Up in Smoke 

Here are the notes from my Instrument Rating training with Field Morey's West Coast Adventures, an intensive IFR^[1] training program based in Middleton, Wisconsin that gives its students 25+ hours of training in a cross country trip to the West Coast and back.  I've written this narrative for pilots who might be interested in pursuing an Instrument rating, and also for my friends who are curious about what I had to accomplish to receive this rating.  In trying to reach both audiences, I suspect I'll entertain & bore each of you at varying points.  Sorry about that!

Once I got my Private Pilot certificate not long ago, it became apparent to me that I needed to improve my skills immediately.  An Instrument Rating seemed like a good way to improve my aircraft control, navigation & communications skills while at the same time picking up some options when the skies are less than perfect.  An Instrument Rating allows a pilot to fly in cloudy skies without actually seeing the ground.

To receive the rating, a pilot must receive training in flying by instruments and fly without reference to the ground for at least forty hours.  It is quite an undertaking and an incredible commitment of time.

• How To Do It?
  Covers the decision-making process I went through and how I ultimately chose Morey's.  Also gory detail of my preparations leading up to the Adventure and the first two days in Madison.

• Painful Westbound
  Exactly how little do I know, anyway?  Madison to Oregon.

• Eastbound Painless
  Well, not painless, but things are coming together down the Pacific coast and back to Madison.

If you live in the Dallas, Texas area, and are looking for a flying club, I recommend RFC Dallas, who have a good variety of aircraft.

Footnotes

^[1] IFR:  Instrument Flight Rules.  The rules governing the procedures for conducting instrument flight.  Also, a term used by pilots & controllers to indicate a type of flight plan.