Originally Posted by
BoilerUP
When I got my instrument rating I had about 250 hours, and the very next day I rented a plane and flew a solo cross-country on a day with layered stratus and 600-1000' ceilings pretty much over the entire midwest. I did a VOR approach to minimums at KCMI, landed, then took back off and did the ILS to KLAF.
My instructor and many friends thought I was NUTS for doing that but I knew I wouldn't be able to get any practical real-world experience sticking to the syllabus at Purdue and I would never be sharper than right after the checkride. I had to take it upon myself to gain the experience (and confidence) I knew I would need for my future and after that have never been wary about single-engine IFR.
Not saying such an approach is for everybody...but it worked for me.
I did exactly the same when I got my instrument rating, only I had about 200 hours. Shot approaches solo in IMC all summer long in basic old trainers with the bare minimum of instruments and of course no automation. I had an AI fail on me once, and an airspeed indicator fail on another occasion, though both times not in IMC. Those were pretty run down trainers! Looking back I think I was crazy.
The point is everyone is different and gets to the same place eventually, though in different ways.