26 Basic Instrument Flight
CASA Recreational Pilot License (Aeroplane) — CASA Sample Syllabus Lesson 26.
This lesson introduces flying the aeroplane accurately by sole reference to the instruments — straight and level, climbing, descending and turning — and teaches how to recognise and recover from an unusual attitude. It also covers the sensory illusions that can mislead a pilot without outside visual reference, and the actions to take if you ever find yourself in cloud unexpectedly. Alongside the new instrument work, this flight revises and assesses a long list of foundational skills: communication, pre-flight actions and inspection, start/stop, taxiing, pre-take-off procedures, and radio/transponder operation.
Pre-lesson workbook
Section titled “Pre-lesson workbook”This lesson pairs its theory brief with a self-paced pre-lesson workbook — complete it in your own time before the lesson. For each of four topics (instrument power sources, instrument checks and serviceability, instrument lag, and compass turning and acceleration errors) it curates a short video and article, then asks a few questions for you to answer in the space provided. It takes about 30–45 minutes, and we'll check through your answers together at the start of the pre-flight brief. Download the PDF of the workbook to print or fill in on your device.
Theory Brief
Section titled “Theory Brief”The live session builds on the workbook: how to read the panel as a system (the control-and-performance method, and a continuous scan), the sensory illusions that can mislead a pilot in cloud, avoiding and escaping inadvertent IMC, and recognising and recovering from a nose-high or nose-low unusual attitude. View the slides on this page below or open the slides directly.
Pre-flight briefing notes
Section titled “Pre-flight briefing notes”The pre-flight brief (~15 min, immediately before the flight) works best as an interactive whiteboard session, not slides — stepping through the flight plan, the panel grouping, the recovery drills and the threats together with the student. These printable notes give you the briefing components (aim, today's flight walk-through, threats, and a trust-the-instruments airmanship emphasis with a recovery rehearsal) with prompts and fill-in blanks, plus a front page to sketch your own whiteboard plan and running order. Although it will be helpful to plan and step through it yourself before the lesson, remember: modelling the process of the pre-flight brief — especially the recovery rehearsal — matters more than presenting a polished brief. This is why we do it interactively rather than as a presentation. Download the PDF of the briefing notes to print or use offline.
In-flight notes
Section titled “In-flight notes”Instructor kneeboard reference for the airborne sequence — establishing on instruments, straight and level, climbing/descending, turning, climbing/descending turns, unusual attitude recovery, the actions on inadvertent IMC entry, and the long list of foundational skills revised and assessed this flight. These use a portrait layout for easier use on a kneeboard or device. View the slides on this page on the right or open the slides directly, or download the PDF of the in-flight notes to print or use on your device offline.
Post-flight debrief
Section titled “Post-flight debrief”I plan to add post-flight debriefs once I have more experience conducting them, but I'm assuming it'll be more of a personal preference with assessment outcomes than a set of slides.
Useful resources for students
Section titled “Useful resources for students”- The NZ Civil Aviation Authority has whiteboards on Instrument flying introduction, Unusual attitudes and Compass use that summarise the technique in the NZ CAA Flight Instructor Guide style — suitable for the student to download and study before the flight.
- The FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge Chapter 8 (Flight Instruments) covers the pitot-static and gyroscopic instruments and the magnetic compass in detail, and Chapter 17 (Aeromedical Factors) covers spatial disorientation and sensory illusions.
- The ATSB's VFR into IMC topic page collects Australian investigations and occurrence briefs on this exact hazard, including a January 2025 non-fatal case (AO-2025-003) where insufficient weather planning and self-imposed pressure led a VFR pilot into cloud shortly after take-off.
Example email to students before the lesson
Section titled “Example email to students before the lesson”If you are an instructor, feel free to modify this for your own use. Sending an email a few days before a lesson is a great way to engage people in the learning before they even arrive (if they have time and capacity).
Subject: Lesson 26 — Basic instrument flight
Hi [name],
This lesson is about flying the aeroplane using only the instruments — no outside visual reference at all. It might sound daunting, but it's genuinely one of the more fascinating lessons: you'll be surprised how convincingly your senses can mislead you once the horizon disappears, and how much you can trust the panel instead. We'll also practise recognising and recovering from an unusual attitude, and talk through what to do if you ever find yourself in cloud by mistake.
Before the flight, there's a short pre-lesson workbook [1] to work through in your own time (about 30–45 minutes) — a few short videos and articles with some questions to answer, covering the instrument panel itself. Bring your answers to the lesson. The live theory brief then builds on that (about 35 minutes), and we'll fly for about an hour, with roughly 35 minutes of that under the hood or foggles.
When: [day]
See you then! [1] https://open-aviation-solutions.github.io/open-aviation-briefings/recreational-pilot-license/26-basic-instrument-flight/