P&E PROFICIENCY WHY GOOD PILOTS BOMB INSTRUMENT CHECKS Instructor Courtney Johnson cites these reasons why pilots don't get signed off on instrument proficiency checks. Problem: Loss of instrument scan. Solution: Practice using a computer simulator program. Problem: Not following procedures Solution: Absorb the information on the terminal procedure chart. Problem: Not following checklists. Solution: Follow them every time. Problem: Situational awareness. Solution: Ask yourself where you are in relation to a fix. Problem: Radio communication skills lacking. Solution: Listen to air traffic control frequencies at home. Reduced Gravity Flight HUNTSVILLE, AL inspired " pursue career Aerospace " Aviation Challenge g to me a in Engineering ® ike Brennison 8 TIME CAM P A LU M N U S Read Mike's story at spacecamp.com/alumnioftheweek and available for free. Another of the free courses is Instrument Proficiency Check Review Guide produced by the FAA Safety Team. There are also King Schools courses as well as those from ASA, Gleim, Sporty's, and others. Most of those require payment. You can purchase an entire Instrument Proficiency Get It All Kit-DVD for PC course for $160 from King Schools. (It was on sale at the time this was written.) At least a half-dozen of the answers, possibly more, that I gave during the instructor's IPC ground review were directly from the IFR Insights course taken only a few hours earlier. A bonus from that course was a downloadable "AOPA IFR Regulations Quick Reference" that answers most of the regulation questions an instructor is likely to ask (flash.aopa.org/asf/ifrinsights_regs/ downloads/7-4-RegsCard.pdf ). Taking a review course of some type means you'll walk into the instructor's office confident that you at least tried to prepare, and that you will indeed be getting some of the answers right. You might even pass. It's one way to get your head into the game before taking an IPC. AOPA EMAIL alton.marsh@aopa.org 98 | AOPA PILOT November 2014http://www.freeflightsystems.com/aopa http://www.spacecamp.com/alumnioftheweek http://flash.aopa.org/asf/ifrinsights_regs/downloads/7-4-RegsCard.pdf http://flash.aopa.org/asf/ifrinsights_regs/downloads/7-4-RegsCard.pdf http://www.spacecamp.com/alumnioftheweek