Finally, after all my training so far, and flights with endless holds and manauvers, I have now got to put it all to the test in actual IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions = Clouds). With the clouds hanging between 1-2,000' today, I couldn't wait to get up into them and practice holds and do an instrument approach. I filed a flight plan and did a last minute check of the weather forecast before heading out to the plane for my preflight. 
Jake and I departed KBED on an IFR flight plan that had us going to the BOSOX intersection to practice holds, before coming back to KBED. We tookoff and were immediately switched to Boston Approach who vectored us direct to BOSOX at 4,000'. As we approached 2,000' we climbed up into the clouds, and entered a "bright, white room." It was incredible how isolating the feeling was, and how there really is an urge to fly by instinct and not by instruments. I kept finding my heading slowing drifting off after looking down for a second or two, and would need to correct the 20 degrees or so of bank that I had inexplicable put in. Boston switched us over to Bradley and before long we had come up on BOSOX.
As we arrived at BOSOX and into the hold, there was a little bit of blue sky above peeking through, and we went through about 5 or six turns around the intersection before calling back to Bradley Approach to go home. They gave us vectors to go north, and I plugged in the autopilot so that Jake could give me a briefing on the approach procedures, since I have not yet got there in my training. It also gave me a chance to look outside into the vast nothingness and take a couple pictures!
Back on Boston Approach now, we were given vectors to intercept the ILS for runway 11. Jake talked me through the whole thing, and before long we were lined up on the glideslope and descending through 3,000'. At about 2,000', the coolest thing happened; we broke out of the clouds and the runway was dead ahead, lined up perfect!! It was really awesome to see that everything really does work exactly like you study it does. I decided to keep my head down to practice tracking the localizer and glideslope, and at 383' I looked up, pulled the power back and set her down nice and soft. (Chop and Drop style!)Overall, the flight was a ton of fun and a lot of work. Not only was it good practice for my holding procedures and ATC communication, but it also gave me a look ahead at what to expect from the instrument approach segment of my training.
Things which do you no good in aviation:
- Altitude above you.
- Runway behind you.
- Fuel in the truck.
- Approach plates in the car.
- The airspeed you don't have.
