IFR rating

Kritchlow said:
When I did my IR I believe the minimums were 250 hours for the rating.
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I can't imagine when that was, if in the US. I'm pretty sure it's been the same no minimum total flight time requirement as long as I have had the rating - more than 20 years.

Perhaps you did one of those commercial/instrument combo programs? That would account for a 250 hour requirement because of the commercial minimums.
 
midlifeflyer said:
I can't imagine when that was, if in the US. I'm pretty sure it's been the same no minimum total flight time requirement as long as I have had the rating - more than 20 years.

Perhaps you did one of those commercial/instrument combo programs? That would account for a 250 hour requirement because of the commercial minimums.
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This was around 1985 or 1986. Shortly afterwards they reduced the hour requirement to encourage people to get the rating.
 
Kritchlow said:
This was around 1985 or 1986. Shortly afterwards they reduced the hour requirement to encourage people to get the rating.
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Interesting. And it got me curious.

It was 200 hours when you got the rating. There was a Part 61 revision in 1973 Part 61 revision. It shows an existing 200 hour total flight time requirement for the instrument rating and the rejection of a proposal to make it coextensive with the commercial (which was being raised to 250 hours).

I'm also wrong about what the requirement was when I got the rating. In 1985, the total flight time requirement was reduced from 200 to 125 hours. It remained there until the FAA got rid of it completely in the big 1997 Part 61 revision, as you said, to encourage pilots to get the rating earlier.
 
azure said:
I suspect it's very much an individual thing, and for all any of us knows, the OP might turn out to enjoy the heck out of it. :)
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MAKG1 said:
It really depends on the IFR training.
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I agree with the above. The view of training is pretty subjective and it depends on many factors, including weather conditions, airplane, CFII and even ground school.
I always take the position that training should be at least partially fun to work well. And I've never had a problem getting a rating etc.

So OP, do whatever suits you best (within regs, of course :) ) and enjoy it. Otherwise what's the point, right?

Now go out and fly!
 
midlifeflyer said:
Interesting. And it got me curious.

It was 200 hours when you got the rating. There was a Part 61 revision in 1973 Part 61 revision. It shows an existing 200 hour total flight time requirement for the instrument rating and the rejection of a proposal to make it coextensive with the commercial (which was being raised to 250 hours).

I'm also wrong about what the requirement was when I got the rating. In 1985, the total flight time requirement was reduced from 200 to 125 hours. It remained there until the FAA got rid of it completely in the big 1997 Part 61 revision, as you said, to encourage pilots to get the rating earlier.
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200 hours sounds right.. I wasn't positive of the exact number, but I knew it was more than it is today.
 
mjburian said:
Maybe you should head somewhere for a finish up course? If you have all of the knowledge and time (other than the IR XC), I'm guessing you could finish the rating in 2-3 days. And it'd give you an excuse to fly somewhere and maybe even give you some experience in actual IMC, depending on where/when you get that training.
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It'd take a few more hours to get back in the scan process as well, besides the written. I'm not in a hurry, but figure at least another 10 or so flying to get all of the holding and various approaches back down. I practice a little now and then setting things up without foggles and my CFI buddies insist on giving me a big dose of hood time on flight reviews, unfortunately they are not CFII only CFI ... I have a California trip approaching, but because of work constraints can't chance the weather so have to fly spam can on that short vacation.
 
You should have at least 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time and At least 15 hours of instrument flight training from an authorized instructor.
 
Kim Smith said:
You should have at least 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time and At least 15 hours of instrument flight training from an authorized instructor.
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That's for the checkride. He was talking about how much experience he needs prior to starting his Instrument Training.
 
Thanks everyone for your input. A few different opinions but it sounds like experience and being comfortable in the cockpit are the common denominator.

I was just talking with a pilot friend of mine who said he did his in a little over a month when he was about 22 (20 years ago). About how long did it take you guys/gals?
 
About 6weeks when you took the actual number of days I trained and placed them back to back.

When you put them on a real calendar with life, scheduling, and airplane MX difficulties, about 1.85 years.
 
I did mine in 3 months.

And that was stretching it IMO. It's a rating that you need to immerse yourself in and get done. If you stretch it out over 6 months and all your flying over that time is sweating under the hood, you'll hate flying by the time you are done.

My encouragement is to do it accelerated if you can. There are several places that will do it over a 2 week period for a good price. If you can't do that, make sure you have an instructor locally and the time to power through it.
 
Instrument rating can be obtained pretty fast if all your stars align and you are a bright individual.
I was hoping to get mine last spring while the weather was still only warm. (it gets to 110's here in the summer) My plan was to jump on ground school, read books, knock out the written and go fly for a month and finish with a checkride.
But as others mentioned: weather, mx, scheduling - all that will work against you. As it did against me. I finally took my checkride this January. So all-in-all, all the delays made my training time expand to maybe 10 months. Not happy but I could not change it.
If you go to one of the accelerated/condensed training schools, you can knock our your IR in a week. But they do require certain qualifications, including knowledge test done etc.
YMMV
 
I built 400 VFR hours before starting my IFR training. I should have started sooner, but better late than never. The breaking point for me was the cloudiest, rainiest summer on record. (17 hours of flight time that summer--awful!) I trained for less than 6 months to get the rating. The exam was the biggest PITA (much of it not relevant to practical IFR flight, but you have to pass it). The training was pretty uneventful, and I flew in lots of actual. By the time I put in my 40 hours, I was well-qualified for the flight check. The IR is the most important thing you can do to improve flight safeety and flight precision. IFR takes all the uncertainty out of MVFR flying.
 
I started my IFR training as soon as I got my PPL. All of my XC hours were under the hood. I did all of my ground training on my own at night. 6 weeks from the time I got my PPL to my IFR endorsement but it was a lot of work and a big time commitment. Check ride was right at 40 sim/actual so it's not like you need the 40 hours of training just 40 hours of experience. You are only required to get 15 hours of training.

With all of that said, sure it can be done quickly and easily, but does not mean it should be. IMC is no joke. I did mine for insurance and to be a better pilot. Not to actually go in the soup as an inexperienced pilot. Although I recently did a long XC business trip and brought my CFII with me as an insurance policy. Did not need him at all in hindsight but I learned a ton and wild bring him again in a heart beat!!
 
I spent a decade studying just about any material imaginable (IFR magazine, books, etc)...

Once I signed up with PIC courses, I had my rating in eight days.
 
40 years. Not really, but that was the time from my first flight to the IPC I recently did. That was about 20 hours of flying and about the same on a SIM stretched out over about 16 months. The rating I did in the minimum required time, whatever it was then, don't remember. That was no testament to my skills as a pilot although I think they are just fine. I was young, single and not having to use my own piggy bank for most of it. I was a controller so that part of it was a snooze. For the IPC I was no longer young, had about a 30 year break from any flying at all and had things like actual life responsibilities and commitments mucking up the works. Then there was a whole new Navigation system (push one wrong button or make one wrong click and the GPS has a nervous breakdown.) I didn't know what task management really was back when I first got rated. Back then charts were charts, STARS were STARS, approaches were approaches and SIDS were SIDS. Now the FAA can't make up their mind from month to month and year to year just exactly how they should look and be flown. CFI's have wildly different opinions on what is right and wrong and what is legal and what is not. My hat is truly off to those who do it today while juggling jobs and families.
 
One thing you have to realize, is training organizations aren't perfectly run. Planes break, instructors quit and DE's aren't always immediately available. It's possible to get lucky with a small FBO, local school and instructor and make it through smoothly. But things frequently happen. Combine that with weather uncertainty and the student running short on money and the chances of finishing it quickly go down. There are some "IFR programs" that plug you into a two week program where you arrive with a few hours of hood time and a completed test and pretty much everyone that is qualified gets the rating in the alloted time (maybe a few extra hours for some). The DE is either associated with the school or "plugged in" and evryone knows what to expect. You have to pay transportation, room and board and have the time off to do that unless you live closeby. Either way, most pilots report that the IFR was the most difficult rating, not so much because it HAS to be, just because it IS. Good luck. With perseverence you can get it done!
 
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