How long did you wait: PPL to IR?

Irish_Armada

Irish_Armada

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Irish Armada
Just got my ticket. I plan on enjoying it for a while but was curious: how long did you wait after getter your PPL until you started instrument training? Any regrets in how you did it, or other advice? Thanks!
 
I got my FAA ticket on July 7(converted from Canadian after not flying for 30 years); July 14 started on IR. no regrets
 
Still waiting, 25 years on. No regrets. If I wanted to drive a sub I'd join the navy not wear a mask in an airplane.
 
Irish_Armada said:
Just got my ticket. I plan on enjoying it for a while but was curious: how long did you wait after getter your PPL until you started instrument training? Any regrets in how you did it, or other advice? Thanks!
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I tried to plan my IR just before my 1st BFR was due, that didn't happen. I did get it just before my 2nd BFR. I think the IR is one the most satisfying accomplishments in my life. Please don't tell my wife and kids that.
 
Will be doing it as soon as majority of XC met and wallet recovers from PPL. I consider anything less than 2-3x/week straight through to not be worth starting training.
 
Bout 120hrs or so.

Glad I waited, got some good x-country time, night time, etc time under my belt polishing my VFR FLYING skills before I started to work on my IFR PROCEDURAL skills.
 
After buying a 172 and couldn't make it to sun n fun VFR.about 150 hrs total time.
 
since you need 50 hrs xc you can consider each of your trips over 50nm working towards IR.

I flew to every airplane fly in for a year and had over 50 hrs very quickly.
 
A few months. I spent that time flying the 150 I owned at the time all over NM and AZ in pursuit of XC time.
 
I dabbled in it during my 50hr pic xc time building stage with a CFII friend. Didn't formally start until about 4 months after. I had about 200hrs when I finished it I think. Jumped into the commercial shortly after, and then CFI.
 
Took about 2 years. After I got my PPL, I started realizing its limitations plus everyone said IR would make you a better pilot. Definitely glad I did it.
 
I started training after I had 40 hours of XC, and passed the check ride at around 140 total time.
 
My friend who just got his ticket yesterday asked me the same question.

I told him to get 25 x/c hours and then start on the IR. Enjoy your ticket and get to a point where you don't have to stress out trying to make every single flight an x/c just so you can log it.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
But I'm not a real pilot any more.
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I'm in your camp. PPL in 1998, now at 500 hours. My work situation is such that I have so little time to fly that I am considering hanging it up until I retire for safety reasons..... but I've "retired" 3x now and still must work. My parents are 97 and 93, in the nursing home, and supporting them doesn't leave much time or money to fly. So I fly in excellent vfr only and with my CFI frequently....

-Skip
 
As soon as I cancelled a cross country.
 
At 150 hours TT, 107 hours PIC, 50 hours XC, and 35 hours sim or actual IMC, I am finishing up my rating now (1 year later - see my sig). I couldn't even consider doing it more quickly than that. I'm 40, and I feel like this pace is exactly right.
 
I waited about a week. It's good to keep the momentum and routine of training going. No regrets on how I did it. Getting the rating proved easier than maintaining currency over time. I still toy with the idea of going back to cloud busting, but I really don't have good reason to spend the time and money on it now.
 
41 years (yes really)...just starting IFR.
 
Got my PPL in March, 2011, bought my 182 in May 2011, started my IFR shortly thereafter. Did lessons once a week(mostly though missed a few on the way for various reasons) and finished in about a year with just over 40 hours of hood and actual IMC total. Did not use a simulator for any of my time(too much fun flying my own plane). Did most of my XC time while I was training for the IFR.
 
I'm currently saving cash to start mine. I went to the credit cards at the end of the PPL and won't do it again. Also, I want to be able to go straight through once I start. I currently have around 110 hrs TT and 27 x-c towards the 50 required.
 
Did them concurrently. I don't think you can start on the IR too soon. It's part & parcel of using a plane to go places whether you actually fly into clouds or not.
 
Three days. One nice thing about Part 141.
 
One week. I finished about 4 months later. I was moving out of the area and did not want to start over with another instructor.
 
I got my PPL in March and started my IR in about August of the same year.
 
3000hrs and have never felt the need for it. But I mostly fly antique airplanes with very little instrumentation. Don
 
Irish_Armada said:
Just got my ticket. I plan on enjoying it for a while but was curious: how long did you wait after getter your PPL until you started instrument training? Any regrets in how you did it, or other advice? Thanks!
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Congrats man, hey where do you fly out of? Interested in splitting some time?
 
Until I scared myself on a VFR XC with iffy weather.
 
I waited around 8-10 years. It's not that I didn't want to get started, I couldn't afford it. It's expensive but worthwhile.
 
Got my ticket in February of 2012, just starting my IR now. I would have started it earlier, but being a broke college student, didn't have the money.
 
This is going to fall on deaf ears

Pick up the IR written book study guide and start flipping through it and see what you think of the material. I'm at the point that I could pass the flight portion but don't feel comfortable with the written portion. I guess I know what I'm doing this week. <sigh>
 
12 years and counting. Disadvantage of owning a VFR-only airplane. Radios are really, really expensive.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. My disposable cash was appropriately disposed of finishing up my PPL so at least for now I guess I will be waiting for my accounts to recover. I'm guessing I'll start early to mid next year.

saracelica said:
This is going to fall on deaf ears

Pick up the IR written book study guide and start flipping through it and see what you think of the material. I'm at the point that I could pass the flight portion but don't feel comfortable with the written portion. I guess I know what I'm doing this week. <sigh>
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What book do you recommend? I am starting to read Bob Gardner's "Complete Advanced Pilot" just to start familiarizing myself with the material. I'm sure there are many options.
 
I waited about 2 years before starting my instrument training. At that time, I needed to accumulate enough TT and XC time.
 
You don't want to read this message.

I started immediately after PPL, wasn't far from completing and came to a complete stop (was near 100 hrs total and had most of the basic requirement completed except long XC). I stopped mainly due to work (I run my own business), but also because the rentals got really crappy and I had several in flight problems that cannot be detected on pre-flight. I had such a slew of failure in one month that I stopped completely and concentrated on buying my own plane instead of renting. Now that I own my own AC, I've flown 400 hours in it in a little over 4 years (just crossed 500 hrs), nearly all XC. I'll eventually get around to completing the IR, but in the area I live, there isn't a huge need for IR capability.
 
Irish_Armada said:
What book do you recommend? I am starting to read Bob Gardner's "Complete Advanced Pilot" just to start familiarizing myself with the material. I'm sure there are many options.
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Whatever your tastes prefer. I'm a Rod Machado fan personally and a King Schools. Starting reading through it and see what you think. It's alot different then the PPL written. (The PPL IMHO was technical stuff rules, regs and whatnot) the IR is situational which unless I do myself I don't get) My big hangup right now is the Magnetic bearing/Relative bearing and magnetic heading questions. I guess when it's time to get it I will. Just take this winter and read through some stuff and decide if you want to put yourself and your family through tough training. If I had to do it again I'd say enjoy your PPL and when you get to "I have enough money and your spousal unit says 'I want you to get it' then do it" but don't get it for the sake of having it in your wallet. The PPL can be very useful. The IR can also help your piloting skills.
 
saracelica said:
This is going to fall on deaf ears

Pick up the IR written book study guide and start flipping through it and see what you think of the material. I'm at the point that I could pass the flight portion but don't feel comfortable with the written portion. I guess I know what I'm doing this week. <sigh>
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I wish I scored better :)
 
Bill Jennings said:
Until I scared myself on a VFR XC with iffy weather.
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Ditto, except that even after that it took me 7.5 years due to work, lack of a training airplane and CFII problems. In fact it was nearly 3 years after I bought my own plane that I went for the checkride.

My advice is if you want the IR and can do it now, don't put it off. You never know when life will intervene and you won't have enough time to train. (Of course then you have to worry about staying current, which also means having time to invest.)
 
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