Instrument rating courseBeta

The syllabus

Every lesson can be picked at any time; the order is the one a flying school would teach. Each one has three levels of help — Guided, Prompted and Examined — and the lessons open on the glass panel.

1. Level 1

   Basic instrument flight

   Attitude flying on the full panel: the scan, and holding heading ±5°, altitude ±100 ft and speed ±5 kt with the autopilot off.

   1. •Straight and level, climbs, descents and rate-one turnsAutopilot off, hand-flown with the tutor timing and marking each exercise: a 500 fpm climb from 3000 to 4000 ft, levelling off and holding altitude, heading and speed for a minute, a descent back to 3000 ft, rate-one turns through 90° left and right in balance, then timed turns through 180° on the turn coordinator. Marked to relaxed tolerances for a first lesson: heading ±10°, altitude ±150 ft, speed ±10 kt, and you must level off at 4000 ft to pass.

2. Level 2

   VOR tracking on the CDI

   Radials and the course deviation indicator: set the course, read TO/FROM, intercept and track, with the drift laid off.

   1. •Intercept and track a radial, TO and FROMThe FWZ VOR with a 20 kt wind: intercept radial 300 inbound with a 30° cut, track it TO with the drift laid off, identify station passage, then leave outbound on radial 060. Scored: needle within half scale, heading ±5°, altitude ±100 ft.
   2. •Find your radial, then track it inbound in a crosswindSomewhere south of the FWZ VOR, with 25 kt of wind almost straight across: find the radial you're on with the CRS knob, set the course to the station, then find the drift by bracketing and track the radial in to 2 NM. Scored: needle within half scale, heading ±5°, altitude ±100 ft.
   3. •DME: hold a range, read groundspeed and time to stationInbound to FWZ: time a minute on the DME to work out your groundspeed and the time to the station, then turn onto the 8 NM arc half a mile early and hold the range round to radial 060, then track it inbound. Scored: range ±0.5 NM on the arc, needle within half scale on the radials, altitude ±100 ft.
   4. •Fly a DME arc, ten degrees at a timeOutbound from FWZ on radial 200: turn onto the 8 NM arc half a mile early, fly it round to radial 110 in 10° legs — the bearing pointer on the wingtip on the glass panel, turn ten, twist ten on the round dials — then lead the turn inbound. Scored: range ±0.5 NM on the arc, needle within half scale on the radials, altitude ±100 ft.

3. Level 3

   RNAV tracking

   GPS guidance: the flight plan, CDI scaling from en-route to approach, and a T-bar approach flown from its IAFs.

   1. •RNP RWY 27 (LNAV) from the centre IAFSkyline RNP RWY 27 flown to LNAV minima as a CDFA: watch the scaling change to 0.3 NM inside the FAF, and check altitude against distance at each fix.
   2. •RNP RWY 36 (LNAV/VNAV) from a side IAFFlywiz RNP RWY 36 joined from the side of the T: a 90° turn at the IF, then the barometric glidepath captured at the FAF and flown to the DA.

4. Level 4

   NDB: QDM and QDR on the RMI

   Raw-data tracking on the ADF: heading plus bearing, bracketing for the drift, and intercepts using no more than 30° of cut.

   1. •QDM intercept, homing versus tracking, station passage, QDR outboundThe BAY NDB with a 20 kt wind: intercept QDM 090 with the 30° rule, track it inbound (not homing) with the drift laid off, identify station passage on the needle, then outbound on QDR 030. Scored on the RMI: QDM/QDR ±5°, heading ±5°, altitude ±100 ft.
   2. •Outbound on the QDR, base turn, inbound on the QDMMoorside NDB(L) RWY 22: from overhead the beacon fly the QDR outbound with the needle on the tail, the base turn, then track the QDM inbound with the needle on the nose. The debrief marks the tracking on the RMI, ±5°.
   3. •Intercept the QDM from a vectorSkyline NDB(L)/DME RWY 09 from a 30° intercept heading: turn onto the QDM as the needle comes to the nose, then hold it with the drift laid off to the MDA.

5. Level 5

   Holding: the three entries

   The direct, teardrop (offset) and parallel entries from their sectors, timed from abeam, then with wind: timing and treble the drift outbound.

   1. •Direct entry, still airArrive at the Skyline locator from the direct sector, join the hold, one pattern, then leave for the approach. Time the outbound leg from abeam.
   2. •Teardrop (offset) entry, still airThe same hold from the teardrop sector: 30° into the holding side outbound, timed from the fix, then the turn back onto the inbound course.
   3. •Parallel entry, still airFrom the parallel sector: outbound on the non-holding side parallel to the inbound course, timed from the fix, then the turn back towards the holding side to intercept.
   4. •Direct entry with 20 kt of windThe direct entry again with a 20 kt wind across the pattern: add a second per knot of head- or tailwind component to the outbound time, and lay off three times the drift outbound.

6. Level 6

   2D approaches: VOR, NDB and radar

   Non-precision approaches flown as a continuous descent: VOR/DME, NDB with and without DME, a procedure turn, a radar talkdown and circling to land.

   1. •Brief an approach (Jersey VOR/DME RWY 26)Nothing is flown: brief the Jersey VOR/DME RWY 26 off its chart in one pass from the top of the sheet to the bottom, the way it is done well before an approach. The chart and its date, the MSA, the aids, the elevation, the arrival from JSY, terrain, the final approach, the minima, the missed approach, the runway and its lights, and the notes. The next lesson flies it.
   2. •VOR/DME with a base turn (Jersey RWY 26)The real Jersey VOR/DME RWY 26: outbound from the JSY VOR to the DME range, the base turn, then the CDFA on the check altitudes to the MDA.
   3. •NDB(L) without DME: timed to the MAPt (Exeter RWY 26)Exeter NDB(L) RWY 26 with no DME: the outbound leg and the final are on the clock, the MAPt reached by timing from the beacon at your groundspeed.
   4. •NDB(L)/DME with a procedure turn (Jersey RWY 26)Jersey NDB(L)/DME RWY 26 from the JW locator: the 45°/180° procedure turn, timed from the start of the turn onto the 45° leg, then inbound on the QDM.
   5. •Surveillance radar approach (Exeter RWY 08)Exeter's SRA terminating at 2 NM: fly the controller's headings exactly and match the advisory altitudes every half mile with the rate of descent.
   6. •Circle to land on the other runwaySkyline NDB(L)/DME RWY 09 flown to the circling MDA, then a tight visual circuit to land on runway 27 inside the circling area, and the missed approach from the circle if it goes wrong.

7. Level 7

   ILS: vectored and procedural

   The precision approach: localiser and glide path capture from radar vectors and from a procedural join, the LOC-only fall-back, and the decision at the DA.

   1. •ILS from radar vectors, 8 NM finalSkyline ILS RWY 09 from a 30° intercept: localiser then glide path capture, power set for 500 fpm, the missed approach altitude set, and the go-around at the DA. Half scale on both needles.
   2. •ILS via the hold and a racetrack (Jersey RWY 26)Jersey ILS RWY 26: join the JSY hold with a direct entry, then the racetrack out to the DME range and back onto the localiser, with the descent on the way out.
   3. •ILS joined from a DME arc (Exeter RWY 08)Exeter ILS RWY 08 from the south-west arc: hold the range round the arc, lead the turn onto the localiser, then the glide path.
   4. •Localiser only: glide path unserviceable (Jersey RWY 08)The LOC/DME approach to Jersey RWY 08 with no glide path: the localiser for track, and a CDFA on the DME check altitudes to the higher MDA.

8. Level 8

   RNP approaches via different IAFs

   The same RNP approach from each of its initial approach fixes, and a hold-in-lieu of procedure turn, flown to LPV minima.

   1. •RNP RWY 26 (LPV) from TIDMA, the centre IAFJersey RNP RWY 26 straight in from TIDMA: LPV guidance, the glidepath captured at the FAF and the DA the same as the ILS.
   2. •RNP RWY 26 from NENRI, a side IAFThe same approach from the side of the T: the 90° turn at the IF, then the final.
   3. •RNP RWY 26 from TIXON, holding firstFrom TIXON, where the published hold is: a teardrop entry, one pattern, then the approach.
   4. •Hold-in-lieu of procedure turn (St Joseph RWY 35)The FAA way to reverse course: the RNAV (GPS) RWY 35 with the hold at WEXOM flown as the course reversal, then the LPV final.

9. Level 9

   Partial panel and unusual attitudes

   Flying on the standby instruments and the turn coordinator when the attitude indicator or a screen fails, and recovering from unusual attitudes.

   1. •Attitude indicator failed: limited panelFail the vacuum pump (steam) or the AHRS (glass), autopilot off, and hold heading and altitude on what is left (the turn coordinator or the standby attitude indicator, altimeter and VSI), then a timed limited-panel turn. Then the tutor puts you in an unusual attitude, nose high and nose low, and you recover: nose high, power and lower the nose; nose low, power off, level the wings, then ease out. Marked to the test tolerances.

10. Level 10

    Departures, en route and arrivals

    A SID flown leg by leg with raw-data cross-checks, and a STAR into the approach, UK and US style.

    1. •SID: LUSIT 1A from Jersey RWY 26From just after take-off: the climb to the SID level, each track cross-checked on the JSY VOR, and the stop altitude until ATC clears you higher.
    2. •SID: CHIEF NINE from St Joseph RWY 35A US radar-vector departure: runway heading to the turn altitude, direct MCI, then the transition — with the top altitude and the takeoff minimums box.
    3. •STAR: SKERY 1J into the ILS RWY 26The arrival from the airway to the JSY VOR, the descents from ATC, then straight into the ILS RWY 26 lesson — holding first if the arrival doesn't meet the base turn's entry sector.
    4. •STAR: BQS EIGHT into the ILS RWY 35, vectoredA US arrival ending on a heading: Kansas City Approach's vectors to a 30° intercept of the St Joseph ILS, activated for vectors to final.

11. Level 11

    Mock instrument rating test

    The test profile in order, flown without “Do it for me”: the departure (Section 1), a hold and a 3D approach with its go-around (Section 4), then a 2D approach (Section 5). Read each debrief as the examiner would.

    1. •Section 1: ORTAC 3A departure from Jersey RWY 26Brief it fully, fly it on raw data as well as the GPS, and stop at the SID level.
    2. •Section 4: hold, then ILS RWY 08 and the missed approachJoin the JW hold with a parallel entry, one pattern, the racetrack onto the ILS RWY 08, go around at the DA (−0/+50 ft) and fly the missed approach into the hold.
    3. •Section 5: NDB(L)/DME RWY 26 with a procedure turnThe 2D approach on raw data: the procedure turn, the CDFA on the check altitudes, the decision at the MDA and the go-around. The debrief marks the RMI tracking to ±5°.