The thing that continues to amaze me about flying is the different things people find difficult. The guy I did my IMCr with took a few extra hours on me and had more of a struggle with the ADF. I had probably done more of this simulated and I was flying some passable holds in some nasty winds fairly quickly. He however, is an absolute ace on partial panel work. He did a refresher lesson a few weeks back with an examiner, who said he flew better with most of the instruments covered!
Recovery from unusual attitudes on partial panel is a giggle. I did at one point find myself pointing at ground and pressing firmly on both rudder pedals simultaneously in an effort to stop! Didn't work I hasten to add...
The holding aspect does seem to take up an awful lot of the course, as it does for the IR, yet the only people ever in them seem to be people training.
I've been involved in an awful lot of fast track courses and although ive never done an IMC course in a week I work with people who have.
The first problem is students don't realise how much hard work it is. The written paper has to be passed before you start. Also all the principles have to be learnt and understood and the flying element is simply a case of putting it into practice. And even if this is the case there is still no guarantee that you will get through in minimum hours.
If you turn up and expect to get it passed at the end of the week and rely on the instructor to get you through then I'm afraid its not going to happen.
Jersey Aero Club were heavily into IMCR courses at one time - with the advantage of no VAT[/quote]Thanks for this - I will give them a call to discuss my options.
For ADF and VOR holds, I have often referred to the link below for some guidance. It written from a FAA perspective but from a practical flying perspective I cant see much wrong with it that couldnt be applied to an IMCr.
Looks like a solid read, thank you.
Appreciate the thoughts and comments that have been rolling in.
If there are any further suggestions on training material that I should be referencing, as well as locations/clubs/instructors that I should be speaking to, that would be most welcome.
Happy holidays folks!
Matt Walker who is based near York although he tends to be pretty busy (Instructs at Cranwell during the week)
He charges £130 for aircraft hire Cessna 172 and another 30 quid of top of that for his time. There is no home landing fees but you do have to pay approach fees which are about 10 quid a pop and Doncaster and Humberside. You can also get the odd freebe at Church Fenton but not for much longer as its about to close.
pm me if you would like his phone number
Hi Macchiato, I did mine in under a week, intensively last in January 2012. It was well worth it, because I also ended up with some real IMC flying due the weather. For me the most important thing was some bits in real IMC. Because this gives confidence. A downside is that you can get some peripheral views of the ground through the goggles and this is reassuring; but flying in absolute IMC is a little scary at first and very different to the goggles; so doing it with an instructor there double checking adds the reassurance and confidence to go for it afterwards. I also added a night qual at the same time; one of the best weeks that I ever had, some really good intensive flying.
What helped me was to ensure that I had good access to internet/forums and that during the ground time I really sought and embedded the "Rules of Thumb" like "Pull the tail and drop the head" for ADF stuff. Make sure that this is absolutely second nature and the flying takes care of itself. The other things that really helped me with respect to cockpit workload was working out the Headwind/Tailwind components; hold headings and descent rates for the approaches all on the ground; before the flight, and then fine tuning and checking once in the air to confirm forecast vs actual on the weather.
Some advice I was given on the course, but never actually did, but have done since, is try and get the app plates laminated, and then you can annotate the plates with the headings/winds and descent rates. On the course I just used a pencil on the paper, but erasing in the air was difficult and so I did sometimes ended up with scribbles everywhere.
In summary, go for it - a great experience, and even if the IMCr disappears the skills make the VFR flying so much more enjoyable and relaxing, so it is worth it.
But one thing I would insist on is make sure the instructor will take you in to real IMC without goggles, even if for an hour or so at the end, it will give you confidence to do it for real!
All fantastic advice so far, thank you.
I have now initiated a conversation on the IMCR with the Jersey Aero Club. If folks here have recommendations on other clubs/instructors whom I should be speaking to, please point me in the right direction.
Hi Macchiato
Herefordshire Aero Club (http://www.herefordshireaeroclub.com/index.php/flight-training) based at Shobdon Airfield N5214.48 W00252.88 (Nr Leominster, Herefordshire) have accommodation on the airfield (mobile homes) and I think can do intensive IMC training.
Their contact details are :
Herefordshire Aero Club Ltd Shobdon Aerodrome Leominster Herefordshire HR6 9NR
Tel: 01568 708369 Fax: 01568 708935
I did my IMCR in six days. I had some IFR experience by flying with some ifr rated friends.
I did my training in Southend (great airport with commercial traffic). I can recommend you a great instructor, but I'm not sure whether should mention his name on this forum (can i send you a PM?).
