A vacuum pump failure on a sunny day is no big deal, but in IMC—and especially without backup instrumentation—it’s a serious emergency. To see how a Bonanza pilot coped with that situation, and learn how you can do better. And, as Radek always asks, we will answer the big question, “what would you do?“

Rob Mark is a lifelong pilot, flight instructor, airplane geek and journalist who says, “I write about anything interesting that flies.ÔÇØ Rob, an award-winning journalist, is Flying magazine’s Senior Editor. He has flown a variety of aircraft from small trainers, to business jets to the Airbus A380. He holds an ATP certificate, is seaplane rated and is a CFI-AIM with about 7,000 hours in his logbook.
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Rob also spent 10 years of his career as an air traffic controller and supervisor for the FAA. He has written four aviation books for McGraw-Hill and publishes the award-winning industry blog, JetWhine.com.
An active flight instructor, he has also written four aviation books for McGraw-Hill. And, Rob publishes the award-winning industry blog JetWhine.com. HeÔÇÖs also a long time officer and a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Executive PilotÔÇÖs Association.
We gratefully acknowledge AOPA Air Safety Institute for creating this scenario they produced as part of their brilliant library of educational materials.
The IMC ClubÔÇÖs purpose is to promote instrument flying, proficiency, and safety. The intent is to create a community of pilots willing to share their perspective, provide recognition, foster communications, promote safety, and build proficiency in instrument flying. An IFR rating is not needed to participate in this excellent forum where we think through the various options from the comfort of your chair, firmly on the ground… before it is you sitting in the cockpit. In fact, IFR and Private Pilot students are encouraged to participate.
We meet monthly when pilots (and would-be pilots) network and share knowledge and experiences to keep our head in the game and build a library of problem/solution sets to draw upon when the Fickle Finger of Fate points at you!
Please register in advance for this event at FAASafety.gov.
Join us at 6:30 pm Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Signature Flight SupportÔÇöPWK
1064 S Milwaukee Ave, Hangar 19
Wheeling, IL 60090