Flying so Flying is not Part of the IFR Problem
Beginning IFR training in before you have mastered the basics is a waste of time and money. In addition to maintaining headings and altitudes you want to know the situations where you will be using the Ts.
--turn
--Time
--Tune
--Transition
--Talk
Learn the power settings and configuration for the performance required. There is a specific power setting, attitude, configuration and airspeed for climb, cruise, cruise descent, level approach, and precision descent. With these settings as constants you increase your ability to deal with problems.
From the very beginning my instructional method is that we must remove the student's ability to fly the aircraft as a problem. There is no one way to do anything in flying and this is even more true in instrument flying. What you have is choices based on POH, FARs, conditions, training and ability. The "light touch" is where it all starts. The feather touch required is one of the last skills acquired but one of the most important.
As a student instrument pilot or as a retread, you must know where every power setting, trim change, and attitude is for a particular aircraft. You must know where you want the aircraft to be relative to speed, attitude, configuration. FULL of anticipation. You anticipate the required throttle movement, anticipate the required trim and anticipate the required attitude. No reactions, all anticipation. With anticipation comes smoothness. Controls are pressed lightly. Controls are pressed into position and trimmed to stay there. Don’t press a control unless it needs to be pressed. Always apply half as much pressure as seems to be needed and you will achieve the smoothness of a favorite drink. Fatigue becomes a factor in instrument flying but it is not physical. The instrument pilot flies so lightly that the controls spend most of their time not moving. Things stay where they are supposed to stay because they were put there in the first place.
The argument as to whether you use elevator or throttle to control airspeed and altitude is moot. Neither work independently of the other to control airspeed and altitude. Elevator, by itself, controls attitude. Power, by itself, controls thrust. Stabilized flight conditions such as level or glide slope do require that elevator control altitude and power to control airspeed. In another situation, where by design, power is not a variable, elevator is used to adjust speed. Elevator gives relatively fine speed control when speed is a priority. To do this altitude must be available to lose or gain. Power tends to be coarse, slow, and inaccurate when controlling airspeed.
Instrument flying by itself could be relatively easy if it weren’t for all the other things you are expected to do. Time writing, talking, listening, feeling for things, looking for things take you away from scanning. Even with good preparation and cockpit organization you will need to take time away from your scan. The solution lies in the scan itself. A good scan will allow you to have time to deal with all the other things.
An autopilot makes it easier but the proficient pilot must be able to hand-fly the plane and still do the required operational tasks. Being prepared means more than just having things where you know where to look and reach, it includes detection and covering of inoperative instruments. Being prepared, includes competency on partial panel. You may be one of those pilots who fly better when there are fewer instruments to watch. The attitude indicator gives most of the information you need. Over reliance on the attitude indicator leads to neglect of the confirming impact of other instruments. You may set the standard rate using the AI if you know your airspeed. But confirming the standard rate with the turn coordinator should be part of the full panel scan. The attitude resolution of the AI is more sensitive and less perceptible than is the resolution obtained from the VFR nose/horizon scale. The fact that aircraft loading and attitude can be adjusted visually come into conflict with the idea that the AI can be reset for these same loading and attitudes.
Instrument flying requires that the pilot be sensitive to and get control pressure feedback from the airplane. This cannot be easily done with a tight full-fist grip on the yoke. It cannot be well done with a tight several finger grip either. It is best done with only a finger and thumb. The way you hold the controls has a direct relationship with the fatigue you will experience in flying. Control feel will tell you what is happening several seconds before the instruments are able to register.
A tight grip does NOT give you the sense of control when flying an airplane any more than it does when driving a car. A beginning driver holds on tight with both hands and jerks the steering wheel this way and that. The experienced driver drives with a couple of fingers resting lightly. The same idea applies to flying. You will have better control with a light touch. The combination of a light touch and an organized scan will give even the single pilot plenty of time to do the ‘other’ things required by IFR.
The instrument pilot is thinking ahead of the airplane. There is a specific altitude, heading, and airspeed for every situation. He is mentally there ahead of the aircraft and presses it (the airplane) into position. Once the airplane is controlled, instrument flying skills move to the instruments.
Trim
An airplane in a specific configuration will perform consistently according to its power and attitude. Learn to set power and trim for attitude and you will get consistent performance. Adjust trim only when making a, power or airspeed change. If you can maintain a consistent application of trim it will be relatively easy to use the aircraft instruments to keep it there. This system called "control and performance" relies on the AI and anticipation. Do not fly with the trim. Set the attitude with the yoke; then, trim off the pressure. The feel of the aircraft on the yoke is the common denominator to all flight configurations. Proper trim makes the feel of the aircraft remain as a flight constant.
You must be able to trim efficiently and effectively to keep a given flight condition. Every pilot flies with a different trim pressure or feel. This is a matter of an acquired individual comfort zone. Regardless, the pressure must be such that it corrects for any inherent instability in the aircraft. Very few aircraft can be flown hands off. With aircraft peculiarities as a known factor it is a waste of emotional energy to blame the airplane for its performance or failure to perform. The competent pilot makes the airplane give its best performance. The same might be said for riding horses or living with someone.
One factor in trim feel is the position of the microphone switch. Use of this switch cannot be allowed to affect the flight path. The position in front, back, or side of the yoke can make a difference in how triggering of the switch affects the yoke feel and pressure. If you climb, descend or turn when keying the mike try a change in position.
IFR Climb and Descent
You must include in your IFR planning the vertical aspect. Every IFR departure has a climb gradient that your are expected to meet or exceed. Ground speed determines your gradient. Groundspeed divided by 60 equals vertical speed divided by gradient. Jeppesen has a chart of gradients.
Adequate gradient figures for either climb and descent can be obtained by rounding the feet per minute by the distance in miles.
540' rounded to 5 over distance of two miles 2 gives angle of 2.5 degrees
To find gradient per mile you just multiply angle by 100
Angle of 2.5 x 100 = 250' per mile
To convert angle to rate of climb/descent use E6B or work proportion
Ground speed VSI
60 feet per mile (gradient)
IFR departures have obstacle-clearance gradient of 1.5 degrees. that begins 35' above departure end of runway. A .5 degree safety margin is built in so you must make good a 2-degree climb rate. If you accept a DP with a higher rate required you are expected to perform. ATC en route climb rates are 150 feet per mile below 5000'; 120 between and 10k; and, 100' above 10k.
If below 5,000' you are told to gain 3000' before crossing a particular fix you would do the following.
At 150 feet per mile required converts to 1.5 angle.
3000' converts to 30, divide by 1.5 = 20.
You must begin climb 20 miles out.
ATC usually expects a climb or descent rate of 500 feet per minute. A pilot-discretion clearance means you can choose both when to initiate and at what rate. Once an altitude has been left it cannot be attained again without an amended ATC clearance. Any DP clearance that has a climb gradient is concerned with terrain clearance. Crossing restrictions have more to do with traffic routes that may conflict. When climb and crossing restrictions appear together be careful.
Don’t hesitate to request radar vector to assure clearance of terrain. This puts clearance responsibility back to ATC. 300 ft/nm is the maximum TERPS gradient for the intermediate segment; 400 ft/nm is the maximum for the FAF to TDZ elevation. The more closely you fly the required elevations and descents the more likely will be your approach a stabilized one.