Here’s video from a recent IFR proficiency flight from Boeing Field (KBFI) to Arlington, WA (KAWO). After a departure in IMC, I flew the RNAV RWY 34 approach to LPV minimums at KAWO, using the GFC 600 autopilot for the approach and the TOGA feature for a coupled missed approach.
Notice the glory as I cruise just above a solid cloud deck with the sun at my back.
This video also shows my use of cockpit and avionics flows followed by checklists to prepare for an approach.
For more information about those techniques, see the following videos:
To learn more about how I set up the displays in my panel and in ForeFlight on my iPad, see “Sipping Information from the Right Glass,” my IFR Tip in the December 2023 issue of AOPA Pilot magazine (you may need an AOPA membership to read the full article).
Charts for instrument procedures include a lot of information, and IFR pilots learn to brief departures, arrivals, and approaches as part of the preparation for takeoff, descent, and landing.
Often, however, those briefings aren’t especially effective, because the pilot or crew just recites data on the chart and doesn’t actually prepare to fly the procedure by describing a plan that includes details such as how:
You will join the procedure.
You will use and monitor navigation sources (GPS or ground-based navaids) to track the initial and final approach segments of the procedure and to enhance situational awareness.
You plan to configure the aircraft during an approach, especially along the final approach segment.
You will navigate the missed approach segment.
In other words, just reading a chart aloud doesn’t truly prepare you to fly a procedure. It’s like trying to sight-read a piece of music instead of practicing before a recital. And too often, a traditional briefing is also rushed or juggled with other tasks, especially in an aircraft equipped with modern avionics.
Today most IFR pilots fly with at least some electronic displays and GPS navigators, and we use electronic flight bags—tablets and apps—to plan our flights on the ground and to display charts and related information in the air. Given the way we now fly IFR, it’s time to update the briefing process to reflect modern avionics and the tools we bring into the cockpit.
For a detailed explanation of how I teach procedure briefings, see:
Charts for instrument procedures include a lot of information, and IFR pilots learn to brief departures, arrivals, and approaches as part of the preparation for takeoff, descent, and landing.
Often, however, those briefings aren’t especially effective, because the pilot or crew just recites data on the chart and doesn’t actually prepare to fly the procedure.
For example, a traditional approach briefing usually goes something like this:
“We’re flying the ILS runway 17 at Tacoma. The chart date is October 8, and it’s amendment 8C. The inbound course is 167, and the runway is 5000 feet long…”
In other words, the pilot reads courses, altitudes, and other details off the chart.
But reading a chart aloud doesn’t truly prepare you to fly a procedure. It’s like trying to sight-read a piece of music instead of practicing before a recital.
In other words, a traditional briefing often doesn’t describe how you’ll navigate the segments of an approach. And too often, a briefing is also rushed or juggled with other tasks, especially in an aircraft equipped with modern avionics.
Today most IFR pilots fly with at least some electronic displays and GPS navigators, and we use electronic flight bags—tablets and apps—to plan our flights on the ground and to display charts and related information in the air.
Given the way we fly IFR today, it’s time to update the briefing process to reflect modern avionics and the tools we bring into the cockpit.
So how can you develop an efficient, effective IFR briefing so that both you and the airplane are in the groove and the runway appears ahead through the mist? Follow this link to view a presentation at my YouTube channel that can help you create effective briefings that reflect how we fly in the 21st century.
Approach Briefing:Key Elements
Procedure title
Is the correct procedure displayed and loaded?
Procedure entry: Transition/Vectors
Direct to an initial fix or activate leg (vectors)? Course reversal?
Use of RNAV / Ground-based navigation
GPS for feeder routes, course reversal, and missed approach? LOC/VOR for final approach course?
Avionics flow check
Com and nav frequencies, active and standby.
Vertical guidance / Missed approach point
Approved or advisory vertical guidance? How to ID the MAP location. Use of VDP?
CDIs / Bearing pointers
Confirm if/when you’ll change the primary CDI.
Key altitudes / Bugs set
FAF crossing /GS/GP intercept. DA or MDA minimums. Initial MAP altitude.
Autopilot/FD or Manual
Coupled or FD or raw data and AP modes?
Approach configuration
Target power setting, configuration, and speed.
CTAF and PCL
CTAF calls and PCL activation at nontowered airport.
Runway exit plan
Planned intersection; left or right; intersecting/crossing runways; hotspots?
Cancel IFR
How will you cancel IFR if landing at a nontowered airport?
BruceAir, LLC 