Renewing my instrument rating
My instrument rating (IR) had lapsed in March 2020, just as the world as we knew it fell apart. I was not using my IR in my job at the time, and as multi-engine aircraft are incredibly expensive to fly, I couldn’t justify keeping my IR current without actually using it. Then the pandemic compounded that, as our household was entirely employed within aviation. With a completely unknown situation lying ahead, the very last thing on the expenditure priority list was non-essential flying.
As the years passed and aviation picked up again, however, I started thinking about my IR. I was conscious that I needed to renew it at some point, although I was still not using it in my job. So there was no rush, as I would just be renewing it to not use it. It is surprising that, when there is no rush, five years can pass by in what feels like a lot less time! A those years progressed I was becoming increasingly unhappy in my job and seriously considering going back to full-time flying – in which case, I would need the IR back. There is a rule that if your IR lapses by seven years, you have to re-sit all your airline transport pilot licence (ATPL) exams. Imagine the horror of that! So the potential job change and the seven year deadline getting increasingly closer made the decision for me. I was getting it back.
It started with a simulator session. Although I was current in single-engine visual flying, at this point I had not done any instrument flying, or multi-engine flying, since my last IR renewal test six years previously. It showed. I had to actively tell myself ‘scan, scan, scan!’ throughout the whole session. I was pleased, however, that I remembered some of the important stuff, like getting the airport information broadcast in plenty of time to know which runway my destination was using, to get the airfield data sheet out and plan for my approach and landing. My holds were ok. My approach was ok. Even my practise engine failure on the climbout was ok. None of them perfect, but ‘ok’. At least that was a start and proved to me that it was all still in there somewhere – it just needed getting out, dusting off and giving a polish.
I then resigned from my job and spent my three-month notice period trying to study and get all the individual elements of multi-engine flying and instrument flying fresh in my mind. I asked the flying school for a copy of the aircraft checklist and the aircraft flight manual, so that I could familiarise myself with all the checks, and get to know the mass and balance information. I photographed the aircraft cockpit and printed off the photo, so that when I was studying the checklist I could see where everything was in the cockpit. Preparation is everything in these situations. Thinking it through and imagining doing it really helps your brain to absorb it.
I did a flight in the aircraft in visual conditions first, then a few weeks later went ahead with the IR renewal test. The weather was good and there were no NOTAMs alerting me to anything that would affect my flight (always a good start). I was full of apprehension but knew that I had done the studying and was ready to give it my best shot. Departure, flying in airways, general handling, limited instrument panel, holds, procedural Instrument Landing System (ILS), simulated asymmetric flight, RNP approach… and I passed! I was totally drained by the end, but what an immense feeling of relief. I am now returning to flying as a job, so hopefully it will not have to lapse again!
Claire Hatton
