An instrument rating is a logical and practical next step after acquiring a private pilot certificate. If you will be pursuing a career in aviation as an airline pilot, or flying in almost any commercial capacity (with very limited exceptions for local scenic flights or dropping skydivers), an instrument rating is necessary.
Even if you do not plan to fly as a career, getting your instrument rating will ensure that you are a better equipped and more experienced pilot. By its very nature, the process of getting your instrument rating will give you experience, as you will log additional hours of instrument and cross country flight.
Getting your instrument rating will make you a safer pilot, and if you own an aircraft, your insurance rates should be lower with an instrument rating than without one. Some of the things you will learn while getting your instrument rating include the following:
The FAA has very specific requirements for being eligible for an instrument rating, which can be found in 14 CFR § 61.65 - Instrument rating requirements. To get your instrument rating, you must satisfy the following requirements:
You must also have a valid medical certificate and be at least 17 years old (the minimum age to get your Private Pilot Certificate).
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Many years ago, a group of flight schools proposed to the FAA that if they met strict standards and had a set curriculum of training, they could reduce the number of flight training hours required for pilots to receive their ratings. This was how “Part 141” flight schools came to be. If you train at a Part 141 flight school, then you could be eligible to get your instrument rating in less time than someone that learns with a “Part 61” flight school, or with an independent certified flight instructor (CFI).
However, being able to take your practical test sooner is not automatic, and you must pass stage checks along the way and receive sign-off from your instructor and an examiner. Some people simply take more time to learn than others, and just because you go to a Part 141 flight school does not mean that you will get your ratings in less time or save more money than if you train in a Part 61 flight school or with an independent CFI.
Only you can decide what works best for you. When selecting an instructor or flight school, consider your ideal timeline and the instructor’s availability, as well as the availability of other aircraft if your primary training aircraft is down for maintenance or annual.
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Part 61 instrument flight training does have one big difference from Part 141 instrument flight training. Under Part 61, you must accumulate 50 hours of cross country flight time. The “Aeronautical experience for the instrument-airplane rating” section of 14 CFR § 61.65 states that you must log the following:
Under Part 141, the minimum instrument hours requirement is 35 hours and there is no requirement for cross-country flight time.
Whether you complete your training Part 61 or Part 141, you must also complete what is referred to as your long IFR cross-country flight, which must include the following:
(A) A flight of 250 nautical miles along airways or by directed routing from an air traffic control facility;
(B) An instrument approach at each airport; and
(C) Three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems.
For example, your three approaches might be an ILS approach, an RNAV approach, and a VOR approach. My IFR cross country flight was from KCRQ-KONT-KBWC-KHII, and I completed instrument approaches at ONT, BWC, and HII. I completed the flight at night and mostly while wearing foggles, a view-limiting device.
You will determine an appropriate flight with your instrument instructor (CFII). If you are paying as you go for your aircraft rental and flight training, this will likely be the most expensive part of your training curriculum, so be prepared.
If your cross-country flight is not a route your instructor has done before with a student, be very careful that it checks all the boxes for eligibility, as your Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) will review your logbook on your checkride. If it seems close, do not be afraid to have someone double-check your calculations. There have been heartbreaking occurrences of flights being only 248 miles, and pilots having to completely redo this long and expensive IFR training flight and delay their checkride.
Keep in mind that three hours of your IFR training must be within two calendar months of the practical test. This should be easy to accomplish even if you are doing a lot of practicing on your own.
Whether you go to a Part 141 or Part 61 flight school, you should be able to use a flight simulator to reduce the costs of your instrument flight training. In addition to the training advantages of flight simulators, the FAA recognizes that you may not live in an area where there are IFR conditions, and it may be even more challenging to find an instructor during IFR conditions.
Here are the instrument time allowances for each level of flight simulator.
Under Part 141, credit for training in full flight simulators, flight training devices, and aviation training devices if used in combination, cannot exceed 50 percent of the total flight training hour requirements of the course or of this section, whichever is less. However, credit for training in a flight training device or aviation training device cannot exceed the limitation mentioned above.
It may seem like a lot of boxes to check, but once you have your private pilot certificate, you should be able to get your instrument rating within a short period. A good starting point for your instrument rating is to work through ground training and complete the FAA knowledge test as early on as possible.
A test prep program may be very helpful, as the instrument rating knowledge test is challenging, with a very large question bank. Once you have gotten that out of the way, you’ll be able to focus on the fun part - flying!