boscomantico wrote:
So even if you don’t have quite the time right now to do the full CBIR, I suggest you just get a few more lessons (say 5 hours or so) in with an FI or IRI. That, plus if you continue to practice occasionally, will make you safer for any situation where you might be faced with having to cloud break somewhere.That’s a very good point. After this trip back in spring 2019, I did around 3 hours of basic instrument training, like “what to do when VFR into IMC” etc., and not specific for the IR-rating itself. I definitely want to do more this year!
Balancing « something could happen » and « I can do it » isn’t easy. (…)Absolutely, I fully agree on both points! I always tell my passengers on cross-country flights, especially on multiple day trips, that there might be a (residual) risk of getting stuck at some airport. If they cannot bear the consequences, for example not be able to work on the next day, then they shouldn’t fly with me. This kind of “disclaimer” helps me a lot to stay in my pilot-role. In addition, I’m very lucky to have a boss how fully understands the importance of making safe decisions as a pilot, even when he was not at all familiar with GA before. So when I called up my boss with the message: “Sorry, I’m stuck in France, I can’t make it to the customer appointment” he was totally fine with that and I could just postpone my customer appointment to another day.
You the pilot have to think about everything, alone, make a decision, and bear the consequences.
I definitely understand your point Frans.
You managed it like a pro.
Balancing « something could happen » and « I can do it » isn’t easy.
When flying a friend (who had the work the next day) back from Quiberon to Paris, I kept wondering « how will she gets back to work the runway is blocked, the mag check is wrong, the engine is rough etc…. ». It kind of wasted the wonderful time we were having.
You the pilot have to think about everything, alone, make a decision, and bear the consequences.
aircraft hours with a freelance IRI (someone who flies in weather) are the best bang-for-buck to “stay relaxed” (=alive) and indeed any PPL should get enough of these with regular practice to be proficient enough in basic instrument flying or cloud-breaks
Fully agreed…
MikeWhiskey wrote:
Is there an expiry of these hours for counting them towards the CBIR?
I think for CBIR, the 15h IFR PIC hours will be valid for life, the remaining 25h IFR PUT are valid as much as the IRI & the ATO are alive, preferably if they know each other 
I think simulator hours are the best bang-for-buck to pass the test, while aircraft hours with a freelance IRI (someone who flies in weather) are the best bang-for-buck to “stay relaxed” (=alive) and indeed any PPL should get enough of these with regular practice to be proficient enough in basic instrument flying or cloud-breaks
So even if you don’t have quite the time right now to do the full CBIR, I suggest you just get a few more lessons (say 5 hours or so) in with an FI or IRI. That, plus if you continue to practice occasionally, will make you safer for any situation where you might be faced with having to cloudbreak somewhere.
Also, when you go for the rating, you can count these hours towards the requirements of the CBIR.
Just a minor, admittedly irrelevant, question given the CBIR training is competency based: Is there an expiry of these hours for counting them towards the CBIR?
Re instrument flying, the important thing from a “relaxation” point of view is not so much to have any such rating, but to make sure you are proficient in basic instrument flying.
So even if you don’t have quite the time right now to do the full CBIR, I suggest you just get a few more lessons (say 5 hours or so) in with an FI or IRI. That, plus if you continue to practice occasionally, will make you safer for any situation where you might be faced with having to cloudbreak somewhere.
Also, when you go for the rating, you can count these hours towards the requirements of the CBIR.
Thank you Peter!
Yes, as I don’t have an IR-rating yet, all my trips are done VFR. That can still be quite intense sometimes, but I feel far more confident now when doing my weather checks and route planning. During the returning trip of this journey, I just felt mentally at the end of my capabilities. I wasn’t quite sure if I could do it, even when the time up in the air was completely safe. The trip was a so-called “game-changer” for me, after I knew, that I can do such trips alone. The journey down to Aubenas was totally different: I was sure about my route and fuel planning and the weather was quite easy all the way down, except for developing CB’s above the French Alps, which I could circumnavigate quite easily in a safe distance. Especially up to Aosta, I knew what I could expect, so in the first video of this trip from Freiburg to Aosta, you see a quite relaxed pilot. In the second video from Aubenas to Annecy, I was certainly not relaxed.
Great report, and thank you for digging out the last part, Frans
VFR trips do tend to be more intense than IFR, due to more wx factors, more airspace planning and more ATC interaction. But you also get much better views!
Finally, I found my lost pictures of this trip thanks to some recovery tools, so I can conclude my report:
Flight 5: Annecy (LFLP) – Colmar (LFGA)
After refueling in Annecy and some weather checks, I continued my way further north towards Germany. The original plan was to fly to Freiburg (EDTF) again, and from there back home to Meschede (EDKM). But the weather decided something different for me.
Dimona after refueling in Annecy.
A last view back during my climb out of Annecy. Thanks to the “wind shadow” of the Alps, my ground speed improved a lot since the last flight from Aubenas (see the video on the last page for more info).
The toll booth of Annecy on the highway A41 towards Geneva. When calculating the expensive tolls in the total cost of driving in France, flying GA seems to be not so expensive.
Flying over the clouds again with a lovely view towards the Mont-Blanc!
Lac de Neuchâtel with Payerne Airbase. The CTR was active this time, but a clearance was issued straightaway after the initial call. Military ATC in Switzerland is always very accomodating towards GA, however, their tone sounds often very official and therefore a bit unfriendly. This was also the place where I decided to decent below the clouds, as it was unsure at this time if the clouds would still be broken after passing the Jura, or overcasted.
Lake Biel right after exiting the Payerne CTR.
One of the highest mountains of the Swiss Jura: The Chasseral (1606 m), including the 114 m high tv and radio tower. With this weather, it’s not so easy to navigate around the Jura. A lot of people spent so many time on preparing an Alps crossing, but forget these mountains and getting unexpectedly stuck. The clouds are now high enough to pass the main ridge, but there is not so much space left anymore. And there are also showers in the vicinity, which makes it even harder to search your way through.
The weather got worse after passing the main Jura ridge and I had to divert a bit towards the west before there was some sun again on the east side towards the Rhine valley and I turned back to Mulhouse.
Nonetheless, it started to rain quite quickly north of Mulhouse and with some very dark clouds on the German side of the border. I didn’t felt good to fly the last few NM eastbound towards Freiburg, so I diverted to Colmar. After a nice landing in the rain, I spent a few minutes inside the canopy to let the strong rain pass, before going outside and refueling again. Due to the fact that I landed in France again, I needed to file another flight plan and wait for at least 60 minutes before take-off. Luckily, I could use this time quite well, as there was no one inside the airport building to pay the fuel and landing fees. The person how helped me refueling was not allowed to do the payment. Quite strange, so I had to wait 30 minutes before another person arrived how could make a bill for me and let me pay.
Flight 6: Colmar (LFGA) – Meschede (EDKM)
The last flight of the trip went very well. The weather forecast for my home region was quite bad, but during the flight, the weather remained good all the way up to my home airport with visibilities over 8 km. Sometimes, all you need is just some luck.
Because my homebase is normally closed on mondays, I had to organize a Flugleiter to let me land. After taking off this morning from an abandoned French airfield, without anybody being present, this German rule felt more strange than ever before. I also needed to pay a 40€ PPR-fee and hear some inappropriate comments from our airfield manager: “Why couldn’t you just return on Sunday?!” Because of the weather, it was not safe to fly! “And why don’t you wait then until Tuesday, when we’re open?!” Because I need to work and my boss was already so gentle to give me one day extra off. “Why fly at all and didn’t you stay just at home?!” Because GA is a way of transportation and not just a sport or to fly around the local church tower. “As long as you know that you need to pay now 40€ extra, and next time I won’t give you a PPR for this!!!”
After such a nice flying adventure, this last experience was very disappointing and made me wish to boycott my own homebase for a while. Because of the fact that the airfield belongs to a state-owned company, and not to our own aeroclub, there was not so much I could do against it. I didn’t want to change the club, as the club itself was (and still is) very supportive in all my flying adventures, but this example characterizes the problems German airfields could face sometimes.
Finally, I don’t want to finish this post in a negative way, so let’s finish with a positive note: This solo flying adventure was another big achievement in my personal learning process, especially because I was completely on my own. I didn’t say it in the video, but before the departure out of Aubenas, I felt like this trip was a bit too demanding for me, due to the weather decisions, the pressure from my work to go home, dealing with unknown restricted airspaces, fuel planning without Total/BP-cards etc. I had to leave my comfort zone maybe more than ever. Meanwhile, when writing this report about a trip, which happened almost 2 years ago, I look back at one of the most intense flying trips I ever made. Not because of difficult airports or some close calls, but because of the mental pressure and focus I needed along this trip, especially on the way home.
It is good advertising for Ardeche too ! Never been there actually.
