I N S T R U M E N T   R A T I N G

Learn to fly through the clouds! (Please find course estimate at bottom)  Instrument training is a more predictable process than the Private Pilot training. Delays are minimized since students do not have to wait for near-perfect weather to practice solo landings and to perform solo cross countries.

As with Private Pilot training, students should ideally fly once to twice a week. For clients who are limited by time, money, or family obligations, flying once a week is a reasonable training rate if time is dedicated to proper self study using a computer based flight simulator, and if time is spent reviewing in flight video recordings. Students should spend at least an hour a week shooting approaches on their flight simulator at home in order to strengthen instrument scan skills, approach preparation procedures, and briefing techniques. Simulator flying should be completed after reviewing the previous flight lesson video recording, and should be used to fly the same approach procedures used during flight lessons.

There is no requirement for flight in actual cloud coverage in order to obtain the IFR rating, and coordinating schedules to operate when the safe low cloud conditions are present is not always practical. Most of the training time will therefore be spent simulating flight into clouds by limiting the students view outside during lessons. This is a distant substitute for recreating the demands of actual flight in heavy cloud. Ultimately, true instrument skills have to be slowly obtained by gradual increasing exposure to instrument conditions.

Your initial training will first begin with a couple session on our office simulator, as we introduce instrument flight concepts, then will progress to our cheaper Tampico where these concepts will be experimented with.  Finally the candidate progresses to our more complex and capable IFR-equipped Arrow, where we finish the training process, with emphasis on using its speed and equipment to expose you to a variety of different types of airports while in the IFR system.  This approach will put you in a better position to actually take advantage of the IFR rating then training in a more basic platform.