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.

This aviation manual stresses the importance of understanding and gleaning the most from weather and air traffic control (ATC) systems. Pilots are guided through common misconceptions about weather dangers with solid advice and accurate examples for improvement. The effects of wind and storms and the role of the ATC are discussed, and a basic weather course is provided. The most frequent decisions pilots make when they are caught in weather are explained, and all options are presented so that pilots can find their way out of undesirable conditions.

What went wrong, why, and what can be done about it -- this book examines the aviation accident scene. While no form of transportation is risk-free, Collins finds there are more opportunities to manage risks in aviation than in any other area. A major contribution to the understanding of why aeroplanes crash, to help pilots to learn from past mistakes and avoid repeating them. Wind shear, collisions, pilot error and more are explored through eyewitness accounts, cockpit transcripts and NTSB reports.