IMC Revalidation

With my IMC rating to be renewed by the end of January, I decided to get some refreshers in and sort my revalidation before Christmas. This is my second revalidation since I gained the rating at the end of 2002.

I do fly in solid IMC and shoot real approaches and I do carry out practice IMC and practice approaches under the hood with a safety pilot – not as often or as many as I would like, but enough that I am current and confident when I feel I might have to use the rating for real. I know of course that it is not valid for flying outside of the UK, but if it all went pear-shaped over France, I could deal with it and sort out the formalities later.

On a number of occasions now, it has ‘saved’ trips. It is funny how the problem is usually always at the UK end and once you get out, while it is not always clear skies and smooth cruising, it is at least VFR – don’t get me started on why we can’t have a JAA IR for private pilots like the FAA IR!!!!!

Anyway, I booked the midday slot with Phil Mathews at Cotswold and rocked up early. Phil was available and had already booked a beacon slot for 13:00, so I went out to the plane the settle down and check it out. Garry was just taxying back from refuel having shown a few potential new shareholders around the plane.

I checked her out and she was good to go. Phil sauntered out and we buttoned up. I got the ATIS and made a taxy call and was told to standby. There was racing on at the nearby Cheltenham National Hunt racecourse and the airfield was buzzing with expensive private jets, twins and helicopters. Glos Tower were manic, but I also noticed the fire truck was out and the firemen all togged up. There was an emergency in progress. We did the power checks there while we held for the best part of 20 minutes. It was no drama in the end as the aircraft with an emergency had an alternator failure and was low on battery.

We eventually got to taxy, then had to wait for a gap in traffic to call ready to copy clearance! Eventually I got this and was cleared to take-off immediate on 27. I goosed her up and took off from a roll. Phil had me under the hood at 600’ on one of the most beautiful flying days I have seen for months – it was perfect, unlimited visibility, mainly clear skies and only a light wind – and here I was under a hood!

As discussed, I climbed straight ahead to 1100’ and did a rate 1 climbing turn to port to a heading of 030. At about 5 miles north of the airfield and still climbing to FL50, I intercepted the required 360 NDB ‘radial’ from Gloucester and tracked north. A 10 degree offset to the left was needed to hold the track as we were getting pushed a bit by the westerly.

I settled into FL50 and carefully trimmed to straight and level, testing this with my hands off the yoke. A lesson I learned the hard way is that perfect trim is critical in instrument flying and lightens the workload hugely. I called at 15 miles north as we agreed and he asked me to track towards DTY VOR. I already had the frequency set and listed and got the ident on the VOR, then did the same on the VOR. I tuned the VOR heading to due east and was virtually bang on the CDI, so it was easy enough to hold it there. My height wobbled a bit, but I got it back to FL50 – yes my first mistake. As I was tracking 090 (i.e. not 089) I should have requested a climb to FL55 for the IFR quadrantal rule. He told me later. I did know this and I have not excuse.

We pottered about with some climbs and descends while still tracking the radial, then the dreadful card to blank to AI and DI came out – here we go! Yes, I was having vacuum failure again, drat, must get that fixed . Anyway, he asked for a climbing turn onto due south on partial panel. This I did and timed the turn, but must have over-cooked it as I rolled out on 200. I corrected this and got and held pretty mush a southerly heading. The climb was fun, as some was climb and some was level – guess who forgot to trim for the climb!

Same again, but this tome to 330 descending and the long way around. I calculated the time and started a timed turn. Quite a challenge doing a descent with a timed rate 1 turn on partial panel as I alternated between 500 fpm to 1000 fpm to nearly level! I rolled out and again overcooked it by about 15 degrees, which I corrected.

The he took control. Yep, I know what’s next! He tossed the plane around a bit and I could feel all sorts of conflicting sensations. The ‘you have control’ – Yep, get out of that one on a partial panel. I managed the first one pretty quickly as he dumped me in the start of a spiral dive to the left. Next once he threw me about a bit more, followed by an unusual and very quick reversal top the other side. All I heard was a laconic ‘we’ve got company up here’. That last manoeuvre was to avoid another aircraft ‘hiding behind the central strip on the screen’ he said. How close I’ll never know as I was sat there with the hood on. Probably a good thing really! A bit more throwing about and I had control in a steep climb and steep turn to the left – I got that one but it took a bit longer as I oscillated between too much nose down and nose up before I caught the height.

The bliss – the vacuum system worked again and I had a luxurious full panel! ‘OK – settle the plane down, decide where you are and ask Gloucester for an SRA for 27’.

I was just figuring out where I was when Gloucester called up and asked me. Rather than be rushed, I gave them a standby. Phil figured it was for good reason so got back to them and told them we were 20 miles to the east and FL50. Unsurprisingly, my own calculations based on the ADF and the DME agreed with this!! I did however explain to Phil how I decided on this by using the ADF as a relative bearing indicator, superimposing the needle onto the AI and reading from the tail of the needle. He knows I know how to do this anyway, I just needed a few seconds to get my ‘sandpapered brain’ to figure it out. Phil asked me to turn towards Gloucester and call for the SRA. I was heading north and was east of the airfield, so like a clot, I turned to the left. I was headed pretty much east when I realised I had turned the wrong way, so I told Phil I had been an idiot and was going the long way around and continued the turn – ‘I did wonder’ was his laconic reply.

We got an SRA for 27 and the controller gave me a turn for identification. He had me identified and gave me the usual schpiel to which I gave the requisite replies. He started vectoring me in. First base, then long final. I was cleared to descend to 2400’ on the QNH and to report passing 3000’. This I did and I was on 270 at 2400’ at about 9 miles. This was going pretty well. At 6 miles I was cleared to descend in the SRA pattern, next stop 2000’ at 5 DME. My calculated minima was 800’ which would be at about 2 miles. I dropped the gear and got three greens. I started a slow ‘one step at a time’ ‘downwind’ check as I continued the descent trying to hold the vectored heading. I pulled on one stage of flap and adjusted the power. The descent was good and I was getting small heading changes from control. At about 3 DME I was a little below the slope so started to arrest the descent and in the process, ‘wobbled’ a bit on the heading, but I did notice it before I was given a correction – damn! It was going really well up to then. Don’t worry, shrug it off and get on with it I told myself. At 2 DME I declared myself at MDA and levelled off. Phil said I could remove the hood as we had gone visual. As I looked about to find the runway I was given clear to land which I acknowledged.

There it was, just off to the right. A little dink to the right and I was nicely lined up if a bit high on the PAPI’s. I pulled on all of the rest of the flaps and did my ‘Red / Green / Blue’ finals check. At 1 DME I had mentally gone visual (it is very disorienting when you lurch from IMC to VMC and takes a couple of seconds to adjust – at least it does for me)!

Over the hedge and speed is good. I am going to land a bit long, but so what. I control the flare and feel her down. I pull back and get a good nose high attitude when the wheels touch. Not a bad landing, and a good way to finish.

We taxy in and shut down. I am pretty sure I passed unless I made a terrible gaff I didn’t realise. Phil ushers me into the office (uh oh!), but only so he could give me a sensible de-brief without loads of other listening. Yes, I was revalidated, but a couple of pointers.

1. I forgot to request a climb for IFR quadrantals when tracking DTY to the East,
2. I was out on my timed turns because by the time I had set them up, the aircraft had drifted to the right. I guess the rudder needed trimming
3. A bit of a wobble at 2 miles on SRA on what was otherwise a good approach

It was quite a workout and my brain felt like it had been sandpapered, like it used to feel after circuits when I was training for the basic PPL and again when learning for my IMC rating. It is hard work, but very rewarding.

The IMC gives you confidence and sharpens you handling skills. There have been a number of occasions in the last four years when I have flown, where I wouldn’t have done so without the IMC rating in my back pocket. I recommend the IMC rating to anyone. I would recommend a JAA version of the very sensible FAA IR if Europe ever manages to come out with one!