IMC Rating - Now or never
Private pilots have been concerned that EASA will axe our UK IMC Rating in 2012. It was not clear whether there'd be the imposition of a new European En-route Instrument Rating, or nothing to plug the gap between the PPL and the full-blown IR. Nor did we know if UK IMC Rating holders would be offered ‘grandfather rights' to any replacement instrument qualification.
According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), European noises are now being made about transferring those parts of the IMC rating that are designed for the saving of life - the ability to maintain control in IMC, and to get back on the ground on an instrument approach - into a future system, possibly on the basis of national exemptions.
Any PPL who passes the UK IMC Rating test about now will have less than a year in which to exercise the privileges of the rating in its present form. So is there any point in embarking upon IMC training at this late stage? Well, the CAA now expect that the IMC rating will remain valid for those flying EASA aircraft on UK licences up until 8 April 2014, and 8 April 2015 for private flights in aircraft under 2000kg (as reported in July's 2011 'Pilot') And whereas the long term survival of the rating is uncertain, it is the only option where low cost instrument flying is concerned; and 2011 marks your last chance to gain or renew the qualification.
Our CFI Dale Reynolds comments:
Forty percent of the Commercial licence (CPL) course is dual instrument instruction - pure instrument flying and radio navigation, not approaches -- and the Instrument Rating (IR) requires 50 hours of flight training. Although the CPL and IR do not offer candidates credit for an IMC Rating or the training carried to achieve it, my experience as a CPL course instructor has shown me that possession of the IMC Rating provides a valuable grounding of skill for the CPL student. For this reason alone, I would heartily recommend that anyone intending to become a commercial pilot should get the IMC Rating under their belt, even if there's only one day to go!
Us more ancient pilots - Ed is far too young to remember! -- will have done five hours of instrument flying during our UK PPL training. Now, all a student has to demonstrate on the Skill Test is a level, 180 degrees Rate 1 turn. The weather in this country is fickle and, even with the best of planning, some of us will get caught out sooner or later. You have to ask yourself if that Rate 1 turn is enough. That's why we have, and still need, the IMC Rating.
Remember the old adage Aviate, Navigate, Communicate? As a corporate member of AOPA we conduct courses leading to the award of the AOPA Radio Navigation Certificate. The course comprises five hours of flying and ten hours of ground school followed by a flight test and is open to PPLs and NPPLs alike. A PPL who achieves the certificate will be credited five hours of flying against the applied element of subsequent IMC Rating training.
That deals with the ‘Navigate' bit. ‘Communicate' is easy - just call the controller for help who, in an emergency, will provide reassurance and take over the navigation, too. But ‘Aviate' is down to you alone - you absolutely must keep the aeroplane right way up. Easier said than done -- I have seen pretty well every new IMC student lose control during their first experience of flying in cloud. There is simply no substitute for good, solid instrument training.
I do believe that every private pilot should have the ability to fly a radio nav route in cloud for at least half an hour and, at the very least, fly a surveillance radar approach to land. Although it looks more hopeful that some kind of instrument qualification for PPLs will come out of EASA, in the meantime you lose nothing and in fact gain valuable additional skills by training for the IMC Rating.
To find out more about what is involved on the IMC course, please feel free to get in touch or check out our courses section. And enroll on the course whilst you still can.
