When is the right time?

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mxalix258

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mxalix258
So...I need some advice. I'm a younger guy (23 years old) and just got my private pilots license 5 months ago. I did a bit of fun flying, and then decided to get started with my instrument rating.

I don't really have any dreams of making flying a career, just something for fun and maybe work towards CFI and do it as a side gig. My decision to start my instrument rating was mostly spurred on by the fact that I don't have a family right now so I have extra time, and I have the money to devote to it (usually the two hardest things to line up, right?) the problem is I'm just not excited or motivated to do it.

My reasoning is that in a few short years, I may have a family and my time and money will run out and my dream of getting my instrument rating will be gone until later in life. Is this enough to kind of force myself through the training to possibly enjoying the benefits of it later?

I've been going back and forth on this, and the thing I'm most scared about is regretting it later. In the back of my mind, I know right now isn't the right time and I'd prefer to do fun flying instead of spend the money on training I don't really care to use right now. I think i'd definitely benefit from the increased knowledge and safety, and it'd open some doors for longer trips....but I just can't say for sure.

I read all the time about people who regret not getting their license earlier in life, any one have an example for an instrument rating? I kind of have it built up in my head that the instrument rating is one of the bigger humps, and if i can clear it now the commercial/cfi may be a piece of cake later down the road.

Thanks all!
 
If you are sure you love flying and want to keep flying and have the utility the instrument rating provides, then yes, go for it and get it done.

The instrument rating was the most "work" of all the ratings I have. It's also provided the most value over the years.
 
The instrument rating was a lot of fun for me and challenging. However, getting the rating is only the beginning of being IFR. After getting the rating staying current is the minimum required, but for many of us, me included it is not enough. I try to go IFR every chance I get. If not I get rusty pretty quickly. Even if there is little or no IMC, I will still fly IFR, at least for the practice of ATC control and flying by instruments.

If you do not have the interest in doing it after the rating, I think there are other things you could spend your money on which may be more useful, such as acrobatic training, tail wheel training, or even some of the commercial maneuvers.

Doug
 
I was also going to say that getting my IFR rating did not make me a safer VFR pilot, though in thinking about it, it did make me more comfortable with night flying(though practicing night flying helped a lot more), and probably(as I have never experienced it and hope never to) made it more likely for me to get out of an inadvertant VMC into IMC situation safely. However, this can be accomplished without going through all of the training required for the IFR rating.


Doug
 
Don't put it off if you don't need to. It is not going to get easier.
 
If you think you want it, go for it. After all, what flying is more challenging than flight training and training for the IFR ticket is the most challenging.

It will make you a better pilot. For me, it made radio work with ATC a non-issue, especially in congested airspace. It teaches you flying precision you may not have known you were capable of. Even if you never use it, it will be a major milestone in your flying life.

Getting the rating and using it are 2 entirely different things. I'm talking only about getting the rating here.

Caution; the only way it will make you safer in marginal VFR and inadvertant flight into IMC is if it teaches you to never let that happen. That lesson alone is worth the rating.

I've done gliders, tailwheel , acro and multi - the instrument rating was the most rewarding independent of the fact that I actually use it. All of it is good though.
 
I was about your age when I started flying. I ran through my ratings and got my CP-AMEL/ASEL-IA/CFI by the time I met my now wife.

Am I ever glad I did. There is no way I'd be able to do it now with wife, baby, family, etc. Do it now.
 
I'm also about your age, and I'm 3/4 done with my instrument rating. I didn't want to wait because I was really interested in instrument flying. My flight school suggest against getting my IFR almost right after my PPL, but when I was done with my 50 hours XC PIC I was more than ready to start. It's been challenging, but really fun for me. Just did my XC actually and had a ton of fun. The materials are more challenging and there are a lot of fine details to learn for the written/oral and you have to know your airplane or whatever you're flying inside and out.
 
If you ever plan to use airplanes as transportation then the instrument rating is essential IMHO.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I was about your age when I started flying. I ran through my ratings and got my CP-AMEL/ASEL-IA/CFI by the time I met my now wife.

Am I ever glad I did. There is no way I'd be able to do it now with wife, baby, family, etc. Do it now.
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Ted, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't your wife a pilot? And isn't it true that she wouldn't have anything to do with the likes of a measly ground- bound [insert pejorative here] person? Was that you?:D
 
Jaybird180 said:
Ted, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't your wife a pilot? And isn't it true that she wouldn't have anything to do with the likes of a measly ground- bound [insert pejorative here] person? Was that you?:D
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My wife happens to be the best pilot I've ever met. How I tricked her into marrying me is a question I haven't figured out the answer to, and I'm not going to try too hard to figure out. Best that I just keep on with the tricks. ;)

But as I've said on here, if you think flying will help you find a wife... think again.

It's best to do these things while young and single. On this I think there is nearly universal agreement, or at least as close to it as one will ever find on PoA. The folks who learned to fly when young are glad they did, and the ones who waited wish they didn't.
 
Do it. When my opportunity arose, I hadn't ever thought about IR for even a minute, had no idea what "localizer" meant.

I jumped in with both feet and got the rating, but things would have been much smoother if I had earned it earlier.
 
As a forty year old who first obtained his ppl at 21, I can attest that if able to do it again, I would have progressed with my flight training. If you decide to pursue it as a career later, even 5 years down the road, you will be in a much better position to do so. If, however, you decide that flying as a career isn't for you, then you will at least be better prepared for recreational flights.

I walked away from flying in my early twenties after losing several friends to accidents, including a young and talented instructor, and surviving a terrifying incident in a light 40-year old twin (310-A) that an FBO owner and friend bought out of mothball. Now, twenty years removed, I am returning to flying and about to start my instrument training. I'm excited about it, but can't help but think about the possibilities if I had continued my studies.

In my life I have found that flying is not just a simple interest, like playing the trumpet or riding a dirt bike. It's a discipline; and a very demanding one. I rarely, if ever, have met another pilot outside of the airport boundaries; and I am fairly well traveled. So I think it takes a special spirit to pursue it. After all, it's not easy taking up a 'sport' that can kill you.

You'll find that flying an airplane is a pursuit that, being so rare, can open many unique opportunities for you as you mature and figure out what you really want to do. Above all else, it demonstrates your dedication to seeing something to its conclusion. And that doesn't even take into account the confidence you gain from it that will help you succeed in just about anything you wish to undertake.

I'm not sure if my two cents mean anything, but I would encourage you to pursue it now instead of later. That door may not open again for a long time. And at least we old timers can live vicariously listening to your reports on the radio as you enter and depart our airspace, whether you decide to go pro or not. Best of luck with your decision.
 
Why give up fun flying to get the IR? Combine them! Figure out where you'd go for fun,mthanks line up a CFI or safety pilot to fly there with you. Remember, you only need 15 hours with a double-I. The rest can be with a flying buddy riding shotgun. Take advantage of that. The best part is BOTH of you get to log time!

A second bit of advice: don't let it psyche you out! It is a challenging rating, but it is not THAT hard...if it were many of here might not be instrument rated.

Make it fun and get it done!
 
I too found instrument training rather 'un-fun' (after all, I like flying because I enjoy looking outisde, not at the instrument panel). But I am extremely happy to have obtained it, and wish I had earlier.

As I closed in on the 40-hour requirement, I started to appreciate and enjoy the challenge much more than when I first started.
 
mxalix258 said:
I read all the time about people who regret not getting their license earlier in life, any one have an example for an instrument rating? I kind of have it built up in my head that the instrument rating is one of the bigger humps, and if i can clear it now the commercial/cfi may be a piece of cake later down the road.
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Me. I waited until 7 years after my private checkride to start training seriously for the IR, and didn't finish it until 3.5 years after that (in fact, just today). Most of those 7 years I studied instrument procedures and charts, and every cross country flight I took of any distance, planned it out as if I was going to do it IFR. It became almost an obsession. In the end the training was a lot of fun, and not really that hard in and of itself. The hard part was LIFE getting in the way every step of the way, until I was to the point of wondering if it was ever going to be over.

If you want it, go for it. I know that if I hadn't gotten it done, I would have regretted it, even if I never actually use the rating.
 
azure said:
Me. I waited until 7 years after my private checkride to start training seriously for the IR, and didn't finish it until 3.5 years after that (in fact, just today).
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Great news! Congratulations! :thumbsup:
 
When I was 16 I had the time but not the money. Now at 30 I have the money but not the time (baby, wife, geriatric parent, etc. all under my roof). If you have the time and the money, do everything you can get away with. =P
 
I think you will read a reoccurring theme through the posts, finish off the IR. The Instrument is one of the toughest ratings you will attain but offers you considerable benefits. It offers you options that a VFR pilot does not have and I firmly believe that you will become a better pilot because of it.
 
Look at it this way, It will never be less expensive than it is now and I suspect that even at your age you will have more disposable income than you have now. If you think airplanes are expensive wait unitl you have kids!:yikes:
 
I got my IR when I was about your age and I'm glad I did.
 
Take all the training you can afford when you're young. The brain cells harden and it's a lot more work when you're old. You also get tired faster doing it.

I wish I were kidding. I was zonked after the IR training, 20 years after I started it. And glad I didn't wait until 60. :)
 
I came back to flying after a 20 year hiatus. Got my instrument proficiency check after about 3 lessons. The procedures are so ingrained you never forget them. Get it now while you are young. If you do quit flying and eventualy come back to it, you will be happy not to have to go through the entire process of the actualy rating.
Good luck.
 
andybean said:
I came back to flying after a 20 year hiatus. Got my instrument proficiency check after about 3 lessons. The procedures are so ingrained you never forget them. Get it now while you are young. If you do quit flying and eventualy come back to it, you will be happy not to have to go through the entire process of the actualy rating.
Good luck.
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Really
:popcorn:
 
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