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When a pilot is flying on instrument flight rules (IFR), a successfully executed ILS approach is what most pilots aspire to. I mean how awesome is it to be in the clouds, being bumped around, having to work the radios, all the while organizing and planning for an ILS approach to minimums, when all of a sudden you reach your decision height (DH) and there is the approach lights and the runway.

OK, you can breath now…

Do you remember when it was all so confusing and you thought that you would never learn how to do one?

I still sit up and get excited when I’m in the weather doing the ILS approach. It is serious business.

That is why I thought I’d to talk briefly about three instrument related things today:

1. Planning and the “Next Two Things”
2. Glass cockpits and the “What-If” Game
3. The GPS and a Backup Plan

Planning and the “Next Two Things”

We have all heard that flying is all about the “next two things.”

You should always be planning for what comes next and then what comes after that. If you are just sitting there with nothing to do, you are already falling behind and soon you may find yourself literally hanging off the tail as the airplane goes where IT wants to go.

So the time to get ready for an ILS is long before you even get close to the airport. In the CRJ200, I start planning for the approach a good 30 minutes before I get to the airport. But, if you are in a single-engine airplane or even a multi-engine airplane, somewhere between 20 and 40 miles from the airport is a good time to start collecting your information.

I start thinking about the weather, brief the approach, study the airport diagram, and review the missed approach procedures. If you aren’t doing this every single time, you may find yourself in a position that you don’t want to be.

Glass Cockpits and the “What-If” Game

Now in the CRJ200, we have a glass cockpit which does make things a bit easier because all my information is centrally located right there in front of me but I don’t become too reliant it. You have to always be thinking, “What would I do right now if my screen disappeared while I was doing the approach?”

Playing the “what-if” game prepares you for those unexpected malfunctions that seem to appear at the absolute worst moment. The “what-if” game keeps you thinking “two steps” ahead.

I try to look at my backup instruments occasionally to see if they agree with my primary instruments. I do this because I expect my instruments to fail which keeps me “two steps” ahead. Get the point?

So don’t get lured into the complacency of always believing that your instruments are telling you the right information even if you are flying the state-of-the-art flight instruments. If something doesn’t look right, execute a missed approach, sort out the problem, and try it again.

GPS and a Backup Plan

Finally, when I started flying, global positioning systems (GPS), were just starting to make its way into the cockpit. Personally I didn’t like using them back then because they were such a hassle to program. We all know now that that just isn’t the case anymore.

The standard GPS installed in general aviation and corporate jets are awesome. They have friendly user interfaces and graphical displays that in many cases can up-link the current weather along your route to you.

At some airports, a GPS approach will provide you a minimum descent altitude (MDA) lower than the VOR approach. So you really want to know how your GPS works.

They are amazing and only getting better and less expensive every year.

But what about the old VOR/DME?

Are you still using it?

Do you remember how to use?

If someone asked you to identify an intersection, do you think you could do it with two VOR’s?

Could you do a “raw data” approach using just your VOR?

Believe me, when I challenge myself with these questions, I get a little bit nervous. It is easy to become completely reliant on my GPS. So take a moment the next time you go flying to reacquaint yourself with these tried and true instruments.

Remember, at the worst possible time, you may have to do a raw data ILS and you want to be ready and practiced. You don’t want to be completely reliant on your glass cockpit and GPS, so remember the old school ways and practice them every now and then. 

GPS and glass cockpits are great and should be used to their fullest capabilities but don’t let your basic flying skills degrade either.

To Your Flying Success,

Jeffrey

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