IFR Mastery

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IFR Mastery Monthly Scenarios

“The Most Convenient Way To Gain IFR Experience”

  • Master the finer points of Instrument flying
  • Hone valuable decision-making skills
  • Gain a better understanding of IFR procedures
  • Learn to recognize and avoid common traps

“One of the best training aides I’ve used in my 40 years of flying.”
–  John Graff, Colorado

Online Scenarios That Build Confidence

There is no substitute for actual flying experience – pilots that train and fly regularly are typically confident and proficient. While we can’t put you in an airplane, we can do the next best thing by immersing you in the mental aspects of IFR flying.

IFR Mastery is a continuing series of online, scenario-based workshops. Each month we provide a challenging, real-world IFR scenario that tests your knowledge and hones your decision making skills.

It’s more than reading another article or watching another video. IFR Mastery delivers a powerful way to keep your head in the game and gain valuable experience from the comfort of your computer.

The best part of IFR Mastery is you will get maximum return for the time you invest! Because you are actively engaged, you will learn and retain the lessons in far less time. And because it’s fun, you will want to do it more often.

“When it comes to exercising IFR thinking, the program that I was most impressed with was the IFR Mastery Series from PilotWorkshops. It hits a sweet-spot mix of material to do on your own schedule and interactively, especially if you spend time in the discussion groups.”

IFR Magazine

Regular Exercise For Your Pilot Brain

Each month, IFR Mastery subscribers get a new online scenario. Our instructors follow a proven, step-by-step process that will test your knowledge and help you learn in a fun and effective way.

1. Watch

Start by watching a short briefing video that puts you in the pilot’s seat, and details the scenario you’ll be evaluating.

2. Think

Each scenario briefing ends with several options. Here, you will review weather forecasts, aircraft data, IFR charts and more to help you choose.

3. Choose

Choose your favorite option, then compare your choice with other pilots on our live poll.

4. Learn

After making your selection, watch the instructor’s video and learn which option they chose. They provide step-by-step instruction and offer a detailed explanation of their thought process.

These segments are full of IFR tips and techniques!

5. Listen

Our instructor roundtable discussion includes a panel of award-winning flight instructors who discuss and debate each scenario. They don’t always agree…and that’s the fun part, where a lot of learning happens.

6. Discuss

After going through the scenario, visit the members-only online discussion forum where great IFR tips, techniques and stories are shared. It’s valuable hangar flying with our instructors and other IFR pilots.

Meet The IFR Mastery Instructors

Learn from top professionals who share their tips, techniques and strategies. Instructors include:

Wally Moran

DPE, NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

Read Bio: Wally Moran

John Krug

CFII, FAA ATC Instructor & QA Specialist

Read Bio: John Krug

Doug Stewart

National CFI of the Year, NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame, DPE

Read Bio: Doug Stewart

Catherine Cavagnaro

2020 FAA Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year, 2022 NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

Read Bio: Catherine Cavagnaro

Dave Hirschman

ATP/CFII, Aviation Writer, Aerobatics Instructor

Read Bio: Dave Hirschman

Tom Haines

Former Editor in Chief, AOPA

Read Bio: Tom Haines

Mark Kolber

CFII & Aviation Attorney

Read Bio: Mark Kolber

Bruce Williams

CFII, FAASTeam Rep, Aviation Author

Read Bio: Bruce Williams

Kevin Plante

FAA ATC Specialist, Commercial Single/Multi Instrument

Read Bio: Kevin Plante

Tom Turner

NAFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame

Read Bio: Tom Turner

JP Dice

ATP/CFII and MEI

Read Bio: JP Dice

Jeff Van West

Vice President, Product Design and Strategy, CFII

Read Bio: Jeff Van West

Ryan Koch

CFII, Director of Product Development

Read Bio: Ryan Koch

Bob Nardiello

DPE, CFI of the Year

Read Bio: Bob Nardiello

Bob Martens

USAF (ret) Safety Officer, FAA Safety Program Manager

Read Bio: Bob Martens

John Zimmerman

ATP, Instrument Ground Instructor

Read Bio: John Zimmerman

Frank Bowlin

ATP, CFII/MEI, Aviation Writer, FAASTeam Member

Read Bio: Frank Bowlin

Dr. Scott Dennstaedt

CFII, author & former NWS meteorologist, founder of EZWxBrief

Read Bio: Dr. Scott Dennstaedt

Keith Smith

Founder, PilotEdge

Read Bio: Keith Smith

Katrina Linder

Air Traffic Controller, ATP, CFII-MEI

Read Bio: Katrina Linder

Your IFR Mastery Membership Includes:

New Monthly Scenarios

Receive unlimited, online access to all new scenarios every month. Includes scenario overview videos, resources and tools for additional analysis, live polling and detailed instructional videos. We email you when new scenarios are published.

Discussion Forum

Unlimited online access to the “Hangar” (members-only discussion forum) where pilots discuss and debate the scenarios. You can join these discussions any time, or ask our instructors a question. Some of the best learning occurs in the forums.

Roundtable Audios

We get the instructors together and open the microphones. They share personal experiences and additional, detailed observations on the scenarios. Downloadable MP3 audio.

Monthly IFR Quizzes

Prepare to be challenged! These quizzes are short but will really test your knowledge. You will get feedback on all answers to reinforce your understanding of the topics. We email you when each new quiz is published.

WINGS Credit

Receive 3 WINGS credits for every completed IFR Mastery scenario. We’ve issued credit for thousands of completed IFR Mastery workshops! Add your email to the form on our website and we’ll do the rest to make sure your credit is issued by the FAA Safety Team.

Sign Up Today And Get Instant Access To The Entire Library Of IFR Mastery Scenarios Below!

Scenario Collections

48 Scenarios

Approach Scenarios

Approach Scenarios

Lateral Discrepancy at Laconia

Making the Call at Kingston

Kickapoo Cancellation Complications

Best Forward Speed

Foggy Thinking

Vertical Guidance Give and Take

Wanna Walla Walla

No Second Chances

Trusting Your Training

Doubt About The Dalles

Missed‌ ‌Below‌ ‌The‌ ‌DA‌

Baffling Options at Bend

VNAV Goes AWOL

Agile in Montgomery

Boston Bait and Switch

Poor Choices over Richfield

No Approach Here

Lowball in the High Country

Evasive Action in Norfolk

Smoke Circles in Montana

Traffic in the Pattern

The Route to Limbo

Which Approach At Frederick?

Paying The Water Bill

A Lack Of Integrity On Final

1000 Feet Over Ashe Country

Curve Ball At Palomar

Which Way To Winnemucca

Hanging Out Over Groton

Phantom Aircraft At Erie

The Tower At Santa Maria

Maintaining Personal Minimums

The Hills Around Sydney

Getting Into Greenville

A Different Kind Of Approach

Charts At The Ready

A Dizzying Approach

Disappearing in the Fog

GPS Approach at Charleston

Localizer Approach at Suffolk

Circling Approach In Michigan

Fog Over Georgia

Localizer Outage at Nantucket

A Danbury Approach

Approach to Mena

Night Approach to Minimums

Super Bowl Arrival

Circling Approach vs Tailwind

23 Scenarios

ATC Comm Scenarios

ATC Comm Scenarios

Colorado Clearance Confusion

Cleared Through Gateway

The TAA at Tillamook

Changing Plans at Southern Pines

Deviate on Departure

Nice Guy in Newport

Not Cleared for the Visual

Flow Control into Portland

Mixed Messages Over Medford

Lonely In Paradise

NORDO Below The OROCA

Blind Climb At Richwood

PIC Of The Right Seat

To Turn Or Not To Turn

Confusion In Silicon Valley

Three Hops To Oshkosh

Cloud Surfing

An Easy IFR Training Day

North Country Approach

The Hanscom STAR

Trouble Near Palomar

Vectors to New Haven

Lost Comm at Teterboro

23 Scenarios

Departure Scenarios

Departure Scenarios

Anticipation Near Anaheim

Ely Departure

Tillamook Takeoff NA

What’s Up in Watsonville

Which Heading Out of Harvey?

Making It Up at Macon

The Walls Around Berlin

No VORs Today

Departing Under WATTR

Controller Conundrum

Exception Out of Fullerton

Murphy's Law of Departures

Vectors Out of McMinnville

Getting Out Of Houston

Wilderness Trip

Departure at Northampton

Granite State Departure

Am I Safe?

Night VFR Departure

Night Takeoff at PDX

Charleston Takeoff

North Adams Departure

Van Nuys Departure

10 Scenarios

Navigation Scenarios

Navigation Scenarios

Rocky Approach to Plymouth

Wrong Way Out of Ramona

The Day ATC Went Zero

Tight Turn with RNAV

Descend Via STAR

An Off-Airway Dilemma

Canadian Overflight

Night Visual to Pompano Beach

Diversion Decision

GPS Loss Near Rutland

33 Scenarios

Emergency Scenarios

Emergency Scenarios

Overvoltage in IMC

Who Needs an Autopilot, Anyway?

Palo Alto Procedure NA

Capital City Confusion

Alarm Out of Albany

Stuck Selector in SoCal

Looking for a Bright Idea

A Handheld Approach

Zero Vis at Driggs

Rapid Return in Portland

What Can You Trust?

Load Shedding Over Deadman Bay

Bump in the Lights

The Other Kind of Alternate

Attitude Issues at Half Moon Bay

Trimmed For The Approach

Trapped Above The Ice

Not A Warm Feeling

How Much Fuel Is Left?

Heat Of The Moment

Ice Fishing In A Mooney

An Escalating Gear Issue

The Real Best Glide

Night VFR Flight

Cheap Fuel at Logan County

When The Glass Breaks

Unwanted Adventure Over The Rockies

A Serious Attitude Issue

Discovery Near San Francisco

Mechanical Trouble Near Millville

Medical Over New Mexico

Electrical Failure Over Iowa

Partial Panel Emergency

34 Scenarios

Weather Scenarios

Weather Scenarios

Unknown Icing in Minnesota

Checkride for Two

Up in Smoke

Dummy in Duluth

Heading Straight to Nashville?

A Quick Hop to Birmingham

Snowfall in North Texas

Crystal Ball for the Windy City

It’s Only Wausau To Wautoma

Severely Shaken by Richmond

Dataless Over the Dakotas

Sucked into a Thunderstorm

Deviant Behavior

Cruisin' into Steven Bean

Between A Rock And A Hard Place

Clear As New York Snow

Thunderstorm On Final

A Tiny Slice Of IFR

The Lights At Columbia County

Yellow's Not That Bad

Cold Reception In The U.S.

Quick Decision Needed

Who's In Charge?

Foggy Night at Bridgeport

Snowplows on the Runway

Bad Weather At Little Rock

Thunderstorm over Western PA

Icing Over West Virginia

Martha's Vineyard Accident

Icing Near Worcester

Thunderstorms to Nashville

IFR Reroute to Kinston

Headwinds to St Louis

Unexpected Icing Over Oregon

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if this is for me?
The mental challenge of thinking through these scenarios, and learning tips and techniques from these experts, is time well spent for any aviator. Over 15,000 pilots have joined PilotWorkshops’ Mastery programs, so you’ll be in good company, and you’ll see this reflected in the quality of the comments found in our private discussion forum. Having said all that — the best way to know if it’s for you is to try it. You can cancel any time and with this free trial there is no risk.

What if I don’t like IFR Mastery?
No problem — you can cancel any time; during the 30-day trial or afterwards. You can cancel by phone, email or on our website. We make it easy  because we only want paying members who really want the training.

What if I forget I signed up?
You can cancel and get a refund; but it will be hard to forget. We’ll send you a reminder email 3 weeks into your trial. We also send out two emails per month when we publish new scenarios or quizzes.

What if I miss a month?
No problem. The entire scenario library is available to you at all times during your membership. A “Watchlist” feature lets you keep track of scenarios you want to see, and a “Logbook” tracks your completions.

Will it run on my Computer and iPad?
Yes. IFR Mastery runs on Windows PCs, Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Android devices. The only requirement is an internet connection and a web browser. Over half of our current subscribers watch the IFR Mastery scenarios on their iPads.

90 Day Money-Back Guarantee!

If you aren’t completely satisfied we’ll give you a full refund. No questions asked! PilotWorkshops.com has been an A+ rated member of the Better Business Bureau since 2006.

WINGS Approved!

You can earn 3 WINGS credits for each monthly IFR Mastery scenario completed: 1 basic, 1 advanced and 1 master. An easy way to stay current within the WINGS program!

IFR Mastery Free Trial

  • Your first 30 days are free so you can check it out.
  • Your credit card will only be charged if you decide to continue beyond 30 days.
  • We’ll send you a reminder email before you are charged.
  • Cancel anytime online, by phone, or by email. No commitment required.

Price after 30 days: $19/month

PilotWorkshops is proud to support AOPA and its membership in their mission of advancing the growth and safety of general aviation.

 

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