Get out of this hypothetical situation:

You're flying a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. It's 2am, you're single pilot IFR, and the airplane has no autopilot. It's November in the Midwest, and icing is possible at altitudes above 6000 feet. After 2 hours of flying you are getting close to your destination at a Class C (now Class E) airport - the ATIS is now reporting 1/2 mile visibility with a VV of 400 feet (at best)... things have gotten worse since you departed. Your GPS is WAAS capable, you have Foreflight on your iPad for charts, and your planning an LPV approach.

The center controller has switched you over to UNICOM just before you cross the FAF. At about 500 above minimums, sh*t hits the fan... you have a complete electrical failure. You have the ILS programmed as a backup, and have a flashlight clipped onto your headset (it's easy to switch on); you rely on the LOC/glide slope reading to maintain situational while continuing to minimums (this is your home airport, so you know them well). No contact on the runway lights, so you go missed. 7600 gets put into the transponder, and you decide to continue to the alternate.

Now you follow your flight plan to the next airport, about 30 minutes away. Just before the IAP, your iPad goes out because it's no longer plugged into a power supply and it's cold (okay.. and it's generation 2 because you're a broke pilot). That's okay, because you've already briefed the chart and have flown this approach many times. But you get to minimums... no contact.

Uh oh. You've got 2 hours of fuel remaining due to your conservative nature (yea right, what got you into this situation in the first place), and some backup charts in your flight bag (that happen to be expired). However, the wind has picked up and you're trying to manage some light chop while accessing and unfolding the charts. The thing you don't know is that weather is dropping all around you, and the nearest airport that is not low IFR is over 50 miles to the South.

What do you do now?

 

Always carry a battery backup with the iPad and keep it fully charged. Also keep a handheld radio in the cockpit. Use a Status 2S with Foreflight and synthetic vision so you have a chance with a backup AI.

Prior planning.


Also, don't fly in those conditions unless absolutely necessary.

 

You lost me at “complete electrical failure”.. Taken literally, at that point in time, the aircraft avionics (including ILS receiver) won’t function. Did you mean to say, alternator failure, and now running on the aircraft’s remaining battery power?

 

If navigating on the battery in night/IMC, you don't go missed unless you're certain you can get to VFR using Gryo instruments.

DIY CAT-III, follow the GS to the ground, and try to guesstimate a gentle flare... but don't level off and risk stalling, keep 'er coming down. Better to smash the nosewheel and prop than go missed in those conditions.

 

I'd not get myself into that situation the first place.

Area IFR AND Icing?
in a 172?

Why are you flying in the first place?

I guess you'd need superior piloting skill to compensate for inferior judgement skills.

 

I opted out of that circus earlier in the day/night.

First off I checked the weather before the flight.

2nd, I was looking at XM cockpit weather during the flight. I diverted to better conditions well before getting boxed in with 200 & 1/2.

I guess I'm a wuss??

 

A good pilot would have started with a fully charged iPad , a battery-powered handheld radio; and more than one flashlight.

My iPad lasts longer than my 172's fuel-tanks.
I use a Sportys SP-400 radio, with ILS.
I have 3 flashlights, and 2 chemlights in my bag.

A great pilot would never have gotten into that situation.

 

"A superior pilot uses his superior judgment to avoid situations that would require the use of his superior skills."

(Author unknown)

 

Sounds like something that those girls on the sailboat would do.

 

Yeah, no.

1) Don't fly IMC in a piston single. we spend half of our private pilot training trying to figure out how to handle engine failures... and then we go IMC and rely on a contingency plan that can be summed up as "Golly, I hope there's a magical runway right in front of me when I pop out of the clouds!"

2) Don't go into icing conditions unless your aircraft can handle it.

3) Don't go missed if you're no longer generating electricity.