To fly IFR in a flight simulator, we plan an instrument route, fly the aircraft by reference to instruments rather than outside visuals, follow the cleared departure, en-route navigation, arrival and approach, then land or go around using published minima and standard cockpit procedures.
What does IFR mean in a flight simulator?
IFR means Instrument Flight Rules. In practical sim terms, that means we control and navigate the aircraft primarily with the panel: attitude indicator or PFD, heading, altitude, CDI or HSI, navigation radios, GPS or FMS, and the approach guidance for the runway we intend to use.
That does not mean we must be in cloud every time. We can practise IFR in clear weather first, then add low visibility and wind later. It also does not mean the simulator's ATC is always correct. Sim ATC can be useful for flow and phraseology, but we still need to cross-check altitude constraints, runway assignments and approach logic against the procedure we intend to fly.
What you need before your first IFR flight
Do not start with a long jet flight into bad weather. We make quicker progress by choosing a simple aeroplane, a short route, and one instrument approach. A basic single or light twin with a straightforward autopilot is often easier to learn in than a complex airliner.
- A manageable aircraft: something stable, not too fast, with familiar avionics.
- A short route: roughly 50 to 150 nautical miles is enough.
- One arrival plan: know which approach you expect to fly before take-off.
- Realistic but forgiving weather: good visibility at first, then lower ceilings once the procedure makes sense.
- Charts or procedure references: at minimum, runway, final approach course, decision altitude or minimum descent altitude, and missed approach instructions.
If you are new to IFR, begin with an ILS approach. It gives clear lateral and vertical guidance and is usually the easiest way to understand how the whole IFR flow joins together.
How do we fly IFR in a flight simulator step by step?
- Choose the route. Pick a departure airport, destination and an approach for the destination. Keep the route simple: direct GPS, a few airways, or a route the simulator's planner builds sensibly.
- Set up the cockpit on the ground. Enter or load the route, check the departure runway, set the initial altitude, tune any required navigation radios, identify the approach frequency, and brief the missed approach before taxi.
- Fly the departure accurately. After take-off, hold runway heading or follow the published departure as briefed. Clean the aircraft up, establish the climb, and trim early. Most IFR problems begin because the aeroplane was never stabilised.
- Track the route. Use GPS, VORs, NDBs or a mix of them depending on the aircraft and procedure. Monitor the CDI or course guidance, maintain assigned altitude, and keep a constant scan moving between attitude, power, heading, altitude and navigation.
- Manage the autopilot properly. The autopilot is not a shortcut; it is workload management. If you use it, know exactly which modes are armed and which are active. Heading, nav, approach, altitude hold and vertical speed modes can all behave differently between aircraft.
- Prepare early for the arrival. Well before top of descent, confirm the runway, approach type, transition, frequencies, course, minima and missed approach. If the weather or traffic changes, rebrief instead of trying to improvise late.
- Descend in time. Start down early enough to arrive level and configured before the final approach. Many sim pilots stay too high, then chase the glidepath from above. That nearly always ends in an unstable approach.
- Intercept the approach correctly. For an ILS or RNAV approach, we want to join from below or from a sensible intercept angle, properly established on the inbound course. Capture logic can fail if we are too high, too fast or poorly positioned.
- Fly to minima, not below them. On precision guidance, follow lateral and vertical needles smoothly with small corrections. On non-precision approaches, respect step-down fixes and minimum altitudes. At decision altitude or minimum descent altitude, either see enough to land or go around.
- Execute the missed approach if needed. Apply power, pitch for climb, clean up in stages, then follow the published missed approach procedure. In the sim, this is one of the best IFR skills to practise because it exposes whether we really understood the procedure.
Which instruments do we actually use?
| IFR phase | Main instruments or systems | What we are checking |
|---|---|---|
| Climb | Attitude indicator or PFD, airspeed, VSI, heading, altimeter | Stable climb attitude, correct speed, altitude capture, runway or departure tracking |
| En route | HSI or CDI, GPS or FMS, VOR or NDB indicators, engine instruments | Course tracking, fuel state, position awareness, level flight accuracy |
| Descent | Altimeter, VSI, autopilot modes, navigation display | Meeting altitude restrictions, timing descent, staying ahead of the aircraft |
| Approach | Localiser or RNAV guidance, glidepath or glideslope, marker or fix awareness | Being established on the final course, correct configuration, stable speed and descent |
| Missed approach | Power, attitude, heading, nav source, autopilot mode status | Positive climb, correct clean-up, proper navigation sequencing |
The key habit is a steady instrument scan. We do not stare at one needle. We scan attitude, performance and navigation in a loop. If one instrument disagrees with the rest, we slow down mentally and work out whether the issue is trim, power, mode confusion or the wrong nav source.
Should we hand-fly or use the autopilot?
Both. We recommend learning the departure, climb and basic tracking by hand first, at least in good weather. That teaches trim, scan and raw control. Then add the autopilot for en-route and arrival workload management.
The trap is pressing APP or NAV and assuming the aeroplane will sort itself out. IFR flying in a simulator often goes wrong because the GPS is not the active source, the wrong frequency is tuned, the course is not set, or the aircraft approaches the final from above so the glidepath never captures. The autopilot did exactly what it was told; it just was not told the right thing.
What is the easiest way to practise IFR?
Build the skill in layers. We would use this progression:
- Basic attitude flying: hold heading, altitude and speed on instruments only.
- Simple navigation: track direct-to GPS legs or one VOR radial.
- Timed descents and level-offs: descend to assigned altitudes without busting them.
- One easy approach type: repeat the same ILS until the flow feels routine.
- Missed approaches: practise the go-around as often as the landing.
- Weather and wind: lower the cloud base, add turbulence and then crosswinds.
Repetition matters more than variety at first. Flying six different approaches badly teaches less than flying one approach properly six times.
Common IFR mistakes in flight simulators
- Trying to program the avionics too late. Most errors happen because the approach was not set up before descent.
- Flying too fast. Extra speed makes every intercept worse and compresses the workload.
- Descending below published minimums. In a simulator there is no real-world consequence, so it is easy to get sloppy. Treat minima as hard limits.
- Ignoring mode awareness. Always know whether heading, nav, altitude hold, vertical speed or approach mode is active.
- Using outside view as a crutch. If you want real IFR practice, keep your scan inside until you reach visual reference at minima.
- Skipping the missed approach briefing. A missed approach is not an emergency. It is part of the procedure.
Can we fly IFR without simulator ATC?
Yes. In fact, that is often easier while learning. We can load the route, brief the procedure and fly the whole thing as a training exercise without relying on built-in ATC. That removes one source of confusion and lets us focus on aircraft control, navigation and procedural discipline.
Once the flying part is solid, add ATC back in. If the simulator gives a clearance or altitude that conflicts with the procedure you briefed, stop and verify rather than blindly following it. Some simulators handle vectors, transitions and approach changes better than others.
A simple first IFR training flight
If you want a practical first lesson, we would do this:
- Pick a light aircraft with familiar avionics.
- Choose two nearby airports with an ILS at the destination.
- Set fair weather so you can still go outside and confirm what the instruments are showing.
- Fly the route using autopilot for the en-route portion if you wish.
- Brief the ILS: frequency, inbound course, intercept altitude, minima, missed approach.
- Intercept from below at approach speed and configured early.
- Go around once even if the landing is available, just to rehearse the missed approach.
That single exercise teaches most of the IFR workflow: planning, radio or GPS setup, descent management, approach capture, minima discipline and missed approach handling. Once that feels routine, move on to RNAV approaches, holds and poorer weather.