IFR MASTERY SCENARIOS
This month's scenario Turkey Day Turbulence #195 | NOVEMBER 2026 A short IFR hop across Florida turns into a challenging IFR workout as the descent brings sharp wind shifts, turbulence. Do you try again where you just missed or divert somewhere less convenient, maybe even all the way back home to drive instead?Start scenario →
Canadian Overflight
You and a friend are flying to Wisconsin to join a few hundred thousand fellow aviators for a week of airplanes, sun and brats. Your planned route from the East Coast was south of Lake Erie. However, a change due to weather creates a situation deep in Canadian airspace.
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Bad Weather At Little Rock
You get an urgent call from a friend whose wife and daughter have been involved in an automobile accident hundreds of miles away. How will you balance thunderstorms on your route of flight with your friend's urgent need to get to the airport near their hospital right away?
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A Serious Attitude Issue
As instrument pilots, we're dependent on our technology and cockpit automation to keep us out of trouble. This high tech gear is blessing when it reduces our workload -- or a curse when we're too reliant on it. See how a small technical glitch can push you over the edge in an instant.
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North Country Approach
Flying instrument approaches to remote airports can present unique challenges. See how this approach to a backwoods airport went from straight-forward to highly challenging in the blink of an eye. Understanding the IFR trap inherent in this scenario reduces your risk when flying IFR out in the sticks.
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Thunderstorm over Western PA
Cockpit weather equipment gives IFR pilots an edge. You can still get painted into a dangerous corner when your equipment tells you one thing about thunderstorms, while your eyeballs tell something different.. Finding your way out of this tight spot will help avoid such situations in the first place.
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Fog Over Georgia
You have a new glass-panel airplane, but you're not instrument current or proficient using the new equipment. You are planning an important business trip and might need to fly IFR. A local CFI whom you've never flown with offers to make the trip with you. It seems like a good idea, until you get into the soup.
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Icing Over West Virginia
You're cruising along in the clear, but below you is a widespread cloud layer with areas of forecasted icing. As you continue along your route, the weather conditions diverge from the forecast, and the situation deteriorates to the point where you need to make a critical decision.
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Night Visual to Pompano Beach
A visual approach can expedite traffic and save fuel while retaining an IFR clearance. However, visual approaches are not without risk for the pilot. The weather is good VFR and it's a familiar airplane in familiar airspace. Yet you can still fly a perfectly functioning airplane into the ground.
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Night Takeoff at PDX
There are critical parts of instrument (and VFR) flying that are often overlooked. Ride along and discover how something that seems so easy can overload pilots of all skill and experience levels. John Krug offers a unique perspective and valuable lessons on this important issue.
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Martha's Vineyard Accident
You're highly experienced, have made the trip to your vacation home on Martha's Vineyard island dozens of times and fly a very capable, high-performance airplane. While these factors should work in your favor, they can also stack the deck against you in the right circumstances.
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Diversion Decision
It's not unusual for an instrument flight to present challenges that we couldn't have predicted before departure. Making a diversion during the flight is one of those situations you must work out on the fly, and no two situations are every quite the same. Practice helps you prepare, however.
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Localizer Outage at Nantucket
Failures are never good, but the worst place is in the last stage of the approach—especially when you can't do anything to fix it. Ride along as John Krug presents a scenario based on a real situation that happened to him. Nothing is off limits when the stuff hits the fan.
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The Hanscom STAR
Even though you received transition training for a faster airplane capable of flying at higher altitudes, you discover a significant gap in your IFR knowledge while on what should be a routine flight at higher altitudes. It would have been if you review the procedure before departing.
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A Danbury Approach
Non-precision approaches can be challenging, especially when the weather is near minimums. The risk increases when the airport is surrounded by terrain in all quadrants. Add a high-performance airplane that's new to you and a wet runway, and you've got the recipe for trouble.
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Discovery Near San Francisco
You have a problem with your airplane that could be a minor inconvenience or a full-blown emergency situation. First you'll have to evaluate this problem in-flight. Then you'll have to take the necessary actions for the best possible outcome even though none of your options are ideal.
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Trouble Near Palomar
At a critical moment during an IFR flight, frequency congestion can turn from inconvenient to downright dangerous. This is further complicated when there are multiple airplanes in the same sector of sky with similar call signs. This scenario is based on a real accident situation that could happen to anyone.
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Approach to Mena
In non-radar environments, the pilot must fly an instrument approach legally, safely and efficiently without the assistance, or protection, that an air-traffic controller provides. See if you're up to the challenge of managing all the details and decisions without a helpful eye of ATC.
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Charleston Takeoff
You're flying your family to Orlando, Florida so your daughter can fulfill her lifelong dream and "swim with the dolphins" at SeaWorld. Weather delays have created an urgent departure to make it there for your reserved time. Then a surprise puts your family in a potentially dangerous situation.
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North Adams Departure
A departure from a non-towered airport into a non-radar environment at an hour when you should still be in bed, is a tough challenge for anyone. The scenario is based on a real, fatal accident and could have easily been prevented. Don't miss the roundtable discussion for added insights.
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Mechanical Trouble Near Millville
Things can go from "ops-normal" to big trouble in a heartbeat any day, but there's an increased risk of something turning up when an aircraft has just come out of maintenance. Think your way through this difficult situation, which hits you unexpectedly during what should be a simple, 20-minute flight.
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