Cloudy Day

June 12, 2011

A cold front recently came through the region, leaving the day with plenty of low clouds. When I arrived at the airport, the report stated that there were a few clouds at 2400ft, and overcast at 3500ft. I was working with Eric today since Matt was out of town. I was originally scheduled to fly in the Cessna 152 and we were going to work on instrument stuff. Since it was so cloudy, I asked Eric if he'd be ok with taking me up in the clouds in a Cessna 172 (a bigger, slightly faster airplane with four seats). We needed to fly in the C-172 in order to fly into instrument conditions (e.g. the clouds) because it had the required equipment. He said it was cool with him, which made me quite happy.

We departed to the north and leveled out at 2500ft. Before working on instrument stuff, we practiced slow flight for a bit. It was a little different since it was an airplane that I have never flown before, but in general it went ok.

Eric then contacted Approach and received the clearance to fly into the clouds at 4000ft while staying on an East heading. Since you have no visual reference to the ground, you remain on their radar and follow their so-called "rules". We climbed to 4000ft, and quickly lost all visual references to the ground. It was a weird sensation. Eric emphasized the importance of relying on and trusting your instruments. I've heard the stories of how flying in the clouds throws off the equilibrium, and now I know what they meant. I remember making a couple turns, while the whole time I physically felt like we were flying straight and level. Now I can understand how so many pilots who are inexperienced at instrument flying get themselves into trouble so easily. Eric also pointed out that the thermometer was reading outside air temperature of 50 degrees, a 25 degree difference than the temperature on the ground! It was important to note the temperature because it put us in prime condition for carburetor icing. We turned on the carb heat as a precaution. After a half an hour, Eric requested that Approach direct us back to our airport. We began our descent and slowly made our way out of the clouds. We were no longer under the direction of ATC, however we still flew an instrument approach.

The winds were coming from the north, so instead of landing on the runway that we came in for, we entered the pattern for runway 36. Setting up the C-172 is a little different than the C-152, so I focused on flying and Eric helped me out with the radio calls. The landing went really well, I was pleased.

I'm so happy Eric let me get some actual instrument practice. Matt and I had planned on doing this together, but today just seemed to be the perfect opportunity. It turned out to be a great introductory lesson to IFR flying... there was no turbulence, the clouds were thick and not too bright. I look forward to that chapter of my training.