Does this seem like a good idea to you?

Take one student who you’ve just about trained to stop fixating on the instrument panel and look-out-the-damn-window-already, what would you think is the next logical thing to do? Obviously it would be to get her to wear something that limits her vision to the aforementioned panel and prevents her from seeing outside at all.

Welcome to the joys of instrument flying. Fun (or not) in so many ways. Firstly, yep I’ve just about got myself out of the habit of instrument fixation and moved on to judging stuff visually, to the point where I could probably fly a reasonable circuit with no ASI at all. Secondly you have to wear a highly fashionable view limiting device, more on that later and thirdly it just sounds like a really bad idea, period.

OK so fashion accessory time, you have a choice, the delightfully named “foggles” or the hood a.k.a “the cone of shame”*. I chose the former because they fit around my head cam better than the hood.

Foggles and  Hood

 If you think that they look like someone has taken a pair of lab glasses and attacked them with whiteout** then you’re not far off the mark. Wearing them is OK I guess, not too uncomfy although I am wondering just what else I’m going to be expected to fit on my head! It currently sports sunglasses, headset, headcam and now the goggles of doom. I really don’t think there’s room for anything else.

I actually managed the instrument work pretty well. Good enough that Bob said he was impressed for a first attempt. I don’t remember the last thing I did that I managed well from the start so it is kind of nice to be able to manage this without too much trouble. Just need practice now. The downside of it was that although I’m not really that prone to airsickness, you can start to feel nauseated fairly quickly behind those things. Its also a tiny bit disconcerting to suddenly remove the things and have no clue where you actually are.

Anyways I succeeded in both flying the plane under instrument conditions and keeping my breakfast where it belonged. A good flight by all counts!

 

* An homage to the movie "UP", the singularly most depressing film I have ever watched!

** Tippex to the Brits