On 11th January, I took a short IFR flight from Biggin Hill, to keep the skills fresh. I was in cloud for the majority of the flight and it tested my IMC rating to the max. I also took the opportunity to practice flying a VOR holding pattern near Faversham. My focus for this flight was to track the VORs accurately, and fly a stable ILS approach. I felt I achieved this.
This was one of those days, when in the past I wouldn’t have flown at all. The IMC rating (also known as the restricted instrument rating IR(R) ) has increased my opportunities to fly. On returning to land at Biggin Hill, there were clouds at 900ft AAL, and it was satisfying to pop out of the cloud on the ILS and see the runway right ahead, with 300 ft to go to my decision height.
Much to my frustration, I forgot to pack the GoPro cameras, meaning I have no video to share this time, but I was able to snap a few pictures on the ground, and on the odd occasion when I broke cloud.
Picture Gallery
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- IFR weather at Biggin Hill
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- I got my feet wet getting in.
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- The Magnetic Compass
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- View above the clouds
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- View above the clouds
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- View above the clouds
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- View above the clouds
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- India Zulu’s cockpit
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- India Zulu’s cockpit
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- View above the clouds
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- View above the clouds
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- Blue skies at Biggin Hill after landing
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- Blue skies at Biggin Hill after landing
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- The route flown