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

One thing I’ve not seen mentioned is in addition to being able to rely on the instruments, with IFR there are a huge range of procedures for when things don’t go quite to plan.
Cloud too low on approach, got to go missed the right way.
Things getting busy? Controller asks you to hold at the next fix. You need to know how to do it in a controlled and predictable manner.
Now what happens when an instrument goes bad? Or your radios? Lots more things can cause issues IFR and you need to be able to handle them.

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