However, now you've decided to challenge yourself once again by taking the next step in aviation: earning your Instrument Rating. The possible reasons for doing so are as varied as the pilots who decide to pursue the Instrument Rating. Maybe you inadvertently found yourself in weather that was below your personal minimums one time. Maybe as a student pilot, you experienced several weather cancellations when a thin fog layer closed your airport to VFR flight -- but you could easily see the clear skies above (to be honest, this was a major factor in my decision to obtain an instrument rating!). Or even worse, maybe you launched into severe clear weather, but then had to divert to a nearby airport when low ceilings or visibilities closed your home airport to VFR traffic before you returned (yep, been there and done that, too!). Maybe your reasons are even more practical than that, even though you never plan to file IFR: for example, your insurance company might provide a discount on insurance to Instrument Rated pilots. Or maybe you are planning a career as a professional pilot, and now that you've finished your Private Pilot training, it's time to get started on the next step on your way to 1500 hours and an ATP (Airline Transport Pilot) certificate.
Regardless of your motivation, earning an Instrument Rating will make you a smoother, more proficient pilot, and will enhance your ability to operate in the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). It's a challenging rating to earn, but one that is well worth the time, effort and expense. Hopefully, you will find it to be an enjoyable experience, as well. In an effort to make that next step a little more approachable, I'm creating this blog to help you on your way to achieving your goals in aviation.
So, first things first: what does it take to earn an Instrument Rating?
You can find the answer to this question in 14 CFR 61.65, which provides the requirements that a pilot must meet in order to qualify for an Instrument Rating. Here is a rough paraphrase of that regulation:
Aeronautical Experience
A candidate for the Instrument Rating must have logged the following aeronautical experience:
- 50 hours of flight time, including at least ten hours in an airplane;
- 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time in the areas of operation listed below under "Flight Proficiency,"at least 15 hours of which must have been received from an authorized instructor (yes, it is perfectly legal and acceptable to fly "under the hood" with another pilot who is not a flight instructor, and you can even log that flight time as "simulated instrument" time -- see 14 CFR 91.109(c));
- Within 2 calendar months of the practical test, at least 3 hours of instrument flight training from an authorized instructor in an airplane that is appropriate to the Instrument Airplane Rating; and
- Instrument flight training on cross-country procedures, including one cross-country flight on an instrument flight plan of at least 250 nautical miles along airways or ATC directed routing, that includes an instrument approach at each airport, and that includes at least three different kinds of approaches "with the use of navigation systems."
Flight Proficiency
A candidate for an Instrument Rating must have received and logged instruction in the following areas of operation:
- Preflight Preparation;
- Preflight Procedures;
- Air Traffic Control Clearances and Procedures;
- Flight by Reference to Instruments;
- Navigation Systems;
- Instrument Approach Procedures;
- Emergency Operations; and
- Post-flight Procedures.
Aeronautical Knowledge
An Instrument student must also have received and logged ground training on the following subject areas:
- Federal Aviation Regulations applicable to Instrument flight;
- Guidance from the "Airman's Information Manual" (AIM) applicable to Instrument flight;
- Air Traffic Control systems and procedures applicable to Instrument flight;
- Navigation in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC);
- Approaches by use of navigation systems (i.e., "Instrument Approaches");
- Use of IFR en route and Instrument Approach Charts;
- Obtaining and using available weather observations and forecasts, to include personal observation of weather conditions;
- Safe and efficient use of the aircraft under IMC and on IFR flight plans;
- Recognition of critical weather conditions, including wind shear and wind shear avoidance;
- Aeronautical Decision Making; and
- Crew Resource Management.
Disclaimer and Intent:
Obviously, a written blog cannot provide you with the flight proficiency or aeronautical experience that the FAA requires to earn an instrument rating. Also, while I am a flight instructor, I am (probably) not your flight instructor. While I certainly hope that the "ground lessons" I provide here will be useful to you, they are no substitute for actual, in person ground instruction from your flight or ground instruction, and therefore, I will not be providing logbook endorsements to those who read this blog. Rather, the materials I present here are intended to be supplemental, to help you understand the material your actual instructor is providing. Sometimes, an explanation from another individual, a slightly different wording or a different approach to understanding a difficult concept is all it takes for that spark of understanding to trigger the "lightbulb" moment when everything suddenly becomes clear. That is what I am hoping to bring to you with the "ground lessons" I am creating here.
If that sounds reasonable to you, then let's get started!
