Training and Proficiency What A CFI Wants You To Know

7 Things to Expect During IFR Training

Instrument rating is known for being the most intense and useful.

Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 11:07 AM ET

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Of all the training a private pilot can take, the instrument rating is known for being the most intense and useful. [Credit: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

The instrument rating is an intense but crucial training that teaches pilots to control an aircraft solely by reference to instruments, emphasizing the need to trust gauges over potentially deceptive physical sensations.
Effective training involves mastering constant instrument scanning, using gentle control inputs, preparing for initial queasiness, and utilizing resources like flight following, simulators, and safe exposure to actual instrument conditions.
Beyond initial training, pilots should efficiently accrue cross-country hours, remain vigilant about icing, and regularly practice instrument approaches to maintain proficiency and safety.

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As we head into winter so many pilots begin the training for their instrument rating. Of all the training a private pilot can take, the instrument rating is known for being the most intense and useful.

According to federal regulation, a private pilot needs to receive “three hours of flight training in a single-engine airplane on the control and maneuvering of an airplane solely by reference to instruments, including straight and level flight, constant airspeed climbs and descents, turns to a heading, recovery from unusual flight attitudes, radio communications, and the use of navigation systems/facilities and radar services appropriate to instrument flight.”

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.