Instrument Pilot Certificate

A person who applies for an instrument rating must:

• Hold at least a current private pilot certificate or be concurrently applying for a private pilot certificate with an airplane, helicopter, or powered-lift rating appropriate to the instrument rating sought.
• Be able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language.

You must have logged the following:

• Part 61 program – Hold at least an FAA Private Pilot License & have at least 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command. At least 10 of these hours must be in airplanes for an instrument-airplane rating.
• Part 141 program – Hold at least an FAA Private Pilot License
• A total of 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time on the areas of operation listed in 61.65(c).
• At least 15 hours of instrument flight training from an authorized instructor in the aircraft category for the instrument rating sought.

For instrument-airplane rating, instrument training on cross-country flight procedures that includes at least one cross-country flight in an airplane that is performed under instrument flight rules. This flight must consist of:

• A distance of at least 250 nm along airways or ATC-directed routing.
• An instrument approach at each airport.
• Three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems (Example: ILS, VOR, GPS, etc).
• At least 3 hours of instrument training that is appropriate to the instrument rating sought from an authorized instructor in preparation for the checkride within two calendar months before the examination date.

-All information above was obtained from AOPA.org

With our Red Bird FMX Full Motion Flight Simulator you can log 20 hours of your flight time with an instructor towards your instrument rating.  This provides you with a substantial savings over other ways to train to obtain your instrument rating.

Please contact us for more information or to schedule a demonstration of our Red Bird Flight Simulator.