Now that is a rather theoretical position. We all know that this exam won’t change. There are reasons for any position, but a reason in favor of the actual form of the questions is that it is doable for anyone, there are several different strategies (where one of those includes to go several times to the exam for different topics).
Airborne_Again wrote:
Peter wrote: you would need a completely different QB if you want to be “practical”.That was my point…
@Airborne_Again, what I’m really missing is the practical information for the GA pilots.
I mean to cover things like ADL – while I understand why they want us to know about the AWR, only a minority will have it installed on their aircraft. The majority is likely to use ADL or other methods. Maybe satellite weather etc?
Also things like Autorouter and Eurocontrol IFPS – what is the point in using Jepp charts if: most don’t have those and they are useless due do many limitations in the IFPS. How many pilots know about Eurocontrol RAD? If you do, you could often adjust a route to produce a much more one.
It feels as if CB-IR is produced for airline pilots flying with access to a company dispatch on fully equipped pressurised twin. Well, many aren’t, but CB-IR is not reflecting this. CB-IR is great tool to get permission to fly in IMC and airways, but not sure if it is a great source of knowledge on how a GA pilot should do it in Europe.
CB-IR is great tool to get permission to fly in IMC and airways, but not sure if it is a great source of knowledge on how a GA pilot should do it in Europe.
The “European IR” never was.
I did the FAA IR in 2006 and then after the years flying IFR around Europe did the JAA IR in 2011. It was a really embarrassing exercise (I have written enough about it already) and done purely for paper collection purposes due to the Brussels anti-N-reg stuff which started c. 2010. It was an almost complete waste of money and time; even the ICAO IR to JAA IR “15hr conversion” cost me god knows how many thousands. But, as I have often said, the IR is used in Europe as a way of separating “real men from sheep”, also described as the last barrier to undesirable characters reaching the airline cockpit, so what do people expect. Not surprising that the CBIR has done almost F-All to broaden the European IFR community.
Peter wrote:
Not surprising that the CBIR has done almost F-All to broaden the European IFR community.
Agree to disagree on that! :)
Comparing to full IR it has less theory and (if you fly under EIR/BIR/IRR as PIC IMC XC) fewer mandatory hours, so F-ALL incorrect! :)
BIR→CB-IR route should be even better, but UK CAA in their infinite wisdom decided not to do it.
They could’ve done an easy workaround (for example, IRR holders with CB-IR theory could’ve been allowed to fly airways after, say, 4 airways sectors with an IRI), but not going to happen…
Depends on what “success” criteria you use 
Take that “10 years on” thread I started. All the big hopes…
It makes me quit sad. This was a major driver behind starting EuroGA 10 yars ago.
And now with CV19, so many old-timers with IRs have packed up for good.
Peter wrote:- “and done purely for paper collection purposes due to the Brussels anti-N-reg stuff which started c. 2010.”
I have seen this written on here on a number of occasions but it is not strictly correct.
What is called Brussels anti N reg stuff was actually started in the UK in 2009 when the CAA published what was supposed to be a consultation document. I well remember Mr. Seager of Flyer magazine writing about how he will answer it in a derogatory fashion.
See here (France 2004, shelved, UK 2005, shelved) and here for the later stuff from the EU (derogated by some countries, supposedly up to June 2022 only).
It is actually true that this isn’t only against N-reg; in the 2004/2005 moves it equally affected all non-national registrations (although the UK DfT denied it, saying EU-regs are unaffected even though the proposed law didn’t say that), and the later EASA FCL stuff affected all “third country” regs, which in the piston GA context is almost entirely N-reg.
So, I just passed the IR check ride and need to tell the internet about my odyssey :) I hope this fits here
As I mentioned in other threads, I have an FAA IR and after coming back from the States, I didn’t have enough IFR PIC time for the EASA IR, which requires 50h. So I did the Enroute IR some years ago and built more IFR hours. In 2020 I wanted to go to Jersey with my friend @chflyer to get my FAA IR valid again, but then the pandemic happened, the plans fell through, and I got hit by long-covid. This caused my SEP rating to expire, stop flying for some time and for good measure, my level 4 English expired too. Little things, but it just adds up to the hurdles for getting back in the saddle. After almost a year pause, I signed up for the level 6 English test and felt confident to get flying again and pass some more tests. In Geneva I could use the Redbird simulator to do most parts of the FAA IPC, the PBN course and then a couple flights in the real airplane (FAA requires a real circling). Generally, I felt less confident about altitude holding and tracking courses compared to years ago. So I continued flying VFR and improving my hand-flying. To get more routine in, I could spontaneously go along a fly-out to Czechia last week and my father kindly handed me the Cessna keys for most of the legs (shoutout to @Bleriot).
Yesterday was finally the day of the (CB) IR skill test. Despite no autopilot installed, with the GTN 650 and dual G5 (and its diamond indicating the track – this feature is actually worth diamonds), I was able to fly very precisely. To gain PBN privileges, we did an LPV and then the examiner switched off EGNOS for an LNAV approach. All worked really well, except for some rusty radio calls, but that’s the missing IFR routine. I’m really, really happy to have fully converted to the EASA IR now. Can’t wait to do some long cross-country flights with easy flight planning and getting more comfortable in the IFR world.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk lol See you all in the air sometime :)
Congratulations
I would like to pick your mind on the below point underlined of CB-IR flight training.
Does it mean that, training done with an ICAO instructor, it may be accredited ?
Appendix 6 – Modular training courses for the IR
FLYING TRAINING
6. The method of attaining an IR following this modular course is competency-based. However, the minimum requirements below shall be completed by the applicant. Additional training may be required to reach required competencies.
(a) A single-engine competency-based modular IR course shall include at least 40 hours of instrument time under instruction, of which up to 10 hours may be instrument ground time in an FNPT I, or up to 25 hours in an FFS or FNPT II. A maximum of 5 hours of FNPT II or FFS instrument ground time may be conducted in an FNPT I.
(i) When the applicant has:
(A) completed instrument flight instruction provided by an IRI(A) or an FI holding the privilege to provide training for the IR; or
(B) prior experience of instrument flight time as PIC on aeroplanes, under a rating providing the privileges to fly under IFR and in IMC,
these hours may be credited towards the 40 hours above up to maximum of 30 hours,
(ii) When the applicant has prior instrument flight time under instruction other than specified in point (a)(i), these hours may be credited towards the required 40 hours up to a maximum of 15 hours.
