In this unique and instructive book, veteran IFR pilot Richard L. Collins takes the right seat beside Patrick E. Bradley to demonstrate effective ways to grasp and solve IFR problems and eliminate uncertainties that may plague even current IFR airmen. Bradley, a relatively new IFR pilot, discusses the concerns and errors he has shared with most instrument fliers who are new or rusty. Collins then applies his own experiences and methods, including some lessons learned the hard way, and carefully examines airline and general aviation accidents to point out how threatening situations can be avoided or safely confronted.

IFR is a thinking game, and the authors emphasize ways of avoiding mental lapses that can turn simple difficulties into lethal crises:

• Making sure you’re fuel-safe when your destination is at minimums.
• Recognizing and thinking through the dangers of nighttime and circling approaches.
• Shifting strategies and tactics when the winds aloft misbehave.
• Avoiding the traps of the missed approach: before, during, and after.
• Choosing right when you’re number one for takeoff and a thunderstorm is approaching the field.
• Staying on top of equipment needs, quirks, and failures.
  

Author Richard Collins shares his experience in this guide to the real world of instrument flight, detailing the IFR system, equipment, and exploring the risks and rewards of instrument flying. The invaluable discussions on instrument airmanship, weather analysis, flight planning and decision making, handling equipment glitches, and that critical survival skill — partial panel flying — are all presented for the sole objective of better preparing you to fly on IFR flight plans. This fourth edition takes into account the current IFR environment, and includes chapters dedicated to:

• perfecting basic attitude instrument flying for the foundation of a successful IFR flight
• light airplane operation in the middle high-altitudes beginning at 18,000 feet
• the relationship between systems — including autopilots — and instrument flying
• using all resources, including computers, to file flight plans, obtain and interpret weather information, and prepare flight plans for the best preflight readiness managing stress
• IFR flight in and around ice, thunderstorms, and at night

The only tests this book prepares you for are those encountered in flying actual IFR. Where the initial instrument checkride leaves off with the applicant receiving a "dry" instrument ticket, this book provides the information necessary to "get it wet." Soft cover, 230 pages, indexed.

Staying out of thunderstorms takes resolve and savvy. This book explains why, when, and where these weather hazards are likely to develop and gives practical advice on flying clear of them. Storms defy precise definition, so it is up to individual pilots to use what they know to make good decisions that lead to a safe flight. The dynamics of thunderstorms, wind shear, and other related phenomena are described. There is also a guide for a systematic pre-takeoff weather briefing in which all available weather data are correlated to forecast storm location and severity.

From the cockpit of a single-engine Cessna to the flight deck of the Concorde, Richard Collins has seen it all. He is the quintessential pilot, a professional who, with over 17,000 flight hours, still believes that striving for the perfect flight every time makes flying safer and more enjoyable. There is much more to flying than just manual skills — and therein lies the fun.
A professional approach is every bit as essential in a simple, private airplane as it is in a commercial jetliner. With the rich perspective began with his first solo in 1951, he shares his firsthand experience in all aspects of flying — from liftoff and coping with bad weather to knowing your airplane and its capabilities and how to deal with air traffic. Hard cover, 215 pages, indexed.