Instrument Rating

Instrument Rating

What to Expect?

Earning an instrument rating opens the door to flying confidently in a wider range of weather conditions by teaching you to rely solely on your instruments. You'll master precision maneuvers, learn advanced navigation techniques, and develop skills to interpret and apply complex weather data. Expect a challenging but rewarding journey as you gain proficiency in flying approaches, holding patterns, and operating in the IFR system under the guidance of air traffic control.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The length it will take for instrument rating depends greatly on your current flight experience. The most time consuming part of IR will be getting to 50 PIC XC hours. This can be incorporated into instrument training to speed up the process.

    The average student will need between 25-45 hours of instruction for instrument rating. This time can be shortened if you come prepared with ground school finished.

    Instrument Rating can be completed in approximately a month with training 3x a week and all hour requirements are met.

  • Instrument Rating cost will vary from PPL because you may come into IR with more experience. The average cost for a fresh PPL will be.

    Aircraft Rental (90hrs including 45 XC)(C-172): $15,210

    Aircraft Rental (90hrs including 45 XC in a C-150): $13,410

    Flight Instruction: $2,700

    Checkride: $900

    Total Cost:

    $17,010- $19,210

    These costs can be mitigated by incorporating cross-countries into instrument training.

  • The best time for instrument training greatly depends on your goals:

    Summer: This is the best time to quickly do your instrument rating and allows for access to more airports to practice.

    Winter: This is the best time to learn about weather planning in relation to IFR flying. Allows for a lot time in clouds and requires more practice with fly/no fly decisions.

    Fall: This is the best mix of Winter and Summer. The weather will allow for actual instrument conditions while not restricting a pilot who wants to get it done quickly.

    Spring: This is the best time for learning in instrument conditions (IMC) with plenty of low clouds and high freezing levels.

  • If your goal is to be a career pilot then the best way for you to build cross-country hours is to split time with another career pilot to earn more hours towards your Commercial License at half the costs.

    Complete your Commercial cross-country during this phase.

    We also recommend doing your instrument rating in a Cessna 172. The larger aircraft keeps you stable in bumpy conditions and are equipped with dual radios allowing for reduced workload.