My experience recording the SKY-1 flight

[Keith Smith]

Although I've used the TOA departure leg several times in other scenarios for other commercial programs, this was my first time tying it together with back to back approaches VNY. Everything went reasonably well until the second approach into VNY. The controller offered a vector onto the base before I was completely finished with the briefing. As a result, I was still working pretty hard when the approach clearance was issued and I managed to overlook the VLOC/GPS setting (toggled with the CDI button on the GPS).

Interestingly, this is known as the 'fail' button by many DPEs who administer IFR check rides as so many candidates blow through the final approach course as a result of having the GPS in the wrong mode. It took a little while to resolve it, but it worked out ok.

This was a great reminder to me of the amount of work associated with shooting back to back approaches (something that you don't often do on normal end to end IFR flights outside of the training environment).

[SkyhawkY]

I'm not sure how to post on this forum but I'm able to enter a reply here. This is in regards to my experience with SKY-1 flights. "Flights" as in two attempts to pass.

I watched the videos and set up trying to use vor navigation and ignore gps, however there is a great opportunity to enter the radial intersection into your Garmin gps at the SMO128 and SLI251 intersection. Ryan Koch explains it very clearly on how to enter it in the Pilot workshops gtn series under useful user waypoints segment: https://pilotworkshop.com/training/gtn-next-level/.
I passed on the second attempt, I'm no more proud of the second attempt than I am of the first failed. You need to be quick on identifying radials on the ILS Z 16R into VNY after the missed and switching from ils to vor to identify the 1.5 dme from vny vor, then a quick intercept of the 152 radial and set up for smo vor and vtu vor which was out of service per a notam.
I could not access the LDA - C plate from the quick access on foreflight, so I had difficulty identifying SILEX and winged it of the depiction from my foreflight ownship and was off by a long shot and failed. Ugh
Second attempt I was able to identify SILEX by using the LAX 316 radial and the MAP from the BUDDE intersection from the VNY 164 radial if you're in the soup.
A lot of button pushing with little time to process which leads to altitude and heading deviations, I'll fly this a few more times off frequency to tighten up the tolerances.
I avoided the SKY ratings because I found this first one too intimidating, rightfully so, it still is. It's an excellent exercise in exposure to SOCAL environment, gps programing and foreflight programing using the radial intersection of two vor's.

So my lesson from this was to learn the radials you need to intersect on the brief, process them and have them setup before entering the approach. This flight has quite a few radials to intersect and 5 airports to review notams on, not including the alternate, which is always a good thing to file, so at least 6 airports! TOR, SLI, VNY, BUR, VTU and the alternate...

[302HS]

I just completed the I-ratings, and I'm looking at the SKY-1 next. My first thought was similar to yours -- that looks like a lot of work to do in very little time. But isn't that what holds are made for? To buy time? I know the briefing says:

ILS Z RWY 16R approach with the published missed until passing SMO VOR, then request the LDA-C with a circle to 16L or 34R

But in real life -- and so long as my fuel would allow -- I may very well request to fly the entire missed including the hold, turn on the autopilot for several laps at the VTU hold while I decide what to do next, then contact ATC to request the LDA-C after I determine this is the best course of action.

Would flying the entire missed for the ILZ Z RWY 16R be a fail for the SKY-1? Otherwise, I suppose SMO is 30 nm from VTU, so a simple "standby" to ATC when they ask my intentions after hopping on SMO R-267 would be reasonable. This would allow me enough time to get my thoughts together, request the LDA-C, and brief it after getting a vector. Might be best to do this in a slow 172 rather than my standard Bonanza. Looks really tough to do without a decent autopilot. We'll see how it goes...

[Shawn Goldsworthy]

I just completed the I-ratings, and I'm looking at the SKY-1 next. My first thought was similar to yours -- that looks like a lot of work to do in very little time. But isn't that what holds are made for? To buy time? I know the briefing says:

ILS Z RWY 16R approach with the published missed until passing SMO VOR, then request the LDA-C with a circle to 16L or 34R

But in real life -- and so long as my fuel would allow -- I may very well request to fly the entire missed including the hold, turn on the autopilot for several laps at the VTU hold while I decide what to do next, then contact ATC to request the LDA-C after I determine this is the best course of action.

Would flying the entire missed for the ILZ Z RWY 16R be a fail for the SKY-1? Otherwise, I suppose SMO is 30 nm from VTU, so a simple "standby" to ATC when they ask my intentions after hopping on SMO R-267 would be reasonable. This would allow me enough time to get my thoughts together, request the LDA-C, and brief it after getting a vector. Might be best to do this in a slow 172 rather than my standard Bonanza. Looks really tough to do without a decent autopilot. We'll see how it goes...

You can absolutely fly the entire missed, with the hold if you chose to do so, it's just not required. If you need the additional time to get everything setup, you can definitely do that, you will not fail or be penalized for it.

Also, just to note, the forums aren't really monitored that much anymore, as everything has been moved over to the Discord server. You'll get much quicker responses there

https://discord.gg/ZW4DJMp