Instrument-rated Pilot

There's piloting an aircraft on a sunny day, and then there's navigating around storm cells in the middle of the night, receiving radar guidance from the local approach controller. For most of the approach into your destination, the low cloud layer prevents any visual reference to the ground, and you have to rely on the instruments inside the aircraft to keep you level and on course. Looking outside, the cloud you are flying through blocks all light, except for the flashing red, green, and white lights coming from the aircraft reflecting back at you, enclosing you in a soft but palpable bubble. Try not to get disoriented. A small mist decorates the windshield. The outside temperature is 8 degrees- Celsius that is- so fortunately icing on the wings won't be a problem tonight. You tune your navigation radio to the frequency of the localizer and glide slope for the runway, providing you with a cone 5 angular degrees wide by 3.4 degrees tall, not that you plan on needing more than a single degree in either direction to get down. The tower has just advised you that the previous arrival reported the MALSR was inoperative- you didn't need approach lighting anyway. The aircraft is stable, apart from the occasional 50 foot updraft or downburst. Gear down. Suddenly the city below you lights up the sky and the airport beacon ahead means that you have broken out of IMC and can now proceed visually. You have reached your DA, but with the runway in sight, decide to proceed with the approach. You touch down on the wet runway, feeling more alive than you have in a long time.

At least, that's how we say it goes.

I trained for my instrument rating in sunny Arizona, I've never been PIC in any serious IMC in my life... yet. But every part of that story is a real line item on the instrument rating exam and practical skills test. It took me 6 months to learn, study, and practice everything I needed to know, and now that I have my rating, I am responsible for keeping my skills sharp.

I was interested in pursuing my instrument rating because I wanted to increase my capabilities. The instrument rating is where procedural discipline really kicks in, where you have to be aware of the aircraft enough that you can trust it and yourself to be safe even in rough conditions. Constant vigilance of the different failure modes that could be encountered during specific portions of the flight requires the pilot to anticipate and mitigate those risks in real time. I wanted to see if I was up for the challenge.