This full, immersive simulated flight from Waukesha (KUES) to Eau Claire (KEAU) in Wisconsin gives you a taste of a complex IFR flight from beginning to end. Fly along with us in the videos below in your simulation; or fly the real thing if you're in Wisconsin!
The ceilings are close to minimums in America's Dairyland - we'll show you how to deal with planning an alternate, mastering multiple ATC handoffs, procedure turns, and a hectic missed approach and diversion.
These skills are critical to becoming a solid IFR pilot and we cover them in detail in our IFR Ground School. This in-depth and engaging course contains hours of lectures that will have you ready to fly whatever the weather.
Here's our route for today, including our planned alternate and expected approaches. Have your weather set for a ceiling below 1000 feet AGL, we're planning to go missed at Eau Claire!
Route: KUES HAWKN DLL KOETZ RIMLE KEAU - Alt: KSGS - ILS 22@KEAU; RNAV 34@KSGS
Part 1: Planning
Watch as we use ForeFlight to choose a route and determine minimums for our alternate and takeoff.
Part 2: Departure and Enroute
Handoffs from ATC seem easy on paper, but are surprisingly stressful in the cockpit. The handoffs come fast and furious on this route, as we bounce between airspace controlled by Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis, and a military base. We'll show you a trick to never miss a handoff!
Part 3: Approach
A course reversal will test our ability to fly a procedure turn entering the approach. We're going to throw a curveball into the plan to see how well we can adapt to a change in plans.
Part 4: Missed Approach and Diversion
So much happens during a missed approach. Never does the old adage "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate" feel more relevant than on this hectic phase of flight. We'll break down the procedure to safely go missed and start a diversion to our alternate here.
How did your flight go? Let us know in the comments if this was helpful, and any routes you want to see us fly in a future sim session. Reach out to us directly at training@flight-insight.com
If you found this useful then you should consider signing up for our IFR course