One of the most commonly used acronym in IFR, or instrument flying, if called the 5 Ts:

1. Turn – Turn to the Course Heading
2. Time – Start the Time
3. Twist – Tune the Radio (VOR etc) and/or Twist the CDI
4. Throttle – Reduce the throttle; Go Down (descent) or Slow Down
5. Talk – Talk to the ATC

The 5 Ts are to be carried out in the order or preference noted above. Note, that Talk is all the way down the list. In other words, if you remember the Aviate, Navigate, Communicate, Manage checklist, talking comes after we have the aircraft under proper control and it is going where it is supposed to go. A lot of novice pilots in training initially have the tendency to prioritize the talking part. No need to buddy. Talking is at the bottom of our list.

With practice, you’ll be able to carry out all these procedures as a second nature. And the key word here is practice. And this is where the chair flying or dry flying comes in very handy. We will talk about the chair flying in one of our future articles. Here, watch this video and see if this makes any sense. If not, watch it again, and again until it does. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments section below.