Key Takeaways
- Instrument training can increase a pilot’s knowledge of air traffic and provide a broader perspective on flying.
- Building radio skills during instrument training can make communications with ATC feel less intimidating.
- An instrument rating can provide additional options when weather changes and can support charitable flying opportunities.
- Instrument training can remain useful outside the cockpit, including in an air traffic control role.
How Can an Instrument Rating Improve More Than Flying?
Training for an instrument rating prepares you for more than simply flying in the clouds. For some pilots, however, the new skills and technical knowledge needed for an IFR rating can feel daunting. We recently spoke with a pilot whose professional background provides a unique perspective on one aspect of instrument flying that some pilots may find intimidating: communication with Air Traffic Control.
Sam Ramos III has been flying since 1998 and has also worked on the other side of the microphone as an air traffic controller since 2010. Ramos has worked in both Airport Traffic Control Towers (ATCT) and Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON). He is based in the Northeastern U.S., currently flying out of Medford, New Jersey, and much of his experience is in the extremely busy New York City metro area.
Ramos earned his private pilot certificate through a high school vocational program and worked toward airline transport pilot (ATP) certification during college. He acquired his instrument rating in 2007.
“Originally my goal for the instrument rating was to check that box to become a professional pilot. However, I’ve since realized how important it was to have that rating because it increased my knowledge of air traffic, and I believe 100% that it made me a better pilot.”
Ramos studied and tested in the original ATC Collegiate Training Initiative as part of his overall program. When he finished college, the FAA contacted him as a candidate for an ATC position. Job opportunities for professional pilots were scarce at the time, and although working as a controller was not part of his original plan, he took the opportunity.
How Can Instrument Flight Provide a Bigger Picture?
Ramos’ perspective as an air traffic controller has given him additional insight into the safety benefits of an instrument rating. He had read safety reports about pilots trying to beat storms or other weather and flying from visual meteorological conditions (VMC) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). “And that’s one of those things I can tell you from the ATC side: I can tell you how fast that storm cell is moving and if you’re actually going to beat it.”
Having an instrument rating can give a pilot a greater margin of safety in these situations and greater knowledge of the resources available to them.
Ramos recommends that every private pilot get an instrument rating if they are able to. “It’ll open your eyes to a different type of flying that makes you an even better VFR pilot.” Ramos says instrument flying provides a bigger picture for a pilot. He says even radio calls are heard differently as an instrument pilot.
“I realize that instrument flying brings a lot of fear to pilots because of the ‘talking to ATC’ part. But we’re not so mysterious, we’re regular people. We might be a little tough on the radio sometimes, but we’re there to do a job. We’re not there to scare you, we’re there to help you.”
What Benefits Are There in Filing and Flying on an IFR Flight Plan?
Ramos also emphasized the benefits of filing and flying an IFR flight plan. “When you’re flying instrument, you have my full attention (as ATC) because I need to know who’s around you. I’m separating you from other IFR aircraft. “While it is available only as workload permits, pilots flying VFR can also request information and assistance from ATC facilities. This is another reason building radio skills while earning an instrument rating can help equip a pilot when flying VFR.
Ramos has also found his instrument rating helpful while working as an air traffic controller. He assisted with an in-flight emergency when a pilot flying IFR lost their gyros. “In my head, I’m reverting to my own training as I’m speaking to the pilot.”
Ramos walked the pilot through the use of supporting instruments and ultimately helped the pilot reach the airport and land without issue.
Having an instrument rating has allowed Ramos to fly for charity and service. He has flown as a volunteer for Patient Airlift Services, which requires pilots to have an instrument rating, and he has found the work extremely rewarding. Possessing an instrument rating can make a pilot eligible for similar charitable flying and can help a pilot feel safer and more confident when conducting volunteer flights under VFR.
What are the Next Steps to Acquiring an Instrument Rating?
Ramos hopes his story helps assure pilots that ATC communications are a helpful, positive aspect of earning an instrument rating. Pilots may find that IFR skills help them in unexpected ways or provide a new perspective on situations they have encountered before. The education and training involved in acquiring an instrument rating continue to provide benefits for pilots who are able to pursue it, not only when flying in the clouds.
Next, we will look at some of the challenges of training for an instrument rating and hear tips from pilots on how to train effectively, overcome challenges, and prepare for the checkride.
Question: Does an instrument rating only help when flying in clouds?
Answer: No. Ramos explains that instrument training increased his knowledge of air traffic, changed how he heard radio calls, and helped him become a better VFR pilot..
Question: What benefits are there in filing and flying on an IFR flight plan?
Answer: Ramos states that when pilots fly on an instrument flight plan, they have the full attention of ATC because ATC needs to know who’s around you and separate you from other IFR aircraft.
Question: Can instrument training be useful in an ATC role?
Yes. Ramos relied on his own instrument training while helping an IFR pilot who had lost their gyros during an in-flight emergency.
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