My Number One Tip When Flying IFR
Click here for a free pdf of this chart so you can go out and make your own!
Have you ever gone to execute your missed approach, and it feels like you are climbing when you’re not? You scan the instruments but all you’re doing is gaining speed while barely seeing any FPM? Then, you notice your attitude indicator isn’t quite where you thought it was so you pull up to fix it - all the while you are left wondering why your body was telling you that the plane was climbing. This is a symptom of spatial disorientation. It’s incredibly important to know why you could get spatially disoriented during a missed approach procedure, and even more important to know how to fix it. I experienced spatial disorientation several times when executing a missed approach in IMC. This happens all of the time to my IFR students as well, and it wasn’t until I learned this hack that I was able to overcome potential spatial disorientation.
Okay, so what is this common illusion that is causing this? It’s the Somatogravic Illusion, which is the “S” in the ICEFLAGS acronym. This illusion occurs when a pilot is accelerating, he/she will feel as though they are in a climb. So the natural reaction is to prevent the climb or even go into a descent. A great example of this is when the military first started launching airplanes off of an aircraft carrier. As soon as the plane left the boat, the pilot would for some reason take the controls and push the plane into the water. They soon realized that these pilots were experiencing the somatogravic illusion. They were spatialed! From there on pilots getting launched off of an aircraft carrier were required to have their hands off of the controls until after the initial acceleration and they were off of the boat.
So how does this apply to us as instrument pilots and what is the hack? Well, when you are in IMC and you execute a missed approach - you feel a sudden acceleration due to the increase in the throttle. So you must be aware that your body is going to resist putting in further inputs to climb due to the somatogravic illusion. That’s why many student pilots are hesitant to bring the nose up in the first few lessons because they think they are already climbing when in reality they’re just spatialed. Now, how can we combat this feeling and learn to trust our instruments more? That’s where you need to learn about your pitch and power relationships, or what is commonly called, “Known Knowns”.
For our missed approach example- if you memorize the exact degree of pitch attitude you need to put the aircraft in order to obtain Vy at wide-open throttle (WOT), then you are much less likely to get spatially disoriented as you will know what you are looking for. Rather than relying on your feelings, you begin to rely solely on your instruments.
Vy in a standard Cessna 172 or PA28 should roughly be around 8-10° above the horizon line. This varies by airplane which is why you should download the Known Knowns pdf and go try it out for yourself.
My number one tip for anyone who wants to level up their skills as an instrument pilot is to go out and fill in one of these Known Knowns charts for your airplane. Whether you’re a seasoned instrument-rated pilot, or you haven’t started your instrument training, I highly recommend that you take the time to hone in on these fundamentals. I promise you’ll thank me during that missed approach procedure in actual IMC when you really didn’t want to go missed.
Let me know in the comments below what tips you have for beginning instrument pilots, or if this is something you’re going to go try out on your next lesson!
Seeyuh!
Chance@chancetofly.com
