Should i pursue my instrument rating if the workload feels overwhelming?

[Gary_A]

I’m trying to decide if I should pursue my instrument rating next, but I’m honestly a bit intimidated by the sheer volume of system knowledge and procedures involved. The idea of flying solely by reference to the instruments in actual IMC makes me wonder if I’m really cut out for that kind of mental workload.

[PaisleyBC]

I felt that intimidation too, but I started by naming the big fear and then chipping away at it. I signed up for ground school and did a few hours in a flight sim focused on instrument scan and basic procedures, not trying to master every system all at once. After a few weeks I could see a path forward and the fear loosened a bit. For me the key was treating it as a sequence of small wins while pursuing the instrument rating.

[JacobD]

I get the fear of the mental workload. I tried a couple of sim sessions and one real flight with a CFI, and I still woke up thinking I might be in over my head. It did feel possible after I slowed down, but I’m not sure how to measure that progress.

[Jack32]

Do you think the real issue is the sheer volume itself, or how you’re processing fear about losing control when you’re flying by reference?

[TylerRG]

I remember a moment when a mentor suggested that memories of every switch aren’t the thing you rely on. We wandered around the field and then back to the cockpit, and I realized the real thing is your flow of actions and the handful of checks that catch most mistakes. It felt like wandering, but it helped me calm down, even if it didn’t fix everything.