Need some good IFR Study materials

jordan747_400 · January 7th, 2008, 02:07

I'm a private pilot with 80 hours, starting to look ahead for my Instrument training and my instructor has suggested that my limited money might be best spent practicing maneuvers, approaches, and cross country time under the hood with a safety pilot before starting official training. Sounds great, but I would love a better understanding of the approaches and maneuvers before I even do that so Im looking for some good IFR study materials to help me get started from the basics. There are plenty of books and resources out there to pick from but Im on a limited budget and cant buy them all, so I'm looking for input on which ones you guys have thought to be the best. I'm looking for something that gives me an intro to IFR flying and a great jumpstart for flight training.

Appreciate the help!

Sprint100 · January 7th, 2008, 02:13

I like The Complete Advanced Pilot, I'm at the tail end of PPL looking ahead to my IFR and it was highly recommended to me. I also have the FAA all-white instrument rating book and that is pretty good.

flyer8 · January 7th, 2008, 02:24

These free books will keep you busy for quite a while, (Also, all of them have been recently updated):

Instrument Flying Handbook (2007):
http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/a...ying_handbook/

Instrument Prcedures Handbook (2007):
http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/a...ures_handbook/
(Look at the bottom and click Download complete IPH)

Aviation Weather Services (2007, Brand spankin new):
http://www.asa2fly.com/Aviation-Weat..._product1.aspx
(Look on the right and download the whole book)

Oh, also there is a good amount of info in the AIM:
http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraff...ns/ATpubs/AIM/

And regs (Specifically Part 91 Subpart B):
http://www.risingup.com/fars/info/91-index.shtml

Have fun.

jima7011 · January 7th, 2008, 03:41

I also reccomend some study software from Dauntless--

http://www.dauntless-soft.com/

It's pretty cheap (actually cost effective since it covers many tests) and will help you prepare for the written test. You could study, prepare for the test, take the test before you do the flight training so that you have a stronger background rather than do the ground and the flight training concurrently. It will make the practical portion smoother since you are building on what you've already learned.

IMHO of course....

moxiepilot · January 7th, 2008, 05:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by flynik

These free books will keep you busy for quite a while, (Also, all of them have been recently updated):

Instrument Flying Handbook (2007):
http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/a...ying_handbook/

Instrument Prcedures Handbook (2007):
http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/a...ures_handbook/
(Look at the bottom and click Download complete IPH)

Aviation Weather Services (2007, Brand spankin new):
http://www.asa2fly.com/Aviation-Weat..._product1.aspx
(Look on the right and download the whole book)

Oh, also there is a good amount of info in the AIM:
http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraff...ns/ATpubs/AIM/

And regs (Specifically Part 91 Subpart B):
http://www.risingup.com/fars/info/91-index.shtml

Have fun.

SaberFlyer · January 7th, 2008, 08:33

Thanks alot, good books to read.

LoadMasterC141 · January 7th, 2008, 08:33

I just took my IFR written on Friday and got a 98. MIssed a simple question again to miss the 100 by one dangit!

I used:

Jepp Instrument/Commercial Textbook.
- Comes with separate study guides for each written
- Includes PTS supplements
- Has a suggested course outline guide
Sporty's "What you should know" IFR Rating DVD series
- Includes Practice test CD
Exams4Pilots.Org for practice tests anywhere and anytime I could slide a few in.
King IFR Checkride DVD's.
FAR/AIM
Weather Flying by Robert Buck - Get this. Read it. It is awesome.

Now that my written is out of the way, almost 100% of my studying for the checkride will be from the FAR/AIM. The examiner could care less what your text book says, he wants to see you know what and where the FAR/AIM says it.

flyguy969 · January 7th, 2008, 10:06

Great information on this post!! I just received my Instrument and these books will be great to stay sharp

jima7011 · January 9th, 2008, 01:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoadMasterC141

I just took my IFR written on Friday and got a 98. MIssed a simple question again to miss the 100 by one dangit!

I used:

Jepp Instrument/Commercial Textbook.
- Comes with separate study guides for each written
- Includes PTS supplements
- Has a suggested course outline guide
Sporty's "What you should know" IFR Rating DVD series
- Includes Practice test CD
Exams4Pilots.Org for practice tests anywhere and anytime I could slide a few in.
King IFR Checkride DVD's.
FAR/AIM
Weather Flying by Robert Buck - Get this. Read it. It is awesome.

Now that my written is out of the way, almost 100% of my studying for the checkride will be from the FAR/AIM. The examiner could care less what your text book says, he wants to see you know what and where the FAR/AIM says it.

Wow great score!! Congrats--I can't seem to break 90 on the practice tests!

flyer8 · January 9th, 2008, 01:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoadMasterC141

Sporty's "What you should know" IFR Rating DVD series
- Includes Practice test CD

Yeah, that is also pretty good!

mhcasey · January 9th, 2008, 03:23

Get the free FAA books. Your instrument rating is full of a ton of procedures and learning how to not mess yourself in the clouds. My recommendation:

1) Get the instrument flying handbook and instrument procedures handbook.
2) Fly with your CFII for at least 10 hours of basic instrument flying.
3) If you want to be really ambitious and your instructor feels you are ready, move onto holding, approaches, and en route procedures.
a. Have your potential safety pilot ride along in the back so he knows what the heck is going on.
b. Both of you can practice a crap ton on flight simulator to get the procedures down.
c. Go out on VFR XC's with said safety pilot, only fly the routing and approaches just like you're going IFR. If you're going someplace unfamiliar, you might review the approaches with your instructor just to make sure you and your safety pilot don't crash into any towers, bust airspace, etc.
4) In the mean time, when the weather turns sour go out with your CFII for as much actual instrument time as you can possibly get.
5) Also in the mean time, study your butt off and continue to fly the procedures on flight sim. The FAA books will tell you everything you need to pass the checkride and be pretty decent flying IFR procedures, but read the other books too so you actually know how to make intelligent decisions.

By the time you get your 50hrs PIC XC and 40 hours instrument time, you'll be pretty well on your way to wrapping things up. Just be extremely careful with your safety pilot and make sure he's not a tool.