I'm taking my instrument training now, but won't keep current. Partly because even when I am current and capable of flying in full IMC to minimums, I'm not allowed to put foggles on and and do the same thing to practice. A safety pilot is not possible very often for me, flying in real IMC just to stay current isn't a great idea, nor the best answer.
@Lisa Nelson
You can still help a lot with proficiency flying approaches in visual conditions supplemented by getting the legal minimums in an FAA-approved simulator. You don't even need to have an instructor monitoring to count approaches in the sim, and more and more flight schools are installing them
@Lisa Nelson
If it were me (should I start actively flying again) one of things I would do is an IPC, maybe even every six months.
When I was trying to stay IFR current, I would use actual conditions. I used to relish finding a day (in the local area) with a low overcast just to practice approaches. And the days I had the most fun was when it was necessary to fly an ILS to minimums.
If it's not a great idea to you atm, that could possibly be a challenge/goal to work toward. Something where you work up in difficulty… e.g. imc enroute only, then departure & enroute, then the whole route (not necessarily looking for an approach to mins initially, but cigs lower than enroute). Where you are building confidence and experience over time.
Another suggestion is to go to some place like FlightSafety etc. Years ago I did SIMCOM's Baron course. Just wow, did I feel confident afterwards on systems etc. - the whole plane really, in an instrument environment. I truly felt ready to get checked out in a B58.
I almost get the sense you aren't doing any actual now. Is that the case or just not able to get much of it worked into the training atm?
@Lisa NelsonWhat you CAN do is find just the right IFR weather. Ceilings 1500 to 2000 feet (so no ‘hard’ IFR). Then go out by yourself and fly some approaches. As long as you are IMC at or after the FAF, the approach ‘counts’.
@Lisa NelsonWhat you CAN do is find just the right IFR weather. Ceilings 1500 to 2000 feet (so no ‘hard’ IFR). Then go out by yourself and fly some approaches. As long as you are IMC at or after the FAF, the approach ‘counts’.
The last sentence is correct, but since the “standard” height above touchdown for the FAF is 1500, you might need a bit lower than 1500 ceiling and 2000 isn't likely to work.
@Lisa Nelson
I do an IPC every 6 months to stay IFR current. I get more out of an IPC than doing the 6 approach thing with a safety pilot. We cover emergencies and instrument outages, which are important when flying IFR. Also, I can usually complete an IPC with 1 hour of ground and 2 hours of flight. Getting 6 approaches, a hold and nav interception and tracking done in 2 hours is hard. During an IPC I usually fly different types of approaches. Flying different types of approaches with a safety pilot is harder because it takes so long to do 6 of them. Lastly, I find it easier to locate a CFII than a safety pilot since the CFII is getting paid.