All Ratings
Instrument Rating
The instrument rating is without a doubt the hardest rating to acquire. Unlike the private pilot rating or even the commercial rating, all the training for the instrument rating is conducted on instruments. There is little or no “outside the cockpit” work. It is very different from anything you have ever done in aviation and requires tremendous concentration. The regulations require 40 hours of instrument training. Some of that can be accomplished with desktop type procedure training device.
Again, we fly in complex airspace and explore every failure scenario that we can safely explore in flight, and we fly in real instrument weather conditions. Like the Private Pilot rating there is a ground school, flight training and a check ride. If you have your written done, I can have you ready for your check ride in 10 days or less. Your plane or mine, your location or mine, it’s the same process.
Commercial Rating
The commercial rating is just plain fun. It’s mostly “out the window” stick and rudder flying. It teaches you to take the airplane to the edges of its performance envelope.
You must have 250 hours total flight time of which 100 hours are PIC, and 50 hours of cross country flight.
Again, like the Private Pilot and the Instrument ratings, there is a written exam, flight training and a check ride.
Your plane or mine, your location or mine, it’s the same process.
Multi Engine Rating
The multi-engine rating teaches you to fly twin engine
airplanes. If you are looking for a VFR only rating,
you can expect to take your check ride in about 10
training hours. If you are planning on obtaining a
multi-engine rating with instrument privileges, then
expect to spend closer to 20 hour training. It is
dependent upon how current and competent you are
as an instrument pilot. Unlike the Private Pilot,
Instrument or Commercial ratings, there is no written
exam for a Multi-Engine, just flight training and a check
ride. I have prepared a ground school for the rating that
take about 5 hours.Your plane or mine, your location
or mine, it’s the same process.
Type Specific Training
Insurance Required -Type Specific Training
If you own an aircraft that requires annual insurance required recurrent training, you have two options. You can attend one of the many simulator based schools and take their program or you can find an instructor who provides insurance accepted training to you in your aircraft.
There is certainly nothing wrong with simulator training. There are things you can safely do in the sim that you just can’t duplicate in the airplane.
But most sim’s don’t emulate the instrument panel in your plane, and the buttons and switches won’t be in the same place. Furthermore, a sim just doesn’t fly like the plane. If the only time that you are practicing air work in a year is during recurrent training, I advocate doing it in the plane.
I provide insurance accepted training in the following types;
300 -400 Series Cessna Twins- All
King Air 90 - 200
Pilatus PC-12
BE-60 Duke
PA-46 Series-All
P-210
All non-pressurized piston singles and twins.
