over the ocean with no source of natural lighting anywhere, with no visual references available whatsoever, can you log that as instrument time?
What's the difference between "cleared via" vs "climb / descend via"?
PureMoose7735@reddit
I would like to know the answer to the last one đ©
AV_NAV_COMM_PROFIT@reddit
Tell me about your last NDB approach.
Kein-Deutsc@reddit
đ€
Brendon7358@reddit
Tell us about your airplane, avionics etc.
Barbell_Baker@reddit (OP)
PA-28-180, has a WAAS capable GNS-430W with an additional NAV and COM radio. Yoke mounted Aera 796, useful for ADSB in and NEXRAD. Aspen E5 w/ synthetic vision and a two axis autopilot.
I-r0ck@reddit
Youâre going on a IFR flight from KFCM to KDLH. The clouds at KDLH will be 300ft at your ETA. During your preflight you see the database in the GNS is expired. Can you continue with the flight?
Kein-Deutsc@reddit
Yeah
Opperater9@reddit
You have started your circle on a circling approach, how do you fly the missed approach if you lose sight of the runway while in the circle?
ShmupsPDX@reddit
Here's one I got two days ago after stumbling myself down a bit of a rabbit hole. i'll just yadda yadda to the point that I got a little hung up on.
You're in lost comms, already shot an approach at your primary, diverted, you're on the approach at your alternate, roughly 30-45 minutes of fuel remaining. What conditions need to be met for you to land at your alternate?
bespey9@reddit
How do you know you are in a mountainous area?
AGroAllDay@reddit
Do you have dual G5âs by chance?
randombrain@reddit
You're departing Capital Region Airport (LAN) on a flight plan to Indianapolis Metro Airport (UMP) via direct FWA, direct. Weather is solidly IMC, bases OVC006, tops reported around 5300, negative ice.
In your clearance, you were issued "maintain 3000, expect 8000 one-zero minutes after departure."
Lansing Tower gives you "Proceed direct Fort Wayne, cleared for takeoff." You take off and you turn direct FWA. As you're entering the bars they issue "Contact Great Lakes departure," but when you flip the switch you can't get a response. Going back to Tower, also no response.
What is your game plan? (I'm specifically curious about your altitude, but really the whole scenario is important to think over.)
randombrain@reddit
This is a really tricky question that the examiner probably won't ask you, and probably won't ever be a factor in your IFR flying career... until the day that it is.
Compare and contrast:
How do you safely navigate yourself from 0' AGL to the minimum safe IFR altitude?
randombrain@reddit
Compare and contrast:
I'm specifically wondering what is the same, and what is different, about your approach to the airport and your selection of landing runway.
randombrain@reddit
You're going in to GRR. You get the ATIS, which has 05016KT SCT013 BKN035 and says that both the ILS RWY 08R and the ILS RWY 35 are in use.
You're cleared the ILS RWY 08R. Brief the expected immediate/initial response from ATC if something happens and you report going missed, or get sent around, on short final.
Note: The answer is NOT "turn right direct Victory VOR." Explain why.
randombrain@reddit
This is a real-world scenario that happened to me during the second week after I was certified to work radar. Details changed, of course.
You have filed a flight plan from Ionia County Airport (Y70) to South Bend via VIO V274 PMM V55 GIJ direct with a filed altitude of 060. Pretend all the airway segments are usable.
The AWOS at Y70 is reporting ceiling OVC015 and visibility 10SMâmarginal VFR, to be sure, but still legal VFR.
Your cell carrier has poor coverage near Ionia, so you elect to depart VFR. You take off from Runway 28. Because you are VFR, you maintain 500' below the cloud layerâ1000' AGL, 1800' MSL. You call Great Lakes Approach airborne to pick up your IFR clearance.
The Great Lakes Approach controller issues your squawk code and identifies you on radar. They give you the Grand Rapids altimeter setting and confirm that you are at 1800' MSL. Then they say this:
What do you say, and why?
LightPilotLifeguard@reddit
You're doing a flight during which your GPS database will expire. Is this legal? Why or why not?
Barbell_Baker@reddit (OP)
If its going to be VFR conditions, I might consider flying VFR instead. If its IMC, ill try to find a current database that I can use. If I have no luck in acquiring one and its IMC, ill ground the flight.
metalgtr84@reddit
Your Garmin 430 has two database cards. Do they both need to be current? (DPE asked me this one)
LightPilotLifeguard@reddit
Nice! Doubt it'll come up on your ride, but a note on AIM 1-2-3 goes into the FAA's thoughts on it. Good luck!
TxAggieMike@reddit
Resources you need to know aboutâŠ
Flight insight IFR sheet: https://www.flight-insight.com/ifr-pdf
https://www.pilotscafe.com/IFR-quick-review-guide/
Gold Seal instrument âCheat Sheetâ â https://goldseal.link/ifrcheatsheet
VSL.aero ACE Guide
Seth Lakeâs VSL.aero YT series on decoding the Instrument Airplane ACS.
cazzipropri@reddit
Here is a collection of 64 hard, IFR-oral questions
bigbeakbaby@reddit
this is awesome, thanks!
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Hello flying crew, I have my IFR checkride in two weeks and have been looking forward to making this post- try and throw some curveballs my way too!
Please downvote this comment until it collapses.
Questions about this comment? Please see this wiki post before contacting the mods.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. If you have any questions, please contact the mods of this subreddit.