IFR 5 - Tips from an Instrument Instructor

In the final video in my IFR series, I sit down with my instructor Allan to get his thoughts on everything from selecting a ground school and instructor, to preparing for the checkride, to setting personal minimums as a new instrument rated pilot. A big thank you to Allan for agreeing to participate in this, and for letting me use videos with him throughout the series. I hope you enjoy it!
Please keep in mind, this video is meant to be general tips and advice from an instructor, and is not meant to be instruction or training. If you are interested in instrument training, please contact an instructor near you.

[@davesawers9218]

Thoroughly enjoyed this very interesting video and am most impressed with your instructor, Allen. As a retired airline pilot (PA-28-180 owner), and current Boeing 777 simulator instructor, I really appreciate his techniques and professionalism.

[@WingsOverTO]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And I totally agree with you - Allan is an amazing instructor. I was lucky to get him, he doesn't really do a lot of training any more other than training other instructors.

[@realediciocco1598]

Nice of Allan to do this Q &, A to conclude the series. Very informative. His passion for teaching shows and you lucked out having him as your instructor. Congratulations on achieving your rating.

[@WingsOverTO]

Thanks, Reale! I haven't gotten to exercise the IR for real yet, but I did get up yesterday and do some practice approaches on my own for the first time. That was fun.

[@daves.9076]

What a great instructor. You were lucky to have such a good on.

[@ahmadsamadzai8255]

Passed my instrument checkride yesterday. It was an absolutely beautiful day with calm winds until we got in the air. After 350 hrs yesterday's flight was the most turbulent flight I've had. Fought the controls the whole time. By the end both me and the DPE was feeling nauseous. I honestly wasn't sure if I had Passed it. After we landed the DPE asked what I thought. I said I know I could have done way better (thinking i had failed) and that it wasn't my best performance. He cut me off and said I think you did great considering the weather and turbulence. He said he'd characterize the turbulence as continuous moderate. Congratulations on passing. Phew. Sigh of relief. That weather was so deceiving.

[@WingsOverTO]

Wow. It’s sobering when you feel like the turbulence is absolutely terrible and then someone with more experience says “yeah that was moderate”. Makes you appreciate just how dangerous it is for our small planes. Congratulations on the IR ticket!

[@ahmadsamadzai8255]

@WingsOverTO Thanks buddy. I've learned a lot from your content. The real test begins now. Onto the commercial rating after taking a week off from the books.

[@WingsOverTO]

@@ahmadsamadzai8255 good luck! I’ve been starting to think about getting my commercial ticket next year as well. We’ll see.

[@pjgallant]

Great video to conclude a great series! I was very impressed with Allan's instructional style. I passed my INRAT Group 1 flight test on Dec 2 2022, so have just recently been through the process as well. I learned a ton and it definitely made me a better pilot! It also allowed me to build some more time in the Diamond DA42 twin, and also to really get to know the amazing Garmin 1000 system! Thanks for such a great series and for including some of the more challenging aspects of your training, including the inevitable mistakes that we all make!

[@WingsOverTO]

Awesome, congrats on the flight test! Have you gotten to use your instrument rating yet? I haven't - the weather has just been too crappy for too long, and the odd time it's good I'm not free. I finally did some practice approaches on my own yesterday, which was great, but I'm looking forward to getting to do a real filed instrument flight.

[@pjgallant]

@@WingsOverTO I have access to 2 planes - a DA42 in Collingwood (a long haul from Kingston) and a C182 in Kingston, but flying in the clouds in winter as we know invites ice...so I'll be flying more in the spring - can't wait! One of my students at Queen's was interested in learning to fly in the GTA, so I pointed him at Allan...

[@richardgreen6857]

Excellent series…and yes I’m inspired!

[@hamiltonmcclymont1967]

Really good piece! Applicable to VFR currency too!

[@davel2734]

Excellent video presentation and very informative. Good questions and well answered by the instructor Allan.

[@peterellison2220]

Thank you for sharing! Excellent video and perspective to finish up the series. Lots of good tips here that help motivate me to keep pushing through my instrument training! One point that really resonated with me was to not go hard IMC after getting the instrument rating... after all, our VFR limit is 3 miles but how often do we really fly in that? Overall, I appreciate you sharing your journey, and I'm sure lots of local southern Ontario pilots will find value in this series. All the best in your future flying!

[@WingsOverTO]

Thanks Peter, I appreciate the kind words, and I'm glad you found it useful. Good luck with the rest of your training!