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:

Instrument flight training is a rigorous but essential skill that teaches pilots to rely entirely on aircraft instruments, overriding natural sensory inputs, to maintain control when external visual references are unavailable.
Key training strategies include developing a constant instrument scanning technique, preparing for potential airsickness, utilizing flight following for situational awareness, and gaining experience in both actual cloud conditions and flight simulators.
Pilots pursuing the rating should plan to accumulate necessary cross-country flight hours (Part 61) and are advised to integrate regular instrument practice into their post-certification routine to maintain proficiency and currency.

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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.