Broaden the Scope of Your Abilities

Instrument Rating

Instrument ratings allow you to fly under more diverse conditions and lower visibility.

Expand Your Skillset and Professionalism

Earning an Instrument Rating is the next step in your career after completing a private pilot certificate. Pilots with an instrument rating are qualified to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR)—where a non-instrument pilot would be limited to only visual flight rules (VFR).

Instrument ratings broaden your capabilities and safety as a pilot and are a minimum expectation of professional pilots. The rating itself is added to either a private or commercial pilot certificate.

Instrument Rating Requirements

To be eligible for the Instrument Rating, you must:

  1. Be 17 years of age
  2. Hold at least a private pilot certificate
  3. Read, speak, and understand the English language

The Instrument Rating Curriculum

What You Need for Your FAR Part 141 Instrument
To earn your instrument rating, you must have 30 hours of ground training at a minimum and a total training time of at least 35 hours. Those 35 hours must include: 

Dual: 35 hours minimum of flight training with an instrument instructor on the Instrument areas of operation including at least one cross-country flight in the category and class of airplane that the course is approved for and is performed under IFR, including:
  • Flight a distance of at least 250 nautical miles along airways or ATC-directed routing with one segment of the flight consisting of at least a straight-line distance of 100 nautical miles between airports
  • Involves an instrument approach at each airport
  • Involves three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems
Private Pilot
Commercial Rating