Instrument training, IPC and currency

The marine layer is the reason most San Diego Cirrus owners want the instrument rating, and it is a good reason. This is instrument training in your own airplane, on the approaches you will actually fly.

Instrument rating in your Cirrus

Earning the rating in the airplane you will fly IFR in is the most efficient path there is: you learn the autopilot, the flight-plan workflow and the approach loading on your own panel, and nothing has to be relearned afterward. The course follows the FAA instrument ACS, uses a mix of flight and ground time, and I coordinate the written-test prep and the checkride scheduling with you.

The Perspective and Perspective+ panels are superb IFR platforms, and part of the job is teaching you when to trust them and when to hand-fly.

Instrument proficiency check (IPC)

If you are outside the six-month currency window, you need an IPC. Mine is a genuine proficiency check, not a rubber stamp: the required tasks from the ACS, plus the things that bite people in a Cirrus — partial panel on a glass panel, autopilot failure modes, missed approaches with a turbo at full power, and single-pilot workload management. Plan on a ground session and roughly two hours of flying.

Staying current

Six approaches, holding and tracking every six months is the minimum. Owners who fly real IFR tend to prefer a short session every couple of months to keep it sharp. Happy to set that up on a recurring basis.

Southern California specifics

• Marine-layer departures and arrivals at Carlsbad and Montgomery-Gibbs
• Working with SoCal Approach under the San Diego Class B
• The RNAV, ILS and LPV approaches at the local fields, and the ones worth flying for practice
• Terrain to the east, weather to the west, and planning an alternate that is actually usable

Common questions