ILS Approach Down to Minimums Cirrus SR22 with Low Visibility

This flight was done on January 31, 2016

We flew from Boca Raton, FL to Waukegan, IL with a stop at Gwinnett County in Georgia.

The flight was IFR all the way and especially so in Indiana and the Chicago area.

Waukegan was reporting low IFR all day and at that time it was reporting 1 1/2 mile in mist and 200 overcast. It turned out to
be 1 1/2 mile in mist with 300 overcast.

Miss Grace performed great on this flight like she always does. What a way to travel.

Flying this airplane down to minimums was my first (I have done it several times with other aircraft). What I found interesting is how easy it was in the Cirrus. Its stability and flying accuracy is key when it comes to such conditions. The airplane made it easier for me.

I slowed Miss Grace down to 120 before the initial approach fix and then to 90 before the final approach fix and it worked just
great. We flew that approach like if we have flown it another 10 times together.

Great confidence booster!!!! Thank you Miss Grace!

The anti-ice was good to have on board and although we did turn it on while on final decent into Waukegan, there were just couple of spots of trace ice. However, having anti-ice gives the extra piece of mind to be able to get out of a tricky and dangerous situation before it gets out of hand.

Soon I will publish the full video from Boca to Waukegan. Look for that one. And soon after that, the return flight back to Boca with a very interesting diversion for thunderstorms and a GPS approach down to minimums again. Look for that too!

As always, thank you for watching and liking my videos, it gives me an extra reason to go fly.

Thanks to my buddy Jason for hopping along!

Music by Deadmau5 - Ebort

[breddi]

Great video. Currently in IFR training. Very inspiring to see you calmly execute this precision approach. Thanks for sharing!

[Windtee]

Great flying as usual, Niko!

One of aviation's best ways to grow rock solid flight-experience is to fly multi-state IFR in both IMC and VMC.

Congrats on the new bird!

[gomphrena-beautifulflower-]

I never knew when you touched down! "Smooth operator" Nico!

[unwiredcowboy]

Nice job Niko. Coupled approach in the Cirrus is an IFR game changer. I recently did an IFR flight in my SR20 where I had to descend through a layer and picked up some real rime for the first time. I learned something valuable as I should have asked ATC to keep me above the layer longer while vectoring me to the FAF so I would spend less time in the soup. When I landed I had to remove some ice from the leading edges before my return trip. Corrected the issue on the return home by building up speed below the overcast layer and accelerating up through it (1, 000') to get on top quickly. I asked to stay on top longer before my descent to land at home. No TKS for my plane so I have limited options.

[briansims]

That is one of the great things about flying in the Midwest, the variety of weather conditions.

[porsche]

Doesn't get any better than that. Nice work.

[russellbutz]

Great job and really nice video. Look forward to the next one.

[justcruisin]

Great flight - handled the landing well, cool and collected. Thanks for the video.

[carlhenry]

At 300 that looked low enough can't imagine 200 it would be hard not to pull up and trust the instruments. Very nicely done.

[moealtuwairgi]

Good stuff! I am currently working on my instrument rating out of Chicago Executive Airport, and this really encourages me to keep going. Never knew that Galt has a restaurant, but the 36 foot wide runway will probably still keep me away!

[francobarocio]

Nice Approach, Ufff. ..Niko, what´s the plane you enjoy more to fly, DA42, DA40, Cessna182 or Cirrus SR22, That I have seen in the videos. Thank you. By.

[elton]

Great Video, Great job on the approach, please keep em coming :)

[AeroworksProductions]

Nice job Niko. Another great video too!

[SquawkVFR]

Stunning plane. Saw it on static on EBACE this year!

[jasonbrasher]

sweet vid. wish I had aviation friends. Heck, friends that liked to fly at least. :)

[martingrosso]

Hi Nicko! Awesome video! How do you record everything in the cockpit?

[Herk_Derp_]

What is the name of your theme music at the beginning? It fits just perfect for your channel!

[ExtremeRecluse]

Did you just have the minimums to get your commercial?

[tpaynemm]

enjoyed the video for the actual conditions, but the camera angle was a bit rough. I had a bit of the the leans! And couldn't see the panel instruments either other than a touch of VSI to monitor the approach. Maybe adjust the camera angle a bit? thanks for sharing!

[briansims]

nice flying guys imc at it's best!