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Chapter 1

Starting Your

Instrument Without an instrument rat-

ing, even relatively small weather
hiccups can keep you ground-bound,
Training only takes being weathered in by fog for one or
where you’ll miss business appointments,
work, and/or fun (and sometimes all three!). It

two nights at a motel named The Nine One One to
provide all the motivation you’ll need to pursue that
rating.

An Instrument Rating? Why Me? Another and less obvious benefit of an instrument rat-
ing is the newfound confidence you will have in your abil-
There are a lot of things you really don’t need as a pilot. ity to fly the airplane. You will learn to fly more capably,
I hate to disappoint you, but a big watch is one of them. more competently, and more smoothly. You will navigate
Sorry, but someone had to tell you this. with more precision, and fly with the confidence that
On the other hand, one thing I absolutely know you can comes from knowing that if the weather is a bit less than
use is an instrument rating. It’s a combination passport, perfect, you are not putting yourself and your passengers
insurance policy, and bragging-rights card, all rolled into at risk. And on those weekend trips, you don’t have to
one. It will enable you spend half your time worrying
to leap tall buildings about whether the weather will be
at a single bound, good enough to get home again in
travel almost as fast time for work on Monday
as a speeding bullet, morning.
and do it all in condi- The fact is that instru-
tions that appear to ment training also
require X-ray vision. makes you a better
People will ask, “Who VFR pilot. Perhaps
w a s t h a t h o o d e d the biggest difference
pilot?” and others will you’ll notice is that
say, “I don’t know, you will fly with
but he had an instru- Fig. 1 much greater VFR
ment rating.” That precision. You’ll
maintain alti-
makes it worth the
effort. tude, hold head-
ings and gen-
Everyone I know who has an
erally maneu-
instrument rating feels it was one of
v e r t h e a i r p l a n e
the most valuable aviation moves they
with much greater profi-
ever made. An instrument rating (Figure 1) ciency. You’ll soon find it rou-
is one of your best aviation investments, tine to be ahead of the airplane with the
because it lets you make the fullest possible spinner at your back, instead of being behind it
use of your capability to fly. Think about it with tail feathers in your face.
for a second. As a VFR-only pilot, you are not Please don’t let me (or anyone else) mislead you. The
using the full potential of most airplanes, instrument rating will not be your unlimited license to fly
which are typically IFR capable. You pay the full rent (if fearlessly into raging hurricanes, towering thunder-
a renter) or the full expenses (if an owner), but you can storms, and not-so-heavenly hail. A big part of getting an
use only part of the possibilities! The only way to be PICE IFR rating is learning when to say “No.” In fact, having
(pilot-in-command of everything) is to get your instru- the instrument rating may make the go/no-go decision
ment rating. harder because you have more options from which to