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?

Question

(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.

In: Other

Answer 1

I’m a pilot who had their IFR rating, and what really sold me on the benefit of it was the first time I was in true IFR conditions. The way I was going through the clouds my body was telling me that we were at like a 45 degree bank, but in reality we were flying straight and perfectly level. Crazy the tricks your mind can play on you when your senses are out of whack