IFR Lesson

HOT!

KFFZ 091947Z 22006KT 40SM FEW100 BKN200 38/13 A2977

According to the METAR above the air temperature is nearly 101 degrees Fahrenheit according to the thermometer in plane (that had been sitting on the ramp), the OAT (outside air temperature) was pushing 128 degrees.

With the high temperatures, there was a lot of heat radiating off of the ground making for some moderate turbulence close to the ground. We began today’s lesson by intercepting and flying VOR radials. This was a refresher from our last flight. And even though it had been nearly three weeks, it all came back fairly easily. N4182L has a HSI and a CDI so it was good to practice this flying using both instruments.

We next started working on DME arcs. A DME arc is simply flying in a circle or an arc that keeps you a specific distance from the fix. We were flying a 10 mile DME from the IWA VOR. Our flight path was curved so that we were always 10 miles from the VOR. The process to fly it was fairly straight forward and would have been a lot easier had the air been smooth. This is great practice for developing good scanning techniques too.

The flight today was a lot of fun but it started to get REAL hot! We called it a day and agreed to fly again soon. Next meeting would be for simulator training though.

Flying time: 1.2

Total time: 93.5