Weekly episodes of the Finer Points, audio and video are brought to you by our sponsors. IFR is a series of checkpoints, whether its a VOR intersection, GPS Waypoint or initial approach fixed, they all stream together to make your IFR flight.
Remember throughout any IFR flight there are affectively three places you can be in relation to the checkpoints. Ahead of the airplane, with the airplane or behind the airplane. Most pilots are taught to use the five T's to stay with the airplane, that is when they get to the fix, they perform the five T's. The five T's can allow you to stay ahead of the airplane as you progress through these checkpoints. Imagine, yourself here at Geter intersection and the next checkpoint you'll be approaching is here, the Santa Rosa VOR. You will be flying outbound on Victor 301, plan to rehearse the five T's prior to the VOR, so that when you arrive it's simply a matter of planned actions that occur.
You have already started thinking about what's coming next in your mind, they are already there. You are ahead of the airplane, as you approach the Santa Rosa VOR, you'll say, when I get to the VOR, I will turn, that is turn to the course heading, 170 in this case. Time, start your time and this is often overlooked, if it's not a part of an approach segment but it's equally important to know your time between fixes, so that you can accurately calculate your ground speed which allows you to calculate fuel burn.
Twist and this might include, tuning radios and twisting CDI's, anything to get your radios set up for the next event. Throttle, here think, go down or slow down. Is there an any A to meet? Do you need to defend for an approach? Do you need to slow to holding speed. None of these are applicable on this situation. So the throttle remains where it is. Talk, depending on your position throughout the flight, this will vary. There is no need to report Santa Rosa to ATC on this flight plan, unless we were specifically requested to.
Continue to rehearse these items as you approach the VOR. As you can see in this example, there maybe checkpoints that only require you to execute three or four of the five T's. By rehearsing ahead of time, your procedure when reaching the point will be smooth and efficient. Initially, it might seem like extra work, but as you become proficient with this system and always have the five T's rehearsed for the next event, it will provide confidence and actually create space to accomplish all of the required tasks. The IFR environment is exceptionally challenging. Never underestimate the attention and energy that it takes to stay ahead of the airplane. By using this procedure and ensuring that you spend time prior to the checkpoint rehearsing your actions, you can greatly increase your ability to stay ahead of the airplane and enhance the safety of the flight.
This podcast was brought to you in part by ForeFlight, bringing Preflight Intelligence in Flight Plan Filing Software to the iPhone and iPod Touch and by ASA, your source for the books and supplies that pilot, students and instructors rely on. I am Jason Miller. Thanks for listening. Until next time, be safe, fly your best.
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