Instrument rating

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Dmar64

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Dmar64
Hello, I am new to this site and this is my first post. I have my private pilots license and wanted to move forward with my instrument rating. I am just worried about how difficult it is going to be to obtain instrument ratings. I am an average learner and was able to get my private pilots license with minimal problems. I have heard different stories about instrument rating from being extremely difficult to not that difficult. Like I said I am an average learner and wonder how much studying would have to go into instrument ratings. I am also curious on how long it would take to obtain if at all possible. I know everything varies with your flying hours and what not. I am just looking for people to share their experience with instrument ratings and how long it took to obtain them. I guess my biggest concern is not being able to understand/learn the material. I have heard it can be very confusing. As mentioned above I have always been an average learner in school and was able to obtain a bachelors degree. I always had to put more effort into academics it seemed like then other people. Sorry for rambling looking forward to hearing from you guys!
 
It is not easy, not overly hard. Anyone who is willing to put the work into it can do it. Get the written out of the way first. Find an instructor that doesn’t start with approaches first. The hardest part for me was learning to fly the plane precisely. This needs to be done before approaches. Don’t rush the approach. Expect it to take 2-3 times the amount of time that a regular approach does.
 
I’m about a quarter of the way through a 141 syllabus, so far it’s all been learning to precisely control the aircraft under the hood. The hardest part up to now was partial panel unusual attitudes. I have a stage check next week, and then it’s on to departures.

It’s hard, but in some ways seems easier than the ppl. (In my limited experience.) So much of the private training was so new to me, it seemed like a lot of trial and error just to get the feel of things. Now, I know what to do to make the airplane do what I want it to do, it’s just learning to do it precisely and on time.

The knowledge side is the same way. There’s nothing that’s really new or that I don’t at least conceptually get, but there is a lot of detail. Weather, chart intricacies, variations and what changes on different types of approaches..... kind of like the flying - nothing completely new, but very detailed and exact.

I’m 100% convinced it’s making me a better pilot - both in my thinking and how I actually fly. I believe it’s money, time, and effort very well spent.

Oh, and the most important part - it’s really fun!
 
Dmar64 said:
I am just looking for people to share their experience with instrument ratings and how long it took to obtain them.
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For starters, the instrument rating is just a single rating, it’s not plural.

I think with a good bit of studying and applying yourself you could do it. It has to be better than sitting in an algebra class...
 
Ryanb said:
For starters, the instrument rating is just a single rating, it’s not plural.

I think with a good bit of studying and applying yourself you could do it. It has to be better than sitting in an algebra class...
Click to expand...
I loved algebra! and trig. and calc and diffyq and abstract and......
 
Instrument Rating is not hard, instrument flying is even easier. Have a couple conversations with a few of us with one and you'll quickly realize you don't need to be a sharp pencil to do it. Just have to scratch your way around until someone shakes your hand and hands you paper.
I did mine in college, in my free time, over the course of a semester. I never really felt like I knew everything, but one day I knew enough to pass the checkride. I'm at 100 hours of actual instrument time now and I think I know just enough to not die or get in trouble, most days.
There will always be something new to learn.
 
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There not one size fits all, but there are variables that go into this.

How much total time you have, your level of currency, time in training aircraft.
Complexity of the training aircraft.
How often you train
If you have a sim available.
Motivation level........
 
It's not overly hard by any means. But if your not a current and proficient private pilot it might be tough. And what I mean is aircraft control. If you currently can't hold altitude or heading very well I'd get some time in before hand. Otherwise yeah you got it. It's a fun rating to tackle and even more fun when flying in IMC breaking out on top or breaking out below and seeing the runway ...DO IT!
 
Ryanb said:
For starters, the instrument rating is just a single rating, it’s not plural.

I think with a good bit of studying and applying yourself you could do it. It has to be better than sitting in an algebra class...
Click to expand...
Actually there's a single engine instrument rating and a multi instrument rating--two different checkrides.
 
Witmo said:
Actually there's a single engine instrument rating and a multi instrument rating--two different checkrides.
Click to expand...
But it’s just a single rating. Once you have your instrument rating (ASEL), you just have to do one approach in the twin on the multi-engine checkride (OEI, of course) in order to convey instrument priviledges to multi-engine aircraft.
 
Witmo said:
Actually there's a single engine instrument rating and a multi instrument rating--two different checkrides.
Click to expand...
Actually, there is no such thing as a single engine instrument rating. The rating is "instrument airplane" not "instrument single engine airplane" or "instrument multi-engine airplane."

In terms of checkrides, as @Ryanb explained, if you received your instrument rating in a single, you will be asked to do a single-engine instrument approach during your multi checkride because it is the one and only thing that is different. Do it successfully and there will be nothing about "multi instrument" on your pilot certificate. Don't do it, and there will be a notation in the "limitations" (not the "ratings") section of your pilot certificate that, multiengine flight is permitted in VFR conditions only.

OTOH, if you did your instrument rating in a multi and then get your single, there is nothing to do.
 
The instrument rating is not especially difficult, but it takes two things. One is commitment to doing it. The other is a recognition that more than 80% of it is about procedures for operating in a system where your actions have an immediate effect on others over wide area in a way VFR flight does not. Understanding that is potentially a helpful study aid - realizing most of the rules are there in order to make the system run smoothly gives you an "oh that explains it!" context which makes it seem much less a jumble of things to memorize.
 
Morgan3820 said:
It is not easy, not overly hard. Anyone who is willing to put the work into it can do it. Get the written out of the way first. Find an instructor that doesn’t start with approaches first. The hardest part for me was learning to fly the plane precisely. This needs to be done before approaches. Don’t rush the approach. Expect it to take 2-3 times the amount of time that a regular approach does.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your advise. I am willing to put it in the time especially with something I enjoy so much. It is nice knowing it’s not an impossible task !
 
Volitation said:
I’m about a quarter of the way through a 141 syllabus, so far it’s all been learning to precisely control the aircraft under the hood. The hardest part up to now was partial panel unusual attitudes. I have a stage check next week, and then it’s on to departures.

It’s hard, but in some ways seems easier than the ppl. (In my limited experience.) So much of the private training was so new to me, it seemed like a lot of trial and error just to get the feel of things. Now, I know what to do to make the airplane do what I want it to do, it’s just learning to do it precisely and on time.

The knowledge side is the same way. There’s nothing that’s really new or that I don’t at least conceptually get, but there is a lot of detail. Weather, chart intricacies, variations and what changes on different types of approaches..... kind of like the flying - nothing completely new, but very detailed and exact.

I’m 100% convinced it’s making me a better pilot - both in my thinking and how I actually fly. I believe it’s money, time, and effort very well spent.

Oh, and the most important part - it’s really fun!
Click to expand...
Thanks! How much money will it cost you to get the entire rating
 
I found the training to be somewhat intense. I loved it, though. The actual airplane stuff will make you a better pilot. The written exam had some stuff (20 years ago for me) that I had no experience with - RMI's come to mind - and I had to memorize that stuff. I actually took the written after 30-40 hours of training. I'm more of a hands on learner, so the aircraft and instructor experience helped me with the written. Our flight school also had an IFR ground school, so that helped alot. A few years after I got my IFR, I stopped flying for about 10 years, so I had to get current again. That took me some time, but, like the vast majority of us - I love practicing this stuff anyway, so I was in no hurry. Once you get the ticket, stay current and file IFR whenever you are going XC. Keep those skills active and current. It is a great rating to have!
 
Ryanb said:
But it’s just a single rating. Once you have your instrument rating (ASEL), you just have to do one approach in the twin on the multi-engine checkride (OEI, of course) in order to convey instrument priviledges to multi-engine aircraft.
Click to expand...

midlifeflyer said:
Actually, there is no such thing as a single engine instrument rating. The rating is "instrument airplane" not "instrument single engine airplane" or "instrument multi-engine airplane."
Click to expand...

There are, however, instrument helicopter and instrument powered lift which are completely separate :)
 
KaiGywer said:
There are, however, instrument helicopter and instrument powered lift which are completely separate :)
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Yes. "Instrument airplane" is not "Instrument helicopter." It's the difference between "category" and "class." The instrument rating is category-specific, but not class-specific. Those terms we learned as student pilots actually mean something.
 
I am just starting to work on my instrument rating. My written is tomorrow (1/27) and first lesson scheduled for Friday. Studying for the written has been much more frustrating than the PPL written but it's great info. My PPL written took me twelve minutes to finish with a 94%. This one will be nothing like that. You have to go into it knowing that no matter what, you will learn something and have fun doing it. A life without challenge is a boring one.
 
I just finished my instrument rating in March of 2017. The total cost for me was just a shade under $10,000.

I used a rented C172, and a flight instructor in my home state of Arizona.
 
My experience was that studying for the written was an absolute slogfest. A lot of people say do that and get it out of the way first and I don't think that's a bad idea. The flying is actually not that difficult IMO, once you've gotten how to enter holds down and fly a few of approaches it's mostly about building proficiency.
 
I'm usually pretty interested in most things aviation, but I just re-started studying for the Instrument written and it's like pulling teeth. It's a substantial amount of material to work through. I do enjoy the flight aspect of Instrument training however, and have pretty much all my hours.
 
KaiGywer said:
There are, however, instrument helicopter and instrument powered lift which are completely separate :)
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Then there are the well equipped gliders that operate in "A" airspace.
 
TheGolfPilot said:
Instrument Rating is not hard, instrument flying is even easier. Have a couple conversations with a few of us with one and you'll quickly realize you don't need to be a sharp pencil to do it. Just have to scratch your way around until someone shakes your hand and hands you paper.
I did mine in college, in my free time, over the course of a semester. I never really felt like I knew everything, but one day I knew enough to pass the checkride. I'm at 100 hours of actual instrument time now and I think I know just enough to not die or get in trouble, most days.
There will always be something new to learn.
Click to expand...

cowman said:
My experience was that studying for the written was an absolute slogfest. A lot of people say do that and get it out of the way first and I don't think that's a bad idea. The flying is actually not that difficult IMO, once you've gotten how to enter holds down and fly a few of approaches it's mostly about building proficiency.
Click to expand...

You two sum up well my feelings about the IR...

Also, I often hear "it will make you a better pilot"...I somewhat disagree. Now, if before the rating you are a sloppy, fly by yourself/don't ever use ATC/don't ever fly class B/C/D, VFR pilot, then yes, it will make you a better pilot. If you are already flying VFR with precision, routinely using flight following, and often flying out of B/C/D airports, it will only make you a more versatile pilot.
 
My goal for 2019 is to get my instrument rating. Slogging through the IFH and IPH, as well as Sporty’s vid. How have I done so far? I take “breaks” by doing household chores I hate doing...by the time I’m tired of doing the chores, I take a break and go back to the sleepy videos...once the video has me wanting to slice my wrists, it’s back to housework. Makes the one I’m NOT doing seem like the better option, lol!
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
My goal for 2019 is to get my instrument rating. Slogging through the IFH and IPH, as well as Sporty’s vid. How have I done so far? I take “breaks” by doing household chores I hate doing...by the time I’m tired of doing the chores, I take a break and go back to the sleepy videos...once the video has me wanting to slice my wrists, it’s back to housework. Makes the one I’m NOT doing seem like the better option, lol!
Click to expand...
455 Bravo Uniform said:
My goal for 2019 is to get my instrument rating. Slogging through the IFH and IPH, as well as Sporty’s vid. How have I done so far? I take “breaks” by doing household chores I hate doing...by the time I’m tired of doing the chores, I take a break and go back to the sleepy videos...once the video has me wanting to slice my wrists, it’s back to housework. Makes the one I’m NOT doing seem like the better option, lol!
Click to expand...

When it starts clicking it a great thing though and there is a lot of info in those videos.
 
Witmo said:
Actually there's a single engine instrument rating and a multi instrument rating--two different checkrides.
Click to expand...

Not so. The only way it's two checkrides is if you have your multi before the instrument and you do the instrument checkride in a single, in which case you'll have the "Instrument Airplane" rating on your cert, but also a limitation stating "Multiengine VFR Only" or something to that effect.

If you do the instrument checkride in a twin, it's good for single-engine instrument flying as well. If you do the instrument before the multi, you just shoot a pair of approaches (one with all engines turning and one OEI) on the multi checkride.
 
Dmar64 said:
Hello, I am new to this site and this is my first post. I have my private pilots license and wanted to move forward with my instrument rating. I am just worried about how difficult it is going to be to obtain instrument ratings. I am an average learner and was able to get my private pilots license with minimal problems. I have heard different stories about instrument rating from being extremely difficult to not that difficult. Like I said I am an average learner and wonder how much studying would have to go into instrument ratings. I am also curious on how long it would take to obtain if at all possible. I know everything varies with your flying hours and what not. I am just looking for people to share their experience with instrument ratings and how long it took to obtain them. I guess my biggest concern is not being able to understand/learn the material. I have heard it can be very confusing. As mentioned above I have always been an average learner in school and was able to obtain a bachelors degree. I always had to put more effort into academics it seemed like then other people. Sorry for rambling looking forward to hearing from you guys!
Click to expand...

Instrument was harder than private for me... But the private was really easy for me, and my CFII for the Instrument was a taskmaster who went way above and beyond the PTS (now ACS) standards in training me. We did things like partial panel unusual attitudes in actual IMC, "extreme" partial panel (nothing but airspeed, mag compass, and #2 nav) in actual IMC, etc.

Really, one of the most difficult things about instrument training is the first thing you have to do: Learn to ignore your sense of balance that's been working for you for all but about a year of your life, and learn to trust your instruments. Step two, then, of course, is to learn NOT to trust your instruments. ;)

You'll learn to fly the plane precisely by reference to the instruments, how to fly without all the instruments, how to navigate through the national airspace system from takeoff to touchdown (including approaches and holds), how to plan instrument flights, instrument-specific regulations, more weather, more communications, etc.

It's an interesting and extremely useful rating. I would definitely recommend going for it, and don't worry if you're an "average" learner. There's no such thing as average. One friend of mine found the Instrument to be much easier than the Private, though that is somewhat unusual, everyone learns different things in different ways, and there are a lot of "different" things in the instrument rating.
 
I am in the same boat as the OP, but I have an extra question. I am going to start my instrument training in a few months, but feel as if I am going to need to take several hours to refresh as a pilot. I have been flying for several years, but only fly a few hours a year. This is mostly because of the expense of flying. I am now in a different financial situation. So, I can study things that I would have for my private and fly a lot before I start, or hire a CFI for several hours to regain knowledge or just start instrument and refresh at the same time. I want to refresh on everything. What do you all suggest?
 
FlyBoyAndy said:
I am in the same boat as the OP, but I have an extra question. I am going to start my instrument training in a few months, but feel as if I am going to need to take several hours to refresh as a pilot. I have been flying for several years, but only fly a few hours a year. This is mostly because of the expense of flying. I am now in a different financial situation. So, I can study things that I would have for my private and fly a lot before I start, or hire a CFI for several hours to regain knowledge or just start instrument and refresh at the same time. I want to refresh on everything. What do you all suggest?
Click to expand...
One of the ways I "started" the IFR was by getting with an instructor for my bi-annual, and telling him I was going to start IFR training soon...we actually spent my bi-annual doing some stuff that helped me get ready for the instrument training like writing down the rpm/speed settings for various climbs/descents/etc. I guess it helped that I was using my own plane, but if you went up in the plane you would train in, it would help.
 
tawood said:
One of the ways I "started" the IFR was by getting with an instructor for my bi-annual, and telling him I was going to start IFR training soon...we actually spent my bi-annual doing some stuff that helped me get ready for the instrument training like writing down the rpm/speed settings for various climbs/descents/etc. I guess it helped that I was using my own plane, but if you went up in the plane you would train in, it would help.
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You do twice-a-year reviews?
 
Cirrus recommends 6 month reviews alternating between vfr and ifr. I guess we cirrus pilots need more training. Just did my first vfr one, it was fun.
 
tawood said:
One of the ways I "started" the IFR was by getting with an instructor for my bi-annual, and telling him I was going to start IFR training soon...we actually spent my bi-annual doing some stuff that helped me get ready for the instrument training like writing down the rpm/speed settings for various climbs/descents/etc. I guess it helped that I was using my own plane, but if you went up in the plane you would train in, it would help.
Click to expand...
My flight review is next year, so I'll likely talk with an instructor to do some dual hours. I use my own plane so I will have the same experience.
 
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