Desert Pilot Podcast

An ifr story I finally did it this December I passed my instrument rating so I’m now a commercial land and sea instrument rated pilot single engine. It definitely took a long time to do I started instrument flying about 10 years ago. It wasn’t that I never wanted to get my instrument rating it’s that I ran out of money. I got my private pilots certificate in the fall of 2008 in the spring of the year I got married. I was going to Arizona State with ambitions to become a commercial pilot. By the time I got my private license the financial recession that happened that year in the next few years after was starting to manifest itself. I continued flight training seeing all my instructors leave for the airlines and then less than a year later come back to CFIs. By the end of the spring of 2009 I had changed my major to aviation management degree and decided to pursue aviation using part 61 I saw that I needed to pinch every penny that I could I still had ambitions to become an airline p...

Today I flew some instrument approaches into Gateway (IWA). I like flying into a towered airport because it is more like flying a real approach would be. Although it wasn't too busy today the controller vectored us past the final approach fix. oops, good thing it was just practice. Then after that we flew to Coolidge (P08) and did a GPS approach and came back. Like always you can see my flight in 3D   by downloading the file and opening it using google earth .

I finally got my GPS to work when I was practicing VOR and ILS approaches into Case Grande (CGZ). You can see the crazy patterns to fly an approach. That's why I may seem like airlines are turning the wrong way sometimes. click here to get the file above to view in 3D using Google Earth

A friend from the Phoenix Pilot Group , Dave needed to go to Greenlee Co. ( CFT ) and wanted to practice some instrument approches for his instrument that he is working on. When he asked if I wanted to go and be a safety pilot I didn't really have to think long about it, I love to go flying. It was a good long flight in a Cessna 172. We did some VOR tracking and went to CFT then flew over and did a GPS approach into Safford ( SAD ). Then came back through the mountains and a ILS into Gateway ( IWA ). It was a good day. Here are some pics. On the ground at CFT it was a nice little strip nicer runway then SAD actually Dave getting out at SAD Good old Safford Regional Airport I think it is a really nice field and has lots of potential to be great. It has 2 great runways and lots of room, they need to have a good fly-in there. Flying out. It looks like I'm really short in this pic and I did realize how low my seat was until after I took it. click here to get the file to v...

That's right I passed the instrument written exam. For most every aeronautical rating advancement (private, instrument, commercial, ATP, just to name a few) there are 3 parts of the test. First is the written porion, then an oral test, and the last is a practical flight test. The latter of the two are with a check instructor pilot (a special instructor blessed by the FAA to give tests) and are called the check ride. The written exam I took was 60 questions in 2 1/2 hrs. This was of the 700-something questions that there are for instrument. When I went into studying for this test I thought it would be like the private test. I study for a couple of weeks and feel ready, then take the test. After trying to study for the instrument like I did my private, I learned I couldn't do that. So after getting a Gleim , an online study help program and 3 months later I felt ready and passed. The good news is that I hear this is one of the hardest writtens there are, so I'm glad to get ...

I went Flying with David, from the Phoenix Pilot Group meetup, who needed to do some instrument approaches to stay IFR current. You don't need a instructor to do this just another pilot. He had a great just over 10 year old Bonanza in great shape and flew just as well. We flew from Gateway an the did some VOR, GPS, and ILS approches in to Coolidge and Case Grande until coming back and doing 2 into Gateway to make it 6. under the hood beautiful morning me more of the valley