Instrument Flying

I give this book as a present to all my instrument students upon "graduation". It's my favaorite on the subject. It'll teach you all the things you fell asleep on while reading FAA's Instrument Flying Handbook: FAA-H-8083-15A (FAA Handbooks series) (which is an excellent book also, just dry and full of "just the facts"). I generally don't recommend it to the student in training simply because it is best read with some experience under the belt, so to speak. This book helped me develop my own "personal style" of flying IFR and helped me to become a more professional and savvy pilot. 7,000 hours later I still find it interesting and valuable reading.

When I read this book I was already through with my instrument training, it does contain many great tips and is a very fun quick read. However, I wish I would have read it earlier in my training, the description of the book says it's great for both beginners and experienced but I found it to be written for too large an audience and was left hanging on certain aspects of the book. Overall I did enjoy the book and can see it being of tremendous value to someone who has become rusty, for those that are already sharp this is not a necessary read.

Taylor delivers strongly in this timeless book about IFR flight. Whether you are a strict stick and rudder pilot or a more procedural and technical pilot the author clearly spells out the basic premises of instument flight, from the cockpit to ATC. It should be required reading for all students seeking their instrument rating; it was for me. Please take note: this is NOT a complete guide to IFR flight. Rather it is helpful in understanding and reviewing the basics. This should be one of many books read when getting one's instrument rating or CFII.

This book is filled with many incredible tips for IFR flying. And you don't have to be IFR rated to understand the material. There are many jokes throughout the book but they are very relevant to the topic at hand and help emphasize the point. And they are not overbearing so most of the material is real "meat". The author cites many aviation accidents to show how not to fly IFR. It is really impossible to find anything wrong about this book.

This is a book which appeals to the VFR pilot as well as the instrument-rated pilot. Dabs of humor and tongue-in-cheek comments lighten up the otherwise technical aspects of this common-sense guide to the IFR system. This is not an instruction manual, but rather a readable and enjoyable series of pointers and anecdotes calculated to fine-tune the skills of an experienced IFR pilot, but yet offers sufficient detail so as to provide the VFR pilot thinking about going after an instrument rating an overview of what to expect. This is a reference book that entertains.