Pig wrote:
I was referring to class A which is what I think of when I say airways, as in actual airways as in L602, not airspace.
Class A is airspace, not ATS routes. The definition of an airway (even in the UK) is a corridor of controlled airspace. (SERA, definitions.)
Pig wrote:
I was referring to class A which is what I think of when I say airways, as in actual airways as in L602, not airspace.
:) AFAIK, uou could actually fly in airways on some routes with IR(R) only – for example, takeoff at EGPF with a SID and fly north – there is nothing stopping from doing that. Or takeoff from EGHQ in a PA-46, climb FL250 and fly to EGPC – again, as you are in Class C, there is nothing to stop you.
But you cannot fly airways on IR(R) in most of England – you have to cross a lot of Class A for that.
Peter wrote:
The word “airways” is completely meaningless
It has a very well defined meaning in both UK and EU law. But of course if people refuse to use it in that meaning then things get difficult.
You could fly an “airway” route like Y803 at 2000ft. It will even Eurocontrol validate
Whether or not it will validate depends on what the country in question has put in the RAD. It will not work e.g. in France according to a quick check. You get a message like BAGAD H34 LUTAS DOES NOT EXIST IN FL RANGE F000..F065. On the other hand BAGAD DCT LUTAS does work at e.g. FL60. (I could mention another country, but I’ve come to understand that only some countries are acceptable as examples.)
Thanks for all of the info. Especially the link to the `Which Instrument Rating?` thread, which I found very useful. Looks as though the IR(R) [15hrs] → PIC IFR [20hrs] → CBIR [10hrs] route is most suitable one for most. I have a few other questions regarding the real world use of the IR(R), but in an effort not to further water down this thread, I’ll start a new one.
On a related note however, what is the best means by which to pass the 7 CBIR exams?
Is there a canonical question bank that people use? Do people generally not attend ground school anymore?
what is the best means by which to pass the 7 CBIR exams?
The content is of little value for actual flying (you need mentoring to learn the stuff) so most use a computer QB. I did that and never read the theory, which BTW did not even cover generating a Eurocontrol validated route 
Do people generally not attend ground school anymore?
Depends on whether you have to. The current Euro/UK IR requires I believe a few days bum-on-seat, and the FTOs which do the ground school have negotiated some tradeoff between online time and classroom time.
I did 3 days bum-on-seat when doing my FAA IR to JAA IR conversion but it was of zero value. Some old codgers lecturing about stuff from the 1970s. They also made me spend £1000 on ~7 ring binders as a condition of getting signed off to sit the 7 exams; I sold them, without opening, on Ebay after the last exam pass.
Lee wrote:
On a related note however, what is the best means by which to pass the 7 CBIR exams?
That depends on whether you want to understand the stuff or just get a pass. When I did the theory to renew my long lapsed IR, I wrote down each study question in the course books (Parts of the Oxford Aviation Academy ATPL manual) with answers on digital flashs cards.
I do agree with Peter that a lot of the IR theory is pointless, but far from all of it. (This is proved when even experienced IR holders ask questions on EuroGA the answers to which are in the IR TK.)
@Lee everyone is different. Personally I enjoyed the classroom part of my IR theory. Learnt a lot about all the different facets from people who knew what they were talking about. Passing round things like gyros so we could see how they worked and what precession is.
And got to hang out with lots of nice people all with a passion for flying and all from different walks of life (including military helicopter pilots) and different parts of France and some even from beyond. After that I spent many weeks at home reading the books., hitting the question banks and doing mock exams online.
@Peter was right there wasn’t a lot about filling in an Eurocontrol Flight Plan or anything else that tended more to the practical as this was left to groundschool within the ATO during the practical part of the training. This formed the basis of the questions asked by the examiner before my flight test.
I will say I learnt a lot and enjoyed most of it and although stressed out at certain times, I felt a great sense of achievement with each exam passed.
I will say that there was a huge gap between leaving college and doing my iR. It might not have been as enjoyable for those in continuing education as it might have seemed more like work.
Lee wrote:
On a related note however, what is the best means by which to pass the 7 CBIR exams?Is there a canonical question bank that people use? Do people generally not attend ground school anymore?
Passed mine last year. The prep is usually Bristol GS (more expensive, more hand-holding) or CAPT (£500, mostly self-study, couple of Zoom-session revisions).
I’ve chosen CAPT followed by AviationExam Question Bank (QB).
You actually DO need to understand the theory, at least some of that. :)
And advise from me would be to scan through the books once, try the questions, then re-read the books properly, followed by an Aviation Exam (few times each exam), aiming at high pass rate.
Exam notes:
Meteo – lots of materials, need understand and memorise quite a lot, exam itself is OK.
Instruments – exam is not complex, but it is only 12 questions, so if you misread a couple of questions and then forgot an answer for two more, you fail.
Flight Planning & Performance – most-hated one. :) Mostly useless for real-life flying (no one plots the route on Jepp charts these days – it just doesn’t work). To prep: use the real paper charts when you go over the question bank (it DOES take time to find the right airport on those or to find the right plates) and also during the prep use the real calculator that is permitted for the exam – some complain it behaves differently to an Excel and/or Windows/Android calc. :)
Other exams, well, just usual multiple-choice exams.
This is proved when even experienced IR holders ask questions on EuroGA the answers to which are in the IR TK
Haha you are probably having a swipe at me being reluctant to kill myself but let me remind you that when I questioned that ATC “clearance” they rapidly backtracked on it 
Much of this depends on where you are. The OP is in the UK. UK pilots have a huge potential advantage in that they have the very accessible IMCR (which can be done locally to them – a key factor in “IR” accessibility which is common in the US and which the European system has totally failed to deliver) and if you use that properly then you know basically everything you need to know for the full IR, except stuff which is almost wholly practical/tactical and which you can learn only by flying for real.
Post-IMCR, I learnt no new theory in the FAA IR (the hardest flying I’ve ever done) or in the JAA/EASA IR.
