Customer Reviews

Rod Machado's Instrument Pilot's Survival Manual

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We all know that Rod Machado is one of the sharpest and most entertaining aviation writers around. Well, he's outdone himself this time with "The Instrument Pilot's Survival Manual." Not only does Rod clearly detail everything you need to know about instrument flying in his usual thorough and entertaining way, but he digs into things you won't find anywhere else -- like how to fly GPS approaches using the latest electronic displays, and the fine points of using weather avoidance technology like lightning detectors and radar. Best of all, Rod delivers straight talk and clear guidance on the really tough challenges we pilots occasionally face -- like what should you do when encountering airframe icing, for example? Plenty of books explain the hazards, but only Rod gives you an action plan explaining exactly what to do. Even as a 26-year instrument pilot and a 24-year instrument instructor, I've learned all kinds of great stuff from this book and you will too. Every instrument pilot should read it and keep it handy for reference. Good going, Rod -- you've written another classic!
Greg Brown, 2000 CFI of the Year

The master has struck again.

There are only a few authors in this industry that are fun to read...and fewer still who research their topic in depth. Unfortunately for the instrument student, these two kinds of authors rarely are the same people. Rod Machado is (mercifully) the shining exception.

Rod has managed to make the impenetrable subject of instrument flying not only readable but enjoyable. Most texts on this subject are far to dry, and are brutally tortureous for the non-technical reader. Rod's talent as a lecturer and humorist shine through again; anybody can read this book, and (while having a great time) learn the principles of instrument flying.

Rod has done a particularly good job of researching and communicating the principles of utilizing Air Traffic Control as an in-flight weather resource, and how to make peace with the new 'glass-cockpit' GPS machines that are finding their way into more general aviation cockpits today. There just isn't any other source on the market today that tackles these topics in the depth Rod has done.

While you should not expect that this will be the only book you need to read to get your instrument rating, it is certainly a 'must have.' No serious student of instrument flying should go without including this title in their course of study. While you certainly could acquire your instrument knowledge without it--why would you want to? Anything else is literally 'doing it the hard way.'

I am an active, 10,000-hour instrument instructor, FAA Aviation Safety Counselor, and NAFI-designated Master Instructor. I am also an FAA-designated Remedial Instruction Program Instructor (traffic school for pilots). My specialty is instrument training. It is from that perspective that I give this book my strongest recommendation, not only for pilots new to instrument flying, but also as an excellent review/update for the old hands that have been flying in the system for years.

I like Rod Machado?s Instrument Pilot?s Survival Manual 2nd edition because his book describes the techniques, procedures and more importantly, the reasoning behind them. Learning to fly on instruments is so detail oriented that for many getting the big picture only happens just before the checkride. But we learn better when we can understand the purpose behind doing something. If you are learning to fly on instruments or you are already instrument rated and want to gain more insights about instrument flying and weather Machado?s book is the one to buy. D Schick, Master Flight Instructor

Unlike his private pilot book, the IFR title is less colorful (very few color pages) and the humor is quite a bit more tiresome. IFR training is a very dry topic, and all of the humor actually got in the way of finding the information I needed. While I recommend Rod's Private Pilot training manual, I do not recommend the IFR training manual.

Too much space wasted on humor, and the page layout made my eyes tired.

There are two kinds of instrument pilots: those that fly in the system because they have to, and those that fly in the system because they love to. Rod Machado LOVES instrument flying. I've met him many times, and I can tell you that he loves thinking about instrument flying, talking about instrument flying, writing about instrument flying, and teaching instrument flying. Rod's the type of guy who you can imagine counting holding pattern laps instead of sheep in order to fall asleep at night. He's fascinated by the smallest detail on an enroute chart, by the challenges of tracking an ADF course in a strong wind, by the deep hidden meaning to be found in a K Index on a Composite Moisture Stability Chart. He's the type of guy you'd want for your "Phone a Friend" friend if you were ever on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and the big question was about takeoff minimums. The type of guy you'd want to be your instrument instructor.

Rod speaks a lot at aviation events around the country. But if you've never made the trek to Oshkosh, no worries. Buy his book. Hell, buy his book even if you're going to Oshkosh...because the information in it will help you get there in the safest, most efficient manner possible.

Way back in high school, no matter what the class, I always hated the assigned text book. So I always went to the library or to a bookstore and found a book that explained the same things in a better way. Had I been studying instrument flying, Rod's book would have been my bible. Today, when it comes to all things IFR, it is. It's true, there are many books that explain everything you need to know to pass your IFR written or oral exam, or to brush up for an instrument proficiency check. But most of them are like those high school textbooks...boring and devoid of passion.

Most of us learned to fly, and add new ratings, because we're passionate about aviation. Rod knows this, and his book is in part a celebration of all the fun to be had flying on instruments. Sure, instrument flying is ultimately about getting from point A to point B. But if you've ever tapped the glass over motionless centered ILS needles to see if 1) they're broken, or 2) you're really THAT good...you know that flying IFR with precision is thrilling. It's an admittedly odd thrill, but we all have our passions. Some people get it, some don't.

For less than the cost of an hour of instruction at a flight school these days, Rod will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about flying in the system...and lots of things you didn't even know you didn't know. Whereas most IFR books tell you what you NEED to know to pass the test, Rod tells you what you WANT to know if you plan to actually use that rating. But wait...that's not all! The book is also chock (!) full of bad jokes you'll roll your eyes at...then repeat to all your pilot friends down at the FBO. And...if you order now...you'll also find hundreds of helpful illustrations in the book that Rod drew himself. He's a one-man educating machine!

In closing, let me put it this way. Owning both his "Instrument Pilot's Survival Manual" and his "Private Pilot Handbook" (also highly recommended)...I can state with complete confidence that if I was trying to learn a new skill...ANYTHING AT ALL...from auto mechanics to gourmet cooking, astronomy to rock climbing...and I had to choose someone to write the book from which I'd learn this skill...it would be Rod Machado.

Buy this book!

I'm an instrument flight instructor, and I often see IFR students or pilots coming in for recurrent training who don't know how to use the real-world IFR system. I recommend Rod Machado's book to all of them. It's one book that takes the arcane knowledge required to earn an IFR rating and explains how that information applies to real-world IFR flying.

Rod's encyclopedic knowledge of flying and his vast experience as a hands-on instructor and speaker makes this book a must-have for every aspiring IFR pilot, rated pilot, and CFII.

Of all the expenses I incurred in getting my instrument rating, the money I spent on this book was the most valuable investment.

After about 35 hours of hood work in the airspace around PAO, I felt I had learnt everything to pass the checkride. However, I wasn't consistent-- sometimes I would overshoot the localizer, or bust an altitude. I had no idea what I was doing wrong, and it was inexplicable that I could do something correctly one day, but not the other. My hood time went up and I was making no discernible progress to finishing up. I was desperately looking for a solution out of my seeming lack of consistency. Finally, I stumbled on to this book at the airport shop. Chapter 3 (Cockpit Conversations) saved the day. I follow the advice religiously now and my flying has improved significantly. My checkride went flawlessly largely due to this advice.

The chapters on thunderstorm avoidance (9 and 21) are also proving invaluable as I plan my trip to Oskosh.

There's a lot of wise-cracking humour in the text, which sometimes distracted me, especially on repeated reading, but there is real useful information in here.

I own IFR manuals by both Peter Dogan and Ralph Butcher, but this books covers some aspects of IFR flying that neither of those books do.

Rod writes well and presents quite a bit of info that is either not found elsewhere or is explained much better than otherwise found from other sources.

But!!! I bought the book to LEARN material and not to read as a novel. Every page contains "humor" or not. Thus, you end up reading quite a bit of material which is of either no importance and or wrong. Like if he explained how to land upside down, then you have to think about it and realize it's a joke and then have a little ha, ha. But, when trying to learn, you just wasted a lot of time thinking about the joke. Perhaps even to the point of confusing you when later given a written or oral question.

If you already have your rating for which the book is intended, then reading this book at your leisure while enjoying the humor and looking for a few nuggets of wisdom, then that's great. But, as an adjunct of other studying for an upcoming rating, I'd recommend you skip this book. If you can pick it up at a store and read a dozen pages, then you may decide against this review, which would be fine.

The book has lot of good advices and hints for instrument flying and I learned some really practical things. Maybe there is problem with my sense of humor, but I don't get some jokes and they sometimes confused and distracted me while reading. It seams that so formal and structured material as IFR procedures doesn't fit well with humor. Although, I must admit that there are also a few good ones. Proposal is: read it, especially if you are beginner in IFR. Experienced pilots should more skim then read the book, but they could also find it usefull.

This book is one of the more difficult to review. While I'm still gleaning important information from it, I find it hard to pick up and read through. I think the busy page layout is distracting, while the text is informative, though sometimes long-winded.

Rod's humor is of the "love-it-or-hate-it" variety, therefore each reader will have strong opinions one way or the other. Howver, even if you hate it, it isn't as distracting as some reviewers would have you believe. When you see a joke coming, skip ahead to the next bit of critical flying information.

My bias is towards the Richard Collins approach, but I can appreciate the niche Rod Machado has carved out in the sometimes overly staid aviation world.

I'd suggest new instrument pilots strongly consider adding this book to their library.