For pilots, why is flying on IFR (“Instrument Flight Rating”) so difficult? Can’t a pilot just focus on their instruments and stay oriented and on course?

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(Edit: “Rules,” not “Rating.” Sorry.)

Obviously I don’t know beans about flying, but I see many stories about inexperienced pilots who get disoriented flying through clouds, sometimes even to the point of flying upside-down. Aren’t there instruments on your control panel which tell you your speed, altitude, and orientation? How can you be plummeting towards the ground and not notice?

I hope this question isn’t so ignorant as to be insulting. I know flying is difficult and complicated and it’s easy to criticize from here on the ground. I wish I was skilled enough to know how to fly a plane. I just see many stories about accidents where inexperienced pilots seem to be making apparently ridiculous mistakes.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s actually pretty easy if you practice a bit. For most people the difficulty is in feeling comfortable in a more structured system where you are talking to air traffic control a lot more and there are very specific expectations for your behavior. The reality is that it’s a fairly relaxed environment full of people helping each other get around.

The other difficult aspect is staying aware of what is happening and what you will be doing next. If you get behind it can become mentally overwhelming and difficult to recover.

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