Blog Elements : IFR Focus

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How to Choose the Best Alternate Airport for Your IFR Flight: A Pilot’s Guide

February 28, 2025/in Procedures and Regulations, Weather and Decision Making/by Bret Koebbe

How to prepare for instrument checkride day

February 27, 2025/in IFR Training, Techniques and Maneuvers/by Eric Radtke

Communication is key to the examiner understanding your thought process and decision making. Checkrides have plenty of emotion and pressure that will hopefully allow you to excel. Don’t bring unnecessary pressure or emotion to the flight by overreaching or trying to do too much. Fly like you’ve trained and be the PIC.

How to Choose the Best Alternate Airport for Your IFR Flight: A Pilot’s Guide

February 28, 2025/in Procedures and Regulations, Weather and Decision Making/by Bret Koebbe

How to prepare for instrument checkride day

February 27, 2025/in IFR Training, Techniques and Maneuvers/by Eric Radtke

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

How to Choose the Best Alternate Airport for Your IFR Flight: A Pilot’s Guide

February 28, 2025/in Procedures and Regulations, Weather and Decision Making/by Bret Koebbe

Something as simple as a disabled aircraft could you force you to an alternate airport.

One of the most important skills pilots learn during flight training is sound decision making. Every flight, regardless of the complexity of the airplane or the distance of the trip, is comprised of a continuous series of decisions involving a host of variables that the pilot must make in order to safely get from point A to point B.

When flying a VFR cross-country, one of the early lessons is to always be evaluating alternate airports in case you’re not able to land at the intended destination. This is not only common sense, but it’s a legal requirement too:

Preflight Action (FAR 91.103) – Each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. For a flight under IFR or a flight not in the vicinity of an airport, weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, alternatives available if the planned flight cannot be completed, and any known traffic delays of which the pilot in command has been advised by ATC.

Though it’s rare, your destination airport could become unusable due to a thunderstorm moving in, or a disabled airplane on the runway. To be clear, you are not required to declare an alternate airport in any official capacity flying VFR, but rather you should have a few airports in mind along the way and near your destination.

IFR Alternate Airport Planning

While every IFR flight requires you to file an IFR flight plan and receive an ATC clearance, not every flight is flown in IFR conditions.

Contingency planning is even more important for IFR pilots on cross-country flights where a cloud ceiling shift of 100’ or visibility change of a ½ mile can mean the difference between seeing the runway at the end of an instrument approach or having to go around and find another place to land.

While every IFR flight requires you to file an IFR flight plan and receive an ATC clearance, not every flight is flown in IFR conditions. After 3,000+ hours of flying on IFR flight plans, I’d say most of that time was actually spent in VFR conditions and with only a handful of the flights in any given year requiring an instrument approach to be flown at the destination.

Regardless of the weather, my preference is to always file an IFR flight plan on cross-country trips, primarily for the benefit of the ATC services provided along the way. The IFR flight plan form requires much of the same information as when flying VFR, except you have to treat the Alternate Airport field more seriously. FAR 91.169 describes two scenarios as it relates to IFR alternate airport requirements:

If the weather at the destination, for at least 1 hour before and 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival, is forecast to have at least a 2,000 foot ceiling (above the airport elevation) and visibility of at least 3 statute miles, you are not required to list an alternate airport in the IFR flight plan.
If either the ceiling or visibility is forecast to be less than 2,000 feet or 3 statute miles during that arrival window, you are required to file an alternate. Also, the destination airport must have at least one instrument approach procedure or an alternate airport will always be required.

Many pilots refer to this as the 1-2-3 rule: Plus or minus 1 hour from arrival, ceilings at least 2,000 feet and visibility at least 3 statute miles.

The first scenario above only states that you don’t have to legally file an alternate on the IFR flight plan if the weather is forecast to be good at the destination, but as discussed earlier during the VFR flight scenario, FAR 91.103 still requires you to have an alternate in mind in the event that the runway at the destination airport becomes unusable for any other reason.

Now, let’s assume that the weather forecast at the destination is for low IFR conditions and an alternate airport is required. There are legal requirements that the filed alternate airport needs to meet, but similar to the weather briefing, start with a big-picture view of what’s causing the IFR conditions at the destination and a few practical aspects about potential alternate airports:

Is there a cold front moving through at the arrival time forecast to cause localized areas of low visibility? Look for a nearby airport to the east of the destination ahead of the front.

Is there widespread fog? You’ll need to search further away from the weather system over the destination and carry plenty of extra fuel.

Start with a big-picture view of what’s causing the IFR conditions at the destination.

Is there another cloud layer above the fog and no wind? The fog may not clear out as fast as forecast due to inadequate solar heating.

What time of day is the flight? Low visibility conditions tend to improve several hours after sunrise into late morning, but then deteriorate at night as temperatures cool.

Is there rising terrain nearby or large variations in airport elevations within 50 NM of the destination? A nearby airport at a lower altitude may provide additional clearance under a cloud layer (with the caveat that it could be prone to fog if near a body of water).

What services are available at the alternate airport? As we’ll discuss later in this article, the alternate airport needs to have reliable weather reporting, and you’ll likely need fuel and/or FBO services when you get there. Think about choosing a towered airport with an ATIS broadcast and a 24-hour FBO.

If you are planning with ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot, you’ll find some helpful alternate airport planning tools to help you decide. In ForeFlight, enter your basic flight plan information, and then tap the Alternate field. This will display a list of suggested alternate airports and key information: airport name, forecast weather for the arrival time, longest runway length and the time/fuel to divert there after executing a missed approach at the planned destination.

Legal requirements for selecting an alternate airport

After selecting the best option based on the criteria above, you’ll next need to verify that it meets the legal requirements to use the selected airport as an alternate. Once again, this is based on the weather reports or forecasts. The ability to include “reports and forecasts” in this decision is important. On a relatively short flight, reports may be more meaningful than a forecast. You can also determine trends by examining a series of reports versus relying solely on a forecast.

The same regulation that outlines whether or not an alternate is required, FAR 91.169, also specifies the weather conditions that a filed alternate airport must meet. These rules are designed to build some extra ceiling and visibility margins above the approach minimums to make it as much of a sure thing as possible if you actually have to divert. The weather reports or weather forecasts, or a combination of them, indicate that, at the estimated time of arrival at the alternate airport, the ceiling and visibility at that airport will be at or above the following weather minima:

A ceiling of at least 600 feet and a visibility of two statute miles if the airport has a precision approach (ILS Approach)
A ceiling of at least 800 feet and a visibility of two statute miles if the airport has a non-precision approach (RNAV/GPS or VOR)

The key point here is that those are the standard alternate minimums, but there are exceptions and many airports have nonstandard alternate minimums that may require a forecast of higher ceilings and/or higher visibility. To determine if an airport has nonstandard alternate minimums or another exception, reference the chart for the planned instrument approach and look for a black triangle with the letter A:

This symbol indicates that nonstandard alternate minimums apply and you need to refer to the IFR Alternate Airport Minimums reference. If you are using paper charts, these can be found in the front of the approach chart book. If you are a ForeFlight user, navigate to the Airports screen, select the Procedures tab, select Arrival and then Alternate Minimums.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the majority of the airports include the line “NA when local weather not available”, which simply means you can’t plan to fly that approach at the alternate airport if the AWOS or ASOS is out of service (or in very rare cases the ATIS).

Next, you’ll see instrument approaches with notes indicating that higher alternate minimums are needed if you are planning to fly that approach. For example, at Pellston, MI (PLN), if your only option is to fly the RNAV Rwy 5 approach based on strong winds out of the northeast, the forecast would need to be for 900 foot ceilings and 2 miles visibility for Category A and B speeds for you to be able to file PLN as a legal alternate airport.

The last thing to pay attention to is that just because one instrument approach has nonstandard alternate minimums listed, it doesn’t mean that it applies to all the approaches at the airport. Take a look at Jackon, MI (JXN), and you’ll see that the ILS Rwy 25 approach chart shows the black A symbol with the notes that you cannot plan to use Jackson as an alternate airport and fly the ILS when the local weather is not available and/or the tower is closed:

There are actually five instrument approaches at JXN and if the RNAV 32 looks like a viable option, you can use the standard alternate minimums (forecast of 800 foot ceilings and 2 SM visibility) since there is no black A symbol on the chart. This means you can legally file JXN as an alternate even if your planned arrival time is after hours when the control tower is closed.

Additional GPS Approach Considerations

There is one last legal consideration when planning for the alternate and it relates to the avionics in your panel. The first generation of IFR-approach GPS receivers were approved to fly LNAV-only approaches and require the pilot to verify receiver autonomous integrity monitory (RAIM) will be available during the approach (e.g. Bendix/King KLN94, the original Garmin 430/530/G1000).

If you are flying today with one of these systems, you can only plan to fly an RNAV approach based on LNAV minimums at either the destination OR alternate airport, but not at both. From a practical standpoint, this means that if your original destination only has RNAV approaches, your alternate airport must have an approved instrument approach procedure, other than GPS, that is anticipated to be operational and available at the estimated time of arrival, and which the aircraft is equipped to fly.

The current generation of GPS navigators which include WAAS capability (e.g. Garmin 430W/GTN650/G1000 NXi) provide additional flexibility when it comes to alternate planning with one exception. You can plan to fly RNAV approaches at both the destination and the alternate, but for flight planning purposes, you have to make the assumption that you will be flying to the LNAV minimums. The reasoning here is to build extra safety margins as the LNAV minima will be higher than LPV minimums and helps to provide additional assurance that you will be able to complete the approach when arriving at the alternate.

Keep in mind, this is just for planning purposes; if you actually divert to the planned alternate, the rules say it’s perfectly ok to still fly the LPV approach when you get there. And it is also perfectly fine to select a diversion airport other than what was filed if the circumstances warrant.

Which weather forecast should you use?

We just spent a lot of time reviewing alternate airport selection criteria that is 100% dependent on the weather reports and forecast for the time of arrival. If you’re flying to a larger airport that publishes a TAF, that forecast type is your main product for determining the ceiling height and visibility for your destination and alternate airport. Pay close attention to TEMPO or PROB30 periods that apply to your arrival time as you’ll need to use the ceiling or visibility listed here for legal planning, even if it’s just speculation on the part of the forecaster.

If your destination or alternate doesn’t offer a TAF, you’ll need to use the Graphical Forecast for Aviation resource, available here. This provides a model-based forecast for the entire U.S., showing expected cloud bases and tops 18 hours into the future. You can enter your flight plan at the top right of the map, select the Clouds overlay, and then Bases from the top left of the map. Drag the time slider to your planned arrival time and zoom in on your destination to see the forecast ceilings. You can check the forecast visibility the same way, by selecting the CIG/VIS layer. The resolution of the color-shading isn’t great, but it is helpful to locate areas where the visibility or ceiling is forecast to be better (or worse) than the location of your destination airport.

Flight Planning vs. Reality

Everything we’ve discussed so far relates to flight planning only and the process to choose an alternate airport for the IFR flight plan form. While it may seem arduous, it is designed to make you do your homework and ensure that is always a viable alternate airport available for every flight.

Keep an eye on the weather as you approach the destination, using both ADS-B datalink weather, and by tuning in the local ATIS/AWOS.

For a three hour cross-country flight, this is probably done at least an hour before takeoff, meaning at least four hours before you actually arrive at your destination. The reality is that the weather doesn’t know or care what was forecast in the TAF, and is often much different when established on the approach.

Keep an eye on the weather as you approach the destination, using both ADS-B datalink weather, and by tuning in the local ATIS/AWOS on the radio. If it looks like the weather will be near the minimums for the approach, it is time to start thinking about what the best alternate airport will be based on the current weather. If it still looks like the planned alternate is the best option, go for it. And remember that the 600-2 or 800-2 ceiling/visibility was just for planning; you’re just looking for the weather to be above the approach minimums for the airport at this point.

However, if the weather reports are showing that the planned alternate is no longer a viable option, it’s time to throw all that planning out the window and start looking for a new option. Again this is where flying with ADS-B datalink weather and an iPad is worth every penny as you can scan the visibility and ceiling reports on the map to help determine the best option.

Keep ATC informed of your plans too, even if you do decide it’s best to go to the filed alternate. They do not have access to all of the information you filed and cannot see the airport you listed as an alternate (and don’t care for that matter), so choose the best option based on all the information you have at that moment in time.

How to prepare for instrument checkride day

February 27, 2025/in IFR Training, Techniques and Maneuvers/by Eric Radtke

No one enjoys being evaluated, but the checkride is a necessary step.

Checkride day is finally here – the end of one chapter in your aviation journey filled with many triumphs and challenges unique to flight training. Only the satisfaction of putting your knowledge, skills and decision-making ability you’ve accumulated into the checkride remain.

While it’s important to understand, by virtue of your instructor’s endorsement, that you’ve met all of the requisite knowledge, experience, and skill elements to become a pilot, it doesn’t completely alleviate the inevitable checkride jitters. A good examiner will approach the checkride of the mindset that you’re a licensed pilot unless given reason to believe otherwise. This is an important distinction from the belief that it’s up to you to prove your worth.

I’m convinced no one actually enjoys the checkride environment. The thought of an examiner, who may be someone unfamiliar, carefully analyzing your every response, decision and input can rattle you to the core unless properly managed. There are those who possess more confidence, either through preparedness or ignorance, and those who naturally excel in the high-stakes checkride setting. But given the option between evaluation and not, suffice it to say we’d all retreat to safety and comfort.

But no matter the side of the coin you find yourself on, the checkride is the necessary and required step for certification so let’s look at what to expect, how to prepare, and how to settle the nerves.

Don’t wait until checkride day to meet your examiner.

1) Don’t wait until checkride day to meet your examiner. While the onus should be on your CFI or flight school to ensure you’re property introduced and briefed as to what to expect from the examiner, do your part and insist on learning as much as you can about the individual and the exam profile. No, this isn’t cheating. Quite the contrary. This is a wise, prudent step in preparing for the big day. Nearly all examiners have their “thing” they may wish to emphasize or teach and if it’s important enough to test, it’s important enough to teach and learn.

Does the examiner have a typical cross-country and diversion scenario? Does the examiner prefer to combine maneuvers? Is there an airport the examiner enjoys visiting? Does the examiner have a preferred emergency scenario? Will the examiner insist on examining aircraft logs? Does the examiner fully embrace your electronic charts? For an IFR checkride, what are the most likely instrument approaches?These are some questions you may consider answering in advance of the checkride.

2) Set the stage for success by ensuring the details are complete. This begins with a review of experience requirements for the certification itself. It’s wise to be versed in these requirements and know where the elements are documented in the logbook. Written test results should be in hand with an understanding of deficient knowledge areas. Be sure to have payment in an acceptable form at the ready. Sporty’s offers interactive checkride checklists within its online courses to ensure you’ve complete the details.

Complete your performance planning before the checkride.

3) Know the certification standards which are the examiner’s guidebook. Have a thorough understanding and even a copy of the standards with you so it may be referenced if necessary. Don’t panic if you haven’t spent much time in the certification standards. Your instructor will have been teaching to these standards along the way, but it would still be a worthy investment of your checkride preparation time, to familiarize yourself with the guidance.

4) Have aircraft logbooks and/or records available. Many examiners will expect the pilot to demonstrate aircraft airworthiness with a review of the aircraft logbooks. While you may be able to recite, chapter and verse, the required aircraft inspections, you may be asked to take it a step further by locating those required checks in the aircraft and engine logs. Don’t make checkride day the first time for opening an aircraft log.

5) Complete weight and balance, performance, and cross-country planning. A basic expectation of any checkride is flight planning. You may be asked to prepare a cross-country flight plan. Suffice it to day, weight and balance and performance data should be a part of this preparation. Check and double check your work and be prepared to explain how the information was derived especially when using flight planning apps. Most examiners will use the flight plan as a means to exploring other areas of the certification standard typically contained in the oral phase. Even if you’ve transitioned to the flight phase of the checkride, oral questioning can and likely will continue.

6) Take charge and be in command. Transitioning to the flight phase, consider that part of the examiner’s evaluation includes your ability to make safe, sound decisions and be the pilot-in-command. Take control (command) of the situation and make your own definitive go/no-go decision and carry this mantra all of the way though your flight. If you don’t like how a situation is unfolding, take action. Perfection is not a passing requirement, but good decisions are.

Review the required ACS maneuvers so the procedures are fresh.

For your checkride, DO:

Learn the examiner ahead of your checkride and study the expected profile.
Complete the details – 8710 application, logbook, written exam results, flight plan, payment all in order.
Review all of the airspace and chart symbology along the cross-country route ahead of the checkride to ensure that it is understood.
For an IFR checkride, review all likely instrument approach procedures
Study your aircraft’s limitations and memory items. Examiners are fond of using these elements as starters for many of your oral questioning.
Relax in between maneuvers and don’t rush.
Be the PIC and fly as you’ve trained.
Review the appropriate ACS to ensure that you are comfortable and familiar with what is to be expected.
Review popular oral exam questions. Sporty’s offers oral exam flashcards as part of its checkride preparation module with questions and answers of likely oral exam questions. Review a sample from the Instrument Rating Course below:

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[q] Do the airworthiness and federal registration certifiates for the aircraft expire?

[a] The airworthiness certificate does not expire, but the registration expires seven years after the last day of the month in which it was issued.

[q] What can a pilot do to improve the effectiveness of vision at night?

[a] Allow 30 minutes for eyes to adjust, avoid bright lights, utilize off-center viewing and be aware that depth perception is degraded.

[q] To exercise the privileges of BasicMed, what additional documents must the PIC have?

[a] A current and valid driver’s license, the completed CMEC checklist and documentation of completion of the BasicMed course.

[q] When tracking in bound on the localizer, which of the following is the proper procedure regarding drift corrections?

[a] Drift corrections should be accurately established before reaching the outer marker and completion of the approach should be accomplished with heading corrections no greater than 2°.

Drift corrections should be small and reduced proportionately as the course narrows. By the OM, drift correction should be established accurately enough to permit completion of the approach, with heading corrections no greater than 2°.

[q] (Refer to the figure below) ATC has cleared you for the ILS 6 approach to BDL. The ceiling is reported at 400 feet AGL and visibility is 1 mile. After intercepting the glideslope, ATC notifies you that the approach lighting system is inoperative. How should you proceed?

[a] Increase the visibility minimums to RVR 4000.

The approach chart indicates that Runway 6 features ALSF-2 approach lighting. The top left of the chart states to increase the RVR to 4000 when the ALSF-2 lighting system is inoperative.

[x] If you found this helpful, Sporty’s Instrument Rating Course has flashcards for all topics on IFR flying.
Sharpen your skills or prepare for the knowledge test with Flashcard mode in Study Sessions.

[restart]

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For your checkride, DON’T:

Study obscure regulatory or AIM entries searching for the needle in the haystack.
Memorize answers. Learn the material, not someone else’s summary of the material.
Cram up to checkride time. Once you’re within a few hours of the exam, put the books down and relax.
You can always be better and no one expects perfection. When your CFI says you’re ready, go for it.
If you make a mistake, own it and move on.
Depart from your routine. Begin and end your days as you ordinarily would.
Second guess. Your first instinct is usually correct.

Examiners have a job to do, but they are people and pilots just like you. If there is some question of what is being asked, ask for clarification. Communication is key to the examiner understanding your thought process and decision making. Checkrides have plenty of emotion and pressure that will hopefully allow you to excel. Don’t bring unnecessary pressure or emotion to the flight by overreaching or trying to do too much. Fly like you’ve trained and be the PIC.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

How to Choose the Best Alternate Airport for Your IFR Flight: A Pilot’s Guide

How to prepare for instrument checkride day

How to Choose the Best Alternate Airport for Your IFR Flight: A Pilot’s Guide

How to prepare for instrument checkride day

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

How to Choose the Best Alternate Airport for Your IFR Flight: A Pilot’s Guide

IFR Alternate Airport Planning

Legal requirements for selecting an alternate airport

Additional GPS Approach Considerations

Which weather forecast should you use?

Flight Planning vs. Reality

How to prepare for instrument checkride day

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