The IFR Mastery Series from PilotWorkshops is a fun and effective way to build IFR skills for the instrument pilot. This scenario-based training really gets you thinking with new scenarios every month—a great way to keep your head in the game.
In this sample scenario, Anticipation Near Anaheim, you’re flying a Trinidad on a short IFR trip in busy southern California airspace from Corona to Hawthorne on a TEC route in marginal VFR conditions. The clearance includes an obstacle departure procedure with a climbing eastbound turn to a fix, but stronger winds increase groundspeed and triggers the early GPS turn anticipation. Watch the scenario, decide which option you would choose, and then learn from our expert instructor. Watch to the end for a chance to win one of two, $1,000 Sporty’s gift cards.
Step 1: Watch the IFR Mastery Scenario
Step 2: Make your choice
Now make your choice, and see what other pilots would choose.
Step 3: Learn from an expert then enter for a chance to win one of two, $1,000 Sporty’s Gift Cards
In the expert response video below, instructor Mark Kolber shares how he would handle this situation, drawing on his experience as a commercial pilot and instrument instructor. He explains how to manage GPS turn anticipation, stay compliant with the departure procedure, and maintain control when technology and workload start to collide. When the video wraps up, you’ll also have the opportunity to enter for a chance to win one of two, $1,000 Sporty’s gift cards—perfect for upgrading your gear or investing in your flying.
Win a $1,000 Sporty’s Gift Card!
Enter for a chance to win a Sporty’s Gift Card
Whether you’ve been eyeing a new headset, upgrading your flight gear, or investing in training courses, this is your chance to choose exactly what fits your flying. From gear and apparel to technology and pilot supplies—it’s a serious upgrade, your way.
The drawing ends April 22, 2026.
IFR Mastery from PilotWorkshop
Subscribers to the IFR Mastery Series can continue to an audio recording of a roundtable discussion where five additional experts offer their opinions on the best choice. And it’s rare that all the experts agree (although one might agree with your choice). The highlights from these roundtables are compiled for each scenario. Subscribers can continue the discussion among themselves along with the experts in a dedicated forum and have access to quizzes as well as all previous scenarios.
If you are interested in learning more or subcribing to IFR Mastery Series from PilotWorkshops, click the banner below and begin your free trial.
https://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/13122513/turn-anticipation-near-anaheim.png10001250Pilot Workshopshttps://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/14115136/IFR-Focus-Logo_White_Blue_Web-01.pngPilot Workshops2026-04-16 08:55:402026-04-16 09:07:04IFR Challenge: Anticipation Near Anaheim—Enter for a Chance to Win a $1,000 Sporty’s Gift Card
One thing that’s universally true of my aviation mentors was their persistent pursuit of refinement. They strove to improve a technique here, apply a concept more skillfully there, and generally understand the craft of aviation as deeply as they could. They also all had stories where said knowledge saved their bacon.
Best Glide Isn’t Published
One refinement that rarely gets taught is adjusting best glide speed (Vbg) for changes in weight and wind. I was never taught it, and therefore never passed it on to others, until I added on a glider rating. In a glider, if you’re heading back to the airport with a headwind, you can’t just open the throttle to make up for lost groundspeed. Instead, you pitch down to speed up. A lot. In fact, you might add 20 knots to your best glide (L/Dmax) speed to counter a 20-knot headwind.
Without going into too much math, think about it this way. If your best glide speed was 65 knots and you were pointed into a 65-knot wind, you’d have zero speed over the ground. You’d be descending vertically. Pitch down for 95 knots and you’re losing altitude much faster, but you’re at least moving forward by 30 knots, so you’re increasing your glide range. It’s obviously not as good as your glide range with no wind, but it’s better than just holding 65 knots.
Glider pilots get published data that tells them how much to change speed for a given amount of headwind (as well as tailwinds, rising air, and sinking air). Without such data, the quick estimator for most fixed-wing aircraft is to add at least half the headwind component to your best glide speed to get the best glide range over the ground into the wind.
Curious about how much this would hurt sink rates, a friend and I went out in his airplane and did a bunch of engine-idle descents at speeds from Vbg – 10 knots to Vbg + 30 knots. This data is just one sample, but we found the hit to sink rate was minimal up to 20 knots over best glide. Yes, we were sinking faster, but the variation in rate just due to minor pitch changes in holding airspeed were greater than the overall effect of a faster speed. The takeaway: If you have to glide into a wind in a GA airplane pitch down and go faster.
The takeaway: If you have to glide into a wind in a GA airplane, pitch down and go faster.
You can really see this effect doing power-idle glides to a runway into a wind. It’s kinda shocking with a strong wind. Try it.
While this sounds like a VFR skill, here’s the point for our IFR flying. It’s easy to say that if we lost the (only) engine in IMC, we punch up a nearest airport and glide there. But we don’t think too much about the how. The act of simply adding about half the headwind component to your best glide speed could make the difference between reaching that airport or not, especially if you’re up high and have to glide a long way. Pitching down at the bitter end if you’re not going to make the runway might get you enough forward progress that you do make the runway.
While we’re tweaking numbers, remember that Vbg is published for gross weight. It’s lower if you’re lighter. This change is small, but not zero. The actual formula is to reduce the airspeed by a factor of SQRT (CurrentWeight / GrossWeight). This works out to about a 1.5 percent reduction per each 100 pounds under gross weight for aircraft with gross weights of 1600-4500 pounds.
You might wonder if slowing down below Vbg with a tailwind will also increase range. Yes, but it’s probably not worth it. Slower than Vbg, many aircraft get more difficult to hold on speed. Also, you never want to go slower than minimum sink, which is about 75-percent of Vbg (corrected for your weight). That’s often less than a 20-knot window in piston singles.
All of this adjustment should happen after more critical items, like turning to the emergency airport, slowing to at least the Vbg you’ve studied and memorized, telling ATC, and trying to restart the engine. If you don’t have time for more than that, then adjusting your best glide probably won’t matter. However, if you have a long way to go and time to do it, adjustment could make all the difference.
Quick Poll
“Direct to” Tips For Your GPS
Editor’s Note: This video dates back about a decade, but the fundamentals are just as relevant today—even if a few specifics have changed over time.
Stopping the Prop
Glide tables in the POH are published for a windmilling propeller, which creates a lot of drag. Wouldn’t it be better to just stop the prop? Sure. In fact, you might extend your glide by ten percent or more. Except it’s not that simple.
First of all, you want the prop windmilling while you try to restart the engine. Otherwise, you’d have to crank it with the starter. Even if you were certain the engine will never restart—“Hey Bob, is the piston supposed to hang outside the cowling like that?”—it’s not easy to stop a windmilling prop in flight.
Getting airflow slow enough to stop the prop often requires flirting with stall speed, and even that might not do it. This isn’t what you want unless you have a long way to glide and will make up lost altitude from such low speed (or a stall recovery). If you have a constant-speed prop that doesn’t automatically feather. However, pulling it to a coarse pitch is usually free distance. Do it.
https://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/08111022/practical-have-a-speed-to-fly.png10001250Jeff Van Westhttps://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/14115136/IFR-Focus-Logo_White_Blue_Web-01.pngJeff Van West2026-04-14 08:55:112026-04-08 11:11:36Practial IFR: Have a Speed-to-Fly for Emergencies in IMC
IFR flying demands precision, but when something goes wrong, it also requires good judgment. Emergencies in instrument conditions rarely unfold exactly like the textbook, and the ability to make timely decisions while understanding the rules can make all the difference.
This quiz explores key concepts around IFR emergencies, from deviations and communication failures to fuel status and how situations are classified. Some of these questions are straightforward, while others highlight the nuance in how regulations are applied in real-world scenarios. See how well you understand the procedures that keep pilots safe when the unexpected happens.
While on an IFR flight, a pilot has an emergency which causes a deviation from an ATC clearance. What action must be taken?
Correct!Wrong!
When may ATC request a detailed report of an emergency even though a rule has not been violated?
Correct!Wrong!
What does declaring 'minimum fuel' to ATC imply?
Correct!Wrong!
You are in IMC and have two way radio communications failure. If you do not exercise emergency authority, what procedure are you expected to follow?
Correct!Wrong!
Emergency conditions are classified as either ‘distress’ or ‘urgency’. Which of the following would be an 'urgency' condition?
When most pilots think about IFR emergencies, the mind immediately jumps to the big ones: engine failures, engine fires, pressurization issues—high-consequence events that dominate simulator sessions and recurrent training. We rehearse these scenarios repeatedly, building muscle memory and confidence that if something catastrophic happens, we’ll respond correctly.
But in the real world, not every emergency announces itself with sirens and smoke.
Some show up quietly. Unexpectedly. And often at the worst possible time.
The Problem with “Unscripted” Emergencies
The danger with less obvious IFR emergencies isn’t necessarily the severity—it’s the element of surprise.
When you encounter a situation you’ve never trained for, your brain doesn’t immediately shift into action mode. It hesitates. It tries to categorize the problem. It searches for a script that doesn’t exist.
That hesitation, even for a few seconds, can put you behind the airplane.
And in IFR, being behind the airplane compounds quickly.
A Real-World Example
About six months after being hired at NetJets, I was flying a passenger trip out of Columbus, Ohio, heading west with four business executives on board. It was a routine departure, one we’d all done hundreds of times.
We briefed the takeoff: abort criteria, standard callouts, etc. Everything was normal.
We rolled onto Runway 28R, applied power, and accelerated through the takeoff roll.
“V1… rotate.”
“Positive rate. Gear up.”
Then, immediately after liftoff, we got a message: baggage door open.
Not a fire. Not an engine failure. Not something we’d ever practiced.
And now we were in the clouds.
Why It Mattered
At first glance, a baggage door doesn’t sound like a major emergency. But context matters.
On this aircraft, the baggage compartment sat directly beneath the left engine. If the door were actually open, several risks came into play:
Loose baggage could strike the engine
Debris could impact flight controls
The door itself could cause structural or aerodynamic issues
We didn’t know how serious it was, but we knew we didn’t want to stay airborne to find out.
The Workload Spike
The captain immediately made the right call: declare the need to return and get vectors back to Columbus.
But here’s where the real challenge began.
Just seconds earlier, we were in “departure mode”—climbing, accelerating, cleaning up the aircraft, and preparing for cruise. Now, suddenly, we had to:
Transition to an approach mindset
Reprogram the flight management system
Load approach frequencies
Pull up and brief the approach plate
Configure the aircraft for landing
Coordinate with ATC on tight vectors
Manage concerned passengers in the back
All while flying a high-performance aircraft at 200 knots in IMC.
There was no time to ease into it. No time to “get settled.”
We had to catch up, fast.
The Outcome
We turned back, flew the approach, and landed without issue. After taxiing in, maintenance inspected the aircraft.
The baggage door hadn’t actually opened, but one of the four latches had come unsecured, triggering the warning.
It wasn’t catastrophic.
But it was enough to disrupt the flow, spike the workload, and expose a gap in preparation.
The Lesson: It’s Not Always the Big Stuff
That flight changed how I think about IFR emergencies.
We spend so much time preparing for the big, dramatic failures that we overlook the smaller, less-defined abnormalities—the ones that won’t necessarily hurt you, but can absolutely throw you off your game.
Things like:
A baggage or cabin door indication
A minor system warning
An unexpected configuration issue
A nuisance alert at a critical phase of flight
These aren’t usually life-threatening.
But they are attention-demanding, and they often happen at the worst possible time.
A Simple Habit That Changes Everything
IFR Habit to Try: Before every takeoff, preload an approach back into your departure airport. When something unexpected happens, you won’t be starting from zero.
After that flight, I made one small but powerful change to how I prepare for departures:
Before every takeoff, I set up an approach back into the departure airport.
That means:
Loading the approach in the FMS/GPS
Pre-selecting frequencies
Having the approach plate readily available
So, if something happens after takeoff—anything at all—I’m not starting from scratch.
I’m not digging through menus. I’m not heads-down trying to build a plan.
I’m already ahead of the airplane.
All I need are vectors.
Why This Matters for GA IFR Pilots
In a general aviation cockpit, that kind of surprise hits even harder.
In general aviation—especially single-pilot IFR—you don’t have the luxury of a second set of hands or brains in the cockpit.
When something unexpected happens, you are:
The pilot flying
The pilot monitoring
The systems manager
The communicator
The decision-maker
All at once.
Which means even a “minor” abnormality can quickly overwhelm your bandwidth.
Preloading an approach back to your departure airport gives you a critical advantage:
Reduces mental load when you’re already saturated
Speeds up your response time in a high-workload moment
Keeps your head up and outside (or on instruments) instead of buried in setup tasks
Builds a mental escape plan before you ever need it
Quick Poll
Think Beyond the Checklist
Checklists are essential. Training is essential.
But not every situation will be in a checklist.
The key is to start asking yourself before each flight:
“What’s something small that could happen today that would still force me to change plans?”
Then take one step—just one—to prepare for it.
Because in IFR flying, the biggest threat isn’t always the emergency you trained for.
It’s the one you didn’t.
Final Thought
You don’t need to prepare for every possible scenario.
That’s impossible.
But you can prepare your mindset.
Expect the unexpected. Plan for a quick return. Stay ahead of the airplane.
Because sometimes, the difference between a stressful situation and a controlled one isn’t skill—it’s setup.
https://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02111610/The-IFR-Emergency-You-Didnt-Train-For.png10001250James Oniealhttps://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/14115136/IFR-Focus-Logo_White_Blue_Web-01.pngJames Onieal2026-04-07 08:55:412026-04-09 10:01:02The IFR Emergency You Didn’t Train For
Even in an era of advanced avionics and near-constant radar coverage, IFR flying still depends on clear, timely communication with ATC. Some reports are expected as part of the normal flow of a flight, but others are specifically required. In this video tip, we’ll break down the key IFR reports every pilot needs to know, including when to speak up, what to say, and how these calls help keep the system running safely and efficiently.
This video tip is from Sporty’s Instrument Rating Course. If you want to sharpen your skills and build more confidence in the system, Sporty’s Instrument Rating Course covers these required reports in detail—along with real-world scenarios and ATC audio to help you sound like a pro on every flight.
It looks like a glideslope. The needle comes alive and the airplane settles into a smooth, stabilized descent toward the runway. If you’ve flown an ILS or LPV recently, the picture is familiar. But on an RNAV (GPS) approach with LNAV or LP minimums, that glidepath can be lying to you.
A recent Garmin service alert highlighted a growing concern: pilots are following advisory vertical guidance—displayed as “+V”—as if it were approved vertical guidance, sometimes descending below minimums in the process. It’s an easy mistake to make. After all, the system behaves exactly like the real thing.
What +V Really Means
On WAAS-equipped GPS units, many non-precision approaches (like LNAV or LP) will display LNAV+V or LP+V. That “+V” indicates advisory vertical guidance—an internally generated glidepath to the runway. It’s designed to help you fly a continuous descent final approach—a safer, more stabilized alternative to the old “dive and drive” technique. That’s the good news.
Here’s the important part: advisory means exactly that.
It does not change the type of approach
It does not lower minimums
It does not guarantee compliance with step-down altitude restrictions
It does not provide obstacle clearance below MDA
It’s simply guidance to help you descend smoothly, but not a guarantee that you’re safe to follow it to the runway. Pilots get tricked because it looks and feels just like a glideslope with the same needle and descent profile. That familiarity is exactly what creates the risk. And when the autopilot captures a glidepath, there’s a natural tendency to trust it. The airplane is doing something that feels precise and intentional. But Garmin makes this explicit in their alert: the autopilot will happily follow that path right through the MDA. It will not level off for you.
Shifting Your Scan
On a non-precision approach, altitude is everything. Stepdown fixes, crossing restrictions, and especially MDA require constant attention to the altimeter. But once pilots lock onto a glidepath, the scan often shifts to much less attention on the altimeter and more on that glideslope needle. That’s the trap. You’ve just traded a hard limit altitude (MDA) for a suggested glidepath and may miss step-down altitude restrictions or the MDA in the process.
Trap: Busting step-down altitudes and obstacle clearance
The advisory vertical guidance will not always keep you at or above the altitude for step-down fixes between the final approach fix (FAF) and missed approach point (MAP). You still need to level off at these to maintain adequate obstacle clearance.
No matter what the avionics are showing, one rule doesn’t change: the altimeter is your primary reference and not the glidepath. Advisory vertical guidance can take you to minimums, but it cannot take you below them.
To descend below MDA, you still must comply with 14 CFR 91.175:
Required visual references in sight
A normal descent to landing can be made
Flight visibility requirements are met
Without those, the correct move at MDA is to level off or go missed.
Advisory glidelope is still valuable
Advisory vertical guidance is a valuable tool and incredibly useful. It has made non-precision approaches safer and easier to fly. It encourages stabilized descents, reduces workload, and helps prevent classic “dive and drive” errors. But it also introduces this new type of risk.
When something looks exactly like a precision approach, it’s easy to start flying it like one. Never forget what kind of approach you’re actually flying.
Simple call-outs can reinforce the habit:
“Approaching minimums”
“Minimums—leveling”
Quick Poll
https://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/19122054/Why-Advisory-Glideslope-V-Can-Get-You-in-Trouble.png10001250Eric Radtkehttps://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/14115136/IFR-Focus-Logo_White_Blue_Web-01.pngEric Radtke2026-03-31 08:55:532026-04-02 09:06:24Why Advisory Glideslope +V Can Get You in Trouble
IFR Challenge: Anticipation Near Anaheim—Enter for a Chance to Win a $1,000 Sporty’s Gift Card
/by Pilot WorkshopsThe IFR Mastery Series from PilotWorkshops is a fun and effective way to build IFR skills for the instrument pilot. This scenario-based training really gets you thinking with new scenarios every month—a great way to keep your head in the game.
In this sample scenario, Anticipation Near Anaheim, you’re flying a Trinidad on a short IFR trip in busy southern California airspace from Corona to Hawthorne on a TEC route in marginal VFR conditions. The clearance includes an obstacle departure procedure with a climbing eastbound turn to a fix, but stronger winds increase groundspeed and triggers the early GPS turn anticipation. Watch the scenario, decide which option you would choose, and then learn from our expert instructor. Watch to the end for a chance to win one of two, $1,000 Sporty’s gift cards.
Step 1: Watch the IFR Mastery Scenario
Step 2: Make your choice
Now make your choice, and see what other pilots would choose.
Step 3: Learn from an expert then enter for a chance to win one of two, $1,000 Sporty’s Gift Cards
In the expert response video below, instructor Mark Kolber shares how he would handle this situation, drawing on his experience as a commercial pilot and instrument instructor. He explains how to manage GPS turn anticipation, stay compliant with the departure procedure, and maintain control when technology and workload start to collide. When the video wraps up, you’ll also have the opportunity to enter for a chance to win one of two, $1,000 Sporty’s gift cards—perfect for upgrading your gear or investing in your flying.
Win a $1,000 Sporty’s Gift Card!
Enter for a chance to win a Sporty’s Gift Card
Whether you’ve been eyeing a new headset, upgrading your flight gear, or investing in training courses, this is your chance to choose exactly what fits your flying. From gear and apparel to technology and pilot supplies—it’s a serious upgrade, your way.
The drawing ends April 22, 2026.
IFR Mastery from PilotWorkshop
Subscribers to the IFR Mastery Series can continue to an audio recording of a roundtable discussion where five additional experts offer their opinions on the best choice. And it’s rare that all the experts agree (although one might agree with your choice). The highlights from these roundtables are compiled for each scenario. Subscribers can continue the discussion among themselves along with the experts in a dedicated forum and have access to quizzes as well as all previous scenarios.
If you are interested in learning more or subcribing to IFR Mastery Series from PilotWorkshops, click the banner below and begin your free trial.
Practial IFR: Have a Speed-to-Fly for Emergencies in IMC
/by Jeff Van WestOne thing that’s universally true of my aviation mentors was their persistent pursuit of refinement. They strove to improve a technique here, apply a concept more skillfully there, and generally understand the craft of aviation as deeply as they could. They also all had stories where said knowledge saved their bacon.
Best Glide Isn’t Published
One refinement that rarely gets taught is adjusting best glide speed (Vbg) for changes in weight and wind. I was never taught it, and therefore never passed it on to others, until I added on a glider rating. In a glider, if you’re heading back to the airport with a headwind, you can’t just open the throttle to make up for lost groundspeed. Instead, you pitch down to speed up. A lot. In fact, you might add 20 knots to your best glide (L/Dmax) speed to counter a 20-knot headwind.
Without going into too much math, think about it this way. If your best glide speed was 65 knots and you were pointed into a 65-knot wind, you’d have zero speed over the ground. You’d be descending vertically. Pitch down for 95 knots and you’re losing altitude much faster, but you’re at least moving forward by 30 knots, so you’re increasing your glide range. It’s obviously not as good as your glide range with no wind, but it’s better than just holding 65 knots.
Glider pilots get published data that tells them how much to change speed for a given amount of headwind (as well as tailwinds, rising air, and sinking air). Without such data, the quick estimator for most fixed-wing aircraft is to add at least half the headwind component to your best glide speed to get the best glide range over the ground into the wind.
Curious about how much this would hurt sink rates, a friend and I went out in his airplane and did a bunch of engine-idle descents at speeds from Vbg – 10 knots to Vbg + 30 knots. This data is just one sample, but we found the hit to sink rate was minimal up to 20 knots over best glide. Yes, we were sinking faster, but the variation in rate just due to minor pitch changes in holding airspeed were greater than the overall effect of a faster speed. The takeaway: If you have to glide into a wind in a GA airplane pitch down and go faster.
The takeaway: If you have to glide into a wind in a GA airplane, pitch down and go faster.
You can really see this effect doing power-idle glides to a runway into a wind. It’s kinda shocking with a strong wind. Try it.
While this sounds like a VFR skill, here’s the point for our IFR flying. It’s easy to say that if we lost the (only) engine in IMC, we punch up a nearest airport and glide there. But we don’t think too much about the how. The act of simply adding about half the headwind component to your best glide speed could make the difference between reaching that airport or not, especially if you’re up high and have to glide a long way. Pitching down at the bitter end if you’re not going to make the runway might get you enough forward progress that you do make the runway.
While we’re tweaking numbers, remember that Vbg is published for gross weight. It’s lower if you’re lighter. This change is small, but not zero. The actual formula is to reduce the airspeed by a factor of SQRT (CurrentWeight / GrossWeight). This works out to about a 1.5 percent reduction per each 100 pounds under gross weight for aircraft with gross weights of 1600-4500 pounds.
You might wonder if slowing down below Vbg with a tailwind will also increase range. Yes, but it’s probably not worth it. Slower than Vbg, many aircraft get more difficult to hold on speed. Also, you never want to go slower than minimum sink, which is about 75-percent of Vbg (corrected for your weight). That’s often less than a 20-knot window in piston singles.
All of this adjustment should happen after more critical items, like turning to the emergency airport, slowing to at least the Vbg you’ve studied and memorized, telling ATC, and trying to restart the engine. If you don’t have time for more than that, then adjusting your best glide probably won’t matter. However, if you have a long way to go and time to do it, adjustment could make all the difference.
Quick Poll
“Direct to” Tips For Your GPS
Editor’s Note: This video dates back about a decade, but the fundamentals are just as relevant today—even if a few specifics have changed over time.
Stopping the Prop
Glide tables in the POH are published for a windmilling propeller, which creates a lot of drag. Wouldn’t it be better to just stop the prop? Sure. In fact, you might extend your glide by ten percent or more. Except it’s not that simple.
First of all, you want the prop windmilling while you try to restart the engine. Otherwise, you’d have to crank it with the starter. Even if you were certain the engine will never restart—“Hey Bob, is the piston supposed to hang outside the cowling like that?”—it’s not easy to stop a windmilling prop in flight.
Getting airflow slow enough to stop the prop often requires flirting with stall speed, and even that might not do it. This isn’t what you want unless you have a long way to glide and will make up lost altitude from such low speed (or a stall recovery). If you have a constant-speed prop that doesn’t automatically feather. However, pulling it to a coarse pitch is usually free distance. Do it.
Quiz: IFR Emergencies
/by IFR Focus TeamIFR flying demands precision, but when something goes wrong, it also requires good judgment. Emergencies in instrument conditions rarely unfold exactly like the textbook, and the ability to make timely decisions while understanding the rules can make all the difference.
This quiz explores key concepts around IFR emergencies, from deviations and communication failures to fuel status and how situations are classified. Some of these questions are straightforward, while others highlight the nuance in how regulations are applied in real-world scenarios. See how well you understand the procedures that keep pilots safe when the unexpected happens.
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The IFR Emergency You Didn’t Train For
/by James OniealWhen most pilots think about IFR emergencies, the mind immediately jumps to the big ones: engine failures, engine fires, pressurization issues—high-consequence events that dominate simulator sessions and recurrent training. We rehearse these scenarios repeatedly, building muscle memory and confidence that if something catastrophic happens, we’ll respond correctly.
But in the real world, not every emergency announces itself with sirens and smoke.
Some show up quietly. Unexpectedly. And often at the worst possible time.
The Problem with “Unscripted” Emergencies
The danger with less obvious IFR emergencies isn’t necessarily the severity—it’s the element of surprise.
When you encounter a situation you’ve never trained for, your brain doesn’t immediately shift into action mode. It hesitates. It tries to categorize the problem. It searches for a script that doesn’t exist.
That hesitation, even for a few seconds, can put you behind the airplane.
And in IFR, being behind the airplane compounds quickly.
A Real-World Example
About six months after being hired at NetJets, I was flying a passenger trip out of Columbus, Ohio, heading west with four business executives on board. It was a routine departure, one we’d all done hundreds of times.
We briefed the takeoff: abort criteria, standard callouts, etc. Everything was normal.
We rolled onto Runway 28R, applied power, and accelerated through the takeoff roll.
“V1… rotate.”
“Positive rate. Gear up.”
Then, immediately after liftoff, we got a message: baggage door open.
Not a fire. Not an engine failure. Not something we’d ever practiced.
And now we were in the clouds.
Why It Mattered
At first glance, a baggage door doesn’t sound like a major emergency. But context matters.
On this aircraft, the baggage compartment sat directly beneath the left engine. If the door were actually open, several risks came into play:
We didn’t know how serious it was, but we knew we didn’t want to stay airborne to find out.
The Workload Spike
The captain immediately made the right call: declare the need to return and get vectors back to Columbus.
But here’s where the real challenge began.
Just seconds earlier, we were in “departure mode”—climbing, accelerating, cleaning up the aircraft, and preparing for cruise. Now, suddenly, we had to:
All while flying a high-performance aircraft at 200 knots in IMC.
There was no time to ease into it. No time to “get settled.”
We had to catch up, fast.
The Outcome
We turned back, flew the approach, and landed without issue. After taxiing in, maintenance inspected the aircraft.
The baggage door hadn’t actually opened, but one of the four latches had come unsecured, triggering the warning.
It wasn’t catastrophic.
But it was enough to disrupt the flow, spike the workload, and expose a gap in preparation.
The Lesson: It’s Not Always the Big Stuff
That flight changed how I think about IFR emergencies.
We spend so much time preparing for the big, dramatic failures that we overlook the smaller, less-defined abnormalities—the ones that won’t necessarily hurt you, but can absolutely throw you off your game.
Things like:
These aren’t usually life-threatening.
But they are attention-demanding, and they often happen at the worst possible time.
A Simple Habit That Changes Everything
IFR Habit to Try:
Before every takeoff, preload an approach back into your departure airport. When something unexpected happens, you won’t be starting from zero.
After that flight, I made one small but powerful change to how I prepare for departures:
Before every takeoff, I set up an approach back into the departure airport.
That means:
So, if something happens after takeoff—anything at all—I’m not starting from scratch.
I’m not digging through menus. I’m not heads-down trying to build a plan.
I’m already ahead of the airplane.
All I need are vectors.
Why This Matters for GA IFR Pilots
In a general aviation cockpit, that kind of surprise hits even harder.
In general aviation—especially single-pilot IFR—you don’t have the luxury of a second set of hands or brains in the cockpit.
When something unexpected happens, you are:
All at once.
Which means even a “minor” abnormality can quickly overwhelm your bandwidth.
Preloading an approach back to your departure airport gives you a critical advantage:
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Think Beyond the Checklist
Checklists are essential. Training is essential.
But not every situation will be in a checklist.
The key is to start asking yourself before each flight:
“What’s something small that could happen today that would still force me to change plans?”
Then take one step—just one—to prepare for it.
Because in IFR flying, the biggest threat isn’t always the emergency you trained for.
It’s the one you didn’t.
Final Thought
You don’t need to prepare for every possible scenario.
That’s impossible.
But you can prepare your mindset.
Expect the unexpected. Plan for a quick return. Stay ahead of the airplane.
Because sometimes, the difference between a stressful situation and a controlled one isn’t skill—it’s setup.
Video Tip: Required IFR Reports
/by IFR Focus TeamEven in an era of advanced avionics and near-constant radar coverage, IFR flying still depends on clear, timely communication with ATC. Some reports are expected as part of the normal flow of a flight, but others are specifically required. In this video tip, we’ll break down the key IFR reports every pilot needs to know, including when to speak up, what to say, and how these calls help keep the system running safely and efficiently.
This video tip is from Sporty’s Instrument Rating Course. If you want to sharpen your skills and build more confidence in the system, Sporty’s Instrument Rating Course covers these required reports in detail—along with real-world scenarios and ATC audio to help you sound like a pro on every flight.
Why Advisory Glideslope +V Can Get You in Trouble
/by Eric RadtkeIt looks like a glideslope. The needle comes alive and the airplane settles into a smooth, stabilized descent toward the runway. If you’ve flown an ILS or LPV recently, the picture is familiar. But on an RNAV (GPS) approach with LNAV or LP minimums, that glidepath can be lying to you.
A recent Garmin service alert highlighted a growing concern: pilots are following advisory vertical guidance—displayed as “+V”—as if it were approved vertical guidance, sometimes descending below minimums in the process. It’s an easy mistake to make. After all, the system behaves exactly like the real thing.
What +V Really Means
Here’s the important part: advisory means exactly that.
It’s simply guidance to help you descend smoothly, but not a guarantee that you’re safe to follow it to the runway. Pilots get tricked because it looks and feels just like a glideslope with the same needle and descent profile. That familiarity is exactly what creates the risk. And when the autopilot captures a glidepath, there’s a natural tendency to trust it. The airplane is doing something that feels precise and intentional. But Garmin makes this explicit in their alert: the autopilot will happily follow that path right through the MDA. It will not level off for you.
Shifting Your Scan
On a non-precision approach, altitude is everything. Stepdown fixes, crossing restrictions, and especially MDA require constant attention to the altimeter. But once pilots lock onto a glidepath, the scan often shifts to much less attention on the altimeter and more on that glideslope needle. That’s the trap. You’ve just traded a hard limit altitude (MDA) for a suggested glidepath and may miss step-down altitude restrictions or the MDA in the process.
The advisory vertical guidance will not always keep you at or above the altitude for step-down fixes between the final approach fix (FAF) and missed approach point (MAP). You still need to level off at these to maintain adequate obstacle clearance.
To descend below MDA, you still must comply with 14 CFR 91.175:
Without those, the correct move at MDA is to level off or go missed.
Advisory glidelope is still valuable
Advisory vertical guidance is a valuable tool and incredibly useful. It has made non-precision approaches safer and easier to fly. It encourages stabilized descents, reduces workload, and helps prevent classic “dive and drive” errors. But it also introduces this new type of risk.
When something looks exactly like a precision approach, it’s easy to start flying it like one. Never forget what kind of approach you’re actually flying.
Simple call-outs can reinforce the habit:
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