Accelerated instrument courses in SE MN?

psween

psween

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psween
I have decided that I will not get an Instrument rating unless I buckle down and focus exclusively on that. I should have time and money this spring/summer and there are two programs near me. 360Aviation in Albert Lea, and Accellerated in Owatonna. Both are convenient to me and costs are similar. Anyone have recommendations or experience with either of these outfits? There are also several programs in and around the Twin Cities, but not as convenient to me (I'm just south of KRST). Thanks!
 
I have heard a lot of good things about Venture North Aviation in Cloquet, MN.
 
I don't have any personal experience with their program, but when I was looking into a similar thing, several people recommended Accelerated in Owatonna as a very good school. I spoke on the phone with them, and they were extremely pleasant and easy to converse with. They were willing to tell me in great detail about their syllabus, their instructors, the planes, prices, etc. over the phone. I don't know anything about 360Aviation, sorry!
 
Can't speak to any of the schools. If you are doing true accelerated, i.e. 7 - 10 days flying morning and afternoon, consider going somewhere that doesn't require you to commute far. Also think about maybe staying in a hotel near the airport. You will be shattered at the end of each day and won't have any time for family issues, work stuff or much of anything else except dinner and a bed.
 
I know the guys at 360 in AEL, pretty good group of guys. Seems like they do quite a few accelerated programs.
 
@psween I'm watching with interest as I'm in the same boat and the same area (RST based). Do you hope to train in your own plane? I've looked at some of the accelerated courses and it seems many don't offer training in aircraft other than their rental fleet. The other thing I've seen common is the request to have some number of hours (often 10) of instrument instruction logged. If I had a CFII to get that much time, I'd probably just use them for the whole certificate if they were willing to instruct in my aircraft (the local school is not).

IIRC Venture North will do it without either of those prerequisites (eg. from 0 instrument time, and in your own plane).
 
Is Scott Best here on PoA?
 
I’d check into how many days are sim days vs flying days. Asking for ten straight days of good weather is a stretch in the upper Midwest.
 
My plane is a 150 with a single Nav/com, no GPS or glideslope, so I'll need to use their plane regardless. One benefit I see with accelerated at OWA is they have a 152 for rent, which gets the cost down a bit and would be more familiar in actual flying characteristics to what I'm most used to. The cost to upgrade my plane to IFR useful is likely much more than the course.
 
psween said:
My plane is a 150 with a single Nav/com, no GPS or glideslope, so I'll need to use their plane regardless. One benefit I see with accelerated at OWA is they have a 152 for rent, which gets the cost down a bit and would be more familiar in actual flying characteristics to what I'm most used to. The cost to upgrade my plane to IFR useful is likely much more than the course.
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Go to Venture north they still have the same priced on the airplane even with the gas prices going up. It’s a 10 day but you can fly the instructor unlimited hours. If you have any questions let me know. I was home seeing my family and so I went up to do some flying and I just did my CFII through them 2 weeks ago.
 
masloki said:
I’d check into how many days are sim days vs flying days. Asking for ten straight days of good weather is a stretch in the upper Midwest.
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You don’t want good weather ! I had quiet a few days of actual. Not Hard IFR but the Lake gives you some really good layers.
 
Wonder if Waterloo (KALO) is to far for you? Livingston is a great FBO, great people. Seemed to have some accelerated options. I'd recommend calling them and get how they would help with accommodations, etc.
 
psween said:
My plane is a 150 with a single Nav/com, no GPS or glideslope, so I'll need to use their plane regardless. One benefit I see with accelerated at OWA is they have a 152 for rent, which gets the cost down a bit and would be more familiar in actual flying characteristics to what I'm most used to. The cost to upgrade my plane to IFR useful is likely much more than the course.
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I keep hearing how IFR skills are perishable. Why would you get your cert if you can't fly it in your plane? Will you keep renting planes to stay current, proficient and actually use the skills on trips?
 
Good question. My main goal is to get my CFI (not CFII), to be able to teach my own kids, and maybe do some initial training as a retirement job. The FAA requires the instrument rating and commercial as pre-reqs to do that, so there we are. I also don't plan that the 150 is my forever plane, but it is cheap and capable for training hours. I honestly don't particularly want to fly IFR, and wish there was a 'CFIV' rating that didn't require it. There's also some potential insurance cost benefits, but that's not really a big motivator.
 
Thanks for sharing. You see, I also have a VFR only plane and want to get my IFR rating as well. Was wondering why I’d want to upgrade my cert before my plane. For me, the answer is still probably plane then cert. But I can certainly understand why you want to get your rating first.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Is Scott Best here on PoA?
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I looked into getting my IFR with Scott last year, but my schedule didn't work out. Tried again this year, but saw that he is apparently no longer teaching and was selling his trainer plane. No response to email inquiry.
I am scheduled for Venture North next month!

From the website:
CURRENTLY, OBXFLIGHT, LLC. HAS SUSPENDED FLIGHT TRAINING SERVICES, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
 
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