'The Instrument Rating'

So, the Instrument Rating- easily the most rewarding and challenging flying I have performed. Officially, to my knowledge, it is the highest qualification a commercial pilot can receive. You need one to fly for an airline and gain an Airline Transports Pilots License and throughout the course it’s banged into you that you need a first time pass. For reference, it took me just over 2 months from starting to passing. 

My flight partner packing up after another flight

My typical day would start with meeting my flight partner, Josh, around 2 to 3 hours before departure, and then we would go into planning mode for our own flights. We check many many.... many things, things you may be surprised about from cranes in areas we fly over to where the Royal Family are flying on that particular day. We also have to calculate headings to fly, times, fuel burn, performance etc. as well as a pre-flight inspection of the aircraft. It’s a lot to do and early morning flights can feel a little 'busy' with all the preparations, but we always got there in the end. Like any other IFR flight, we have slot times that we need to meet, so timing is very important. Before the day starts we know what time we have to be ready by, boarding the aircraft, starting engines and sitting at the end of the runway because airports are expecting us at a certain time and for
their planning we need to show up at a exactly on time. Imagine 30 aircraft flying towards an airport at once - it wouldn't work. One day, through no fault of our own, we requested engine start from Oxford tower, who then in turn rang London Control to get our clearance, and the airspace was too busy and we had to sit off an hour... some delays you just cannot control. Anyway, we would fly the mission and then have a debrief. The less said during the debrief the better you have done. By the final 4 flights neither Josh nor myself needed one, and it is a nice feeling when your instructor has that confidence in you.

Trying not to wear the yellow line out....

A Oxford plane being followed by 777

The reason why the IR is tricky is because the margin for error is very small. You have times when work load is low, such as in the cruise, then you may have a crucial 10 seconds or less to config the aircraft and get established on a ground mounted navigation aid, which, why not make it harder, indicate one thing but mean another depending on the bank of the aircraft called ADF dip. Building mental capacity and knowledge is key. For example, during my PT6 (internal exam), I was performing a go-around from Bournemouth with a practice engine failure. During around 15/20 seconds I had to establish a climb, config the aircraft, turn to a pre-determined heading, run a engine failure drill and then ATC came in to give me some figures (sqwauk) and a frequency change. Your hands and thoughts are going everywhere, but I managed to stay calm and prioritize with a, to my relief, successful outcome. This is all worse case, in the real commerical world you have two pilots and an auto pilot if necessary. You won't fail a test during the cruise, it’s the crucial moments during high work load when things are more likely to go wrong. Practice and concentration are important, and to pick your self up when you know you could have done better. I would sit on my bedroom floor with my eyes shut and 'fly' the lesson/exam in my head, moving my hands. Once you tell your brain what to do, it becomes a lot easier. My landlord gave me this hint and it worked for me.

This is what happens when you have a drink at altitude and then land- pressure difference

Taking some time out on one of Oxford's nice walks

We fly into Class A airways, mostly leading in and out of London, the M25's of the skies.... but we keep moving, it is a real eye opener as you are on frequency with all the big carriers, it was common to hear BA, Air Canada, the US carriers and low cost airlines. Because I am a geek being on frequency with a BA A380 was a highlight for me. One time United28 (I was Oxford28) kept answering my calls - all harmless and no danger but was a slight frustration to the London Control, it happens. Flying into big airports such as Birmingham was another highlight, and if you were the observing pilot you get to look outside of the front window (pilot flying has a screen over their eyes) and you get to see rows of approach lights leading into the familiar airport and see all the aircraft on stand an the terminals. We once followed an Emirates 777 in, from a distance.... quite a wake turbulence to avoid. 

Time for some fuel and a new crew

The IR exam itself went well for me. Leading up to it was fairly nerve wracking, but a cool head is required. I met with my examiner in the morning. Oxford has a special Civil Aviation Authority examiners room and we went in there for a brief. We briefed the flight and he asked me a load of questions about IR flying, a verbal exam so to speak. We then met out at the aircraft for the flight. I had already been at school 4 hours by then and was keen to get going. My examiner, if on purpose or bored, took out a magazine and started to read it during my start up checks. Was this to ease any tension (they are human, too)? I wasn't sure but it worked, however he clearly was paying attention because he pulled me up on something in the debrief. I went to East Midlands airport and then returned to Oxford with a number of test en-route and on the way back. We are examined on many factors and different sorts of approaches using different ground based navigations aids with engines running and failing etc etc. It certainly was not my best flight, but I felt it had gone OK. I will always remember the moment we taxied back onto stand, he said, “Take of your head set (pause). Congratulations, you have passed.” Hours of work and concentration had paid off. I had an Instrument Rating. 

I look back at my IR stage with great enjoyment; I also had to work really hard because it is not a natural thing we are doing. Oxford does the IR stage very well. The Ops team is very pleasant and helpful. The planes are brilliant to fly and Oxford is a good learning airport. Apart from the computers refusing to sometimes work in the morning (who can blame them) I thought it was all very well organised.

Getting C.V. photos taken

737 sim for MCC&JOC course

After my IR I had a little compulsory time off which coincided with my girlfriend’s visit. I then started multi crew training and a Jet Orientation Course using a full motion 737-400, which is what I was doing today. It’s another intense training period with some long days, but this is it! After this it’s on the jobs market. Flying the 737 incorporates all that we have learned, and it’s starting to all come together. I leave Oxford this week, its taken me 16 months and its been a hugely enjoyable, challenging fantastic expirence, from the groggy days of ground school to watching the sun rise from the cockpit in the USA- iv loved it. 

Now onto the next stage, its not time for a break or to pat ones self on the back for getting a ATPL, it is time to start work again on getting a job, so really, its not an end, but a start.

Thanks for reading.


PS - no inflight photos, we are not allowed to take photos from the cockpit.