IFR ticket

[W.J.Langholz]

I had not had a hood on for a long time, 20+ years, and then it was very little time. I got the bright idea that it would be good for and old dog to learn new tricks so I thought I should get my IFR ticket.
Well last evening I went up with a CFI and had a hood on for about and hour. When i took it off it was already dark and I just had a really hard time focusing in on a normal landing. I had a headache that wouldn't go away. It was like, yuck, do I really want to do this? Maybe I just pushed too hard at one time. Is this normal????

W.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Seems like you were under a lot of stress. Probably a normal reaction. Don't give up based on this experience. It really does get easier and the stress level will be reduced.

[Robert Eilers]

Flying under the hood for an extended period of time - an hour can be a long time under the hood without breaks, if you have not experienced it for a while - and can be fatigueing especially if you are performing multiple approaches one after the other and flying the missed apporach procedures as well. The concentration a good instrument scan requires when you are out of practice can produce headaches. Other contributing factors may include eye glasses - many eye glasses prescribed for near vision or reading don't work well under the hood. Most instrument panels are just a little to far away when looking through reading glasses. Also the position of your head can be a factor. If the hood is not placed on the head correctly it may cause the wearer to fly in a head down position which can result in straining of the neck and shoulders. There is some transition required when switching from flying under the hood to flying VFR. A night transition may be more difficult if you have been staring into bright panel lights for an hour. I believe you will find subsequent flights under the hood easier as you become more proficient.

[johneeb]

Willie,
It would not hurt to check the CO content of your cockpit.

[1SeventyZ]

I know that if I'm even a little stressed in the cockpit for more than 30 minutes, my neck tightens up like a drum, and I end up with a headache that lasts the rest of the day.

[c170b53]

After the 2 min ride on the Wildfire in Branson, that probably explains my 4 hour headache.