Martymccasland
New member
What's your strategy for staying current in a plane with an AP that flies the approach for you?
It seems like a silly question -- and maybe it is -- but let me give a little background for my question:
My previous plane did not have anything more than a wing-leveler, and not a very good one at that. I got my IR in the plane, flew it coast to coast, and would very frequently go out in low IFR to stay sharp (my favorite type of flying). All told, I logged 265 approaches before selling.
I sold that plane and upgraded to one with substantially nicer avionics, including an autopilot that will do everything but flare for the landing. Having now logged 100 hours in the last 3 months and 3 dozen approaches getting familiar in the new plane, I'm still amazed at how much easier it is to fly in hard conditions -- amazed to the point of reconsidering how I practice IFR and stay current.
Now I feel very comfortable flying the most odd-ball ATC-infused approaches to minimums fully automated with the AP (and being sharp with the GPS programming). Yet, even after doing one, I get on the ground and can't help but feel the difference vs. how I used to feel doing even straight-forward approaches fully manual with substantially higher ceilings. Before having an AP that would fly the approach, I'd feel slightly (to fully) worn out after a hard approach in Low IFR. Now I get out of the new plane and feel like I've been CAVU joyriding. There is no fatigue. And that totally fresh feeling is my worry -- as I know I am not that good and just realize how much workload that AP has taken off my shoulders, and see that I could stay totally FAA IFR current yet lose a bunch of critical IFR proficiency skills flying behind that AP all the time.
All this makes me think I should split my IFR currency into two phases from here on out: fully-automated practice and fully-manual practice - maybe equally? I can fully see the benefits from both sides of the fence. A pilot starting out with a nice autopilot could likely fly 200OVC every day, consider themselves totally proficient, but be in a world of danger should the AP fail and the ceilings are 2,3,4 times higher. Likewise, I see it from the other side that I came from of practically having no AP and working to not getconfused on which button to push when -- and likewise turning an otherwise light IFR approach into a deadly endeavor trying to program a GPS/AP combo instead of flying the plane.
So, it brings me back to my question and wonder if others have experienced these feelings and how they keep their *proficiency* (vs currency) sharp in a plane with a fully coupled AP.
Many thanks in advance for your insight.
It seems like a silly question -- and maybe it is -- but let me give a little background for my question:
My previous plane did not have anything more than a wing-leveler, and not a very good one at that. I got my IR in the plane, flew it coast to coast, and would very frequently go out in low IFR to stay sharp (my favorite type of flying). All told, I logged 265 approaches before selling.
I sold that plane and upgraded to one with substantially nicer avionics, including an autopilot that will do everything but flare for the landing. Having now logged 100 hours in the last 3 months and 3 dozen approaches getting familiar in the new plane, I'm still amazed at how much easier it is to fly in hard conditions -- amazed to the point of reconsidering how I practice IFR and stay current.
Now I feel very comfortable flying the most odd-ball ATC-infused approaches to minimums fully automated with the AP (and being sharp with the GPS programming). Yet, even after doing one, I get on the ground and can't help but feel the difference vs. how I used to feel doing even straight-forward approaches fully manual with substantially higher ceilings. Before having an AP that would fly the approach, I'd feel slightly (to fully) worn out after a hard approach in Low IFR. Now I get out of the new plane and feel like I've been CAVU joyriding. There is no fatigue. And that totally fresh feeling is my worry -- as I know I am not that good and just realize how much workload that AP has taken off my shoulders, and see that I could stay totally FAA IFR current yet lose a bunch of critical IFR proficiency skills flying behind that AP all the time.
All this makes me think I should split my IFR currency into two phases from here on out: fully-automated practice and fully-manual practice - maybe equally? I can fully see the benefits from both sides of the fence. A pilot starting out with a nice autopilot could likely fly 200OVC every day, consider themselves totally proficient, but be in a world of danger should the AP fail and the ceilings are 2,3,4 times higher. Likewise, I see it from the other side that I came from of practically having no AP and working to not getconfused on which button to push when -- and likewise turning an otherwise light IFR approach into a deadly endeavor trying to program a GPS/AP combo instead of flying the plane.
So, it brings me back to my question and wonder if others have experienced these feelings and how they keep their *proficiency* (vs currency) sharp in a plane with a fully coupled AP.
Many thanks in advance for your insight.
