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Instrument time for rating

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Instrument Rating

The regs state that to qualify for an instrument rating the person must have 50 hours PIC cross country, 15 hours dual and 40 hours simulated or actual IFR time. I have around 200 hours total well over 100 cross country.

I routinely fly from KMTH to KILM via KJAX and KSAV. The intermediate points are to keep from being 120 miles out over the ocean in a single engine plane. I always have flight following and ATC contact and direction. I do at times fly the GPS approach and LOC at ILM, and the RNAV approach at MTH, particularly at night. 

1. Is any of this time acceptable for logging for my instrument rating?

2. Can any changes be made to make it acceptable towards my instrument rating?

That's a lot of time, hours and miles to go to waste if they cannot be counted.

 

 

5 Answers



  1. Jim Chambers on Dec 27, 2010

    I am not a CFI, but I did just get my instrument rating. Sounds like you are in good shape on all your hours. Do you have at least 40 hours of hood time? And at least 15 hours of dual in instrument training? I would recommend downloading the instrument airplane PTS from the FAA, and assessing your readiness and comfort with everything listed that you need fo demonstrate to pass the practical. I guess (to answer your question), the hours should count, but if you are serious about getting the rating, let the PTS be your guide.

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  2. David on Dec 27, 2010

    Sounds like you may have your x-country time complete. However, you must complete simulated or actual IMC time (40 Hours) and then dual time (15 Hours) with an appropriately rated instructor. Unless your approaches were “under the hood” with a safety pilot or in actual IMC with an instructor then I cannot see how that time counts. I flew some time with an instrument instructor for initial training. I then flew “under the hood” with my friend who was a private pilot as safety pilot. After a few hours of that I wrapped it up with my instructor. By then I had met the qualifying hours of actual and simulated instrument time.

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  3. Wesley Beard on Dec 27, 2010

    The regulations require you to have 40 hours of sumulated or actual instrument time.  The simulated time can be with another private pilot who is acting as a safety pilot.  The regs require at least 15 hours with a CFII (instrument instructor) to include a XC under IFR rules in either with simulated or actual time.  With that said, I don’t think the hours as listed above will meet the aeronautical requirements of 61.65(d).  You do meet the required 50hrs of XC time.
     
    I don’t consider any time wasted time.  Even though you can’t really use those hours in the way you currently want, you will soon find out that you will need (500hrs of XC time for your ATP certificate) those hours in the future.  I remember once needing 2hrs of the 100 hrs night experience necessary to qualify to fly IFR under 135 operations.  Once you start flying for hire, insurance and company requirements will also have to be met.  Every hour is quite valuable.

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  4. John A Lindholm on Jan 05, 2011

    If you read the regs carefully, you will figure out that you can log actual instrument time in VFR conditions. 
    I wouldn’t try it though when trying to build time to take the Instrument Rating checkride.
    Using a non-cfi as a safety pilot allows you to build instrument time to qualify also… but my experience has been that if you really want to be a competent, hard IFR pilot you should get all your instruction from a CFII who has lots of real-world IFR experience.

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  5. Jonny-5 on Apr 06, 2015

    What am I supposed to be doing under the hood as a VFR pilot? Surely there is no benefit to flying xc under the hood straight and level with a private pilot safety pilot?

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