Page 28 - Oct23T

IFR Logbook:
Another Column
by Thomas P. Turner
Instrument training, Practical Test evaluation, most IFR practice, and the FAA’s requirements for recency of experience are measured primarily in getting the airplane down from altitude. There’s very little focus
on proficiency for making a takeoff and departure in IMC. 14 CFR 61.57, Recency of Experience, tells us that to remain IFR current in an aircraft, the only things we need to have recent experience in are:
• Six (6) instrument approaches,
• Holding procedures and tasks, and
• Intercepting and tracking courses through the use
of electronic navigational systems.
The Airman Certification Standards (ACS) and require-
ments of an Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC) are similar. There is no specific requirement to demonstrate proficiency in making low-visibility or IMC takeoffs.
Instrument training and evaluation is weighted heav- ily toward arrival and approach procedures. We log the number and type of approaches we fly and consider
26 • TWIN & TURBINE / October 2023
precisely flying an arrival procedure the ultimate test of our IFR ability—even if we let an autopilot do the job for us. Way down on the training/evaluation priorities list, if it’s there at all, is recency of experience and proficiency in departure procedures. Low-visibility takeoffs are rare in practice. We probably don’t spend much time training and reviewing them, we’re not evaluated on our ability to perform them, and we don’t track our proficiency in low-visibility departures by logging the number we fly or practice or when we last experienced one (or six).
Taking off into the murk shouldn’t be any riskier than making an instrument approach—at least in theory. There are other hazards, though, that pilots face in addition to the weather itself when making a departure in IMC. These threats are greatly magnified when the pilot’s visibility is restricted. Let’s look at four such hazards:
Getting up to speed: You might be a little worn out by the time you begin an instrument approach at the end of a flight. But even if you are, you have plenty of time to get “into the groove” and prepare for a low-clouds or