Originally Posted by
wordfromthewise
it seems that when times are tough and hiring slows down like it is now...you need more than just instructing time to get to a regional. i remember back in the 90's when hiring was slow, most pilots needed to fly some sort of 135 gig to be qualified for a regional. i am not a cfi yet but will be next summer. i plan on instructing for a few years because times are tough and i enjoy teaching. so it seems like it would be a natural fit. but i do not want to do the 135 freighter or charter step. mostly because i would feel uncomfortable doing single pilot night IFR. am i crazy? do i need to get outta the business if i am too scared to do single pilot night IFR? i am a pretty good pilot and aced my instrument checkride (the examiner said i was one of the best he has seen). not to sound cocky or anything...but i know i could handle it. i just dont find it enjoyable to be flying single engine over mountains or water at night with big nasty cells in the area. i feel like i should hang up the headset and call it quits cause what kind of pilot is scared of a little adventure? well...this one is
any advice??????
Don't hang up those David-Clarks just yet.
Is it single-engine IFR or single pilot IFR that you're concerned with. Having survived a single-engine night time engine failure and subsequently dead sticked the airplane to the second center line stripe of a runway with no runway lights I can sympathize with your hesitancy regarding single-engine night or hard IFR. However, single-pilot IFR is an opportunity for both learning and personal achievement. The outcome of a challenging flight is the sole result of your actions and decision making. That is something you will draw on for the rest of your career. You mention that you will happily be a CFII, but how will you teach someone something you are unwilling to do? How will you get pic actual instrument time?
As a contrast, the day after I got my instrument ticket it was 004 ovc with 3/4 sm vis all day. I went up by myself in a 172 for three hours and shot multiple ILS, NDB, and VOR approaches to several airports and held on several navaids and intersections just to prove to myself I could do it and I thought it was cool. Seems a little foolish to me today (should have used a twin) but that kind of experience and resulting confidence comes in handy in a pilots life.
Your reluctance to single-engine hard and night IFR may be some early wisdom but any similar feelings toward single pilot IFR may belie an illogical cowardice or lack of confidence that will need to be addressed.
Try riding along with some experienced pilots on some of their more difficult weather missions. The more you do it, learn, and gain real world experience the more your confidence and skill in commanding an aircraft in the soup by yourself will increase.
Good Luck.