Instrument Rating Requirements, in Plain English
The requirements for an instrument rating are written in regulation, which is precise and almost unreadable. Here they are in plain English, along with the two that catch people out.
Before you start
An applicant must hold at least a current private pilot certificate, or be applying concurrently for the private certificate, with the aircraft rating appropriate to the instrument rating sought. The applicant must be able to read, speak, write, and understand English, subject to the regulation’s medical-condition provision.
The applicant must also be at least 17 years old, and must receive and log the required ground training or complete a home-study course, receive the required instructor endorsements, and pass the applicable knowledge and practical tests.
For an instrument-airplane rating under Part 61, the applicant must log:
- 50 hours of cross-country time as pilot in command, including at least 10 hours in airplanes
- 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time
- At least 15 of those instrument hours from an authorized instructor who holds an instrument-airplane rating
- 3 hours of instrument flight training from an authorized instructor in an appropriate airplane within 2 calendar months before the practical test
- Instrument cross-country training that includes one flight in an airplane under IFR with a flight plan filed, covering 250 nautical miles along airways or ATC-directed routing, with an instrument approach at each airport and three different kinds of approaches using navigation systems
The experience requirements
Under Part 61, an instrument airplane rating needs:
- 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, of which at least 10 must be in airplanes.
- 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time, meaning time flown solely by reference to instruments, either in cloud or under a view-limiting device.
- 15 of those 40 hours with an authorized instructor holding an instrument rating for the category, which in practice means a CFII.
- One instrument cross-country flight of at least 250 nautical miles along airways or ATC-directed routing, with an instrument approach at each airport, and three different kinds of approaches flown.
- 3 hours of instrument training within the two calendar months before the checkride.
The two that catch people out
The 50 hours of cross-country PIC. This is the requirement that quietly sets your timeline. The 50 hours must be logged as cross-country pilot-in-command time. Some qualifying flights may also involve instruction, provided the pilot is entitled to log PIC time under the applicable regulations. A student who did the minimum cross-country flying for their private license can be ready in every other respect and still be short here by dozens of hours. Start building it early, and count what you already have before you plan anything.
The second is credit for time in a simulator or training device. Some instrument time may be credited in an approved full flight simulator, flight training device, or aviation training device. The allowed credit and the conditions for logging it depend on the device, its approval, the regulation used, and how the session is conducted. Ask for the device’s approval information and confirm exactly what the time can satisfy.
The tests
The applicant must pass the applicable FAA knowledge test and practical test.
The checkride. The practical test includes an oral evaluation and flight tasks prescribed by the current Instrument Rating – Airplane Airman Certification Standards. The flight portion evaluates instrument procedures, aircraft control, holding, instrument approaches, missed-approach procedures, navigation and operations with failed or degraded instruments, as applicable.
Currency after you have it
The rating does not expire, but recent instrument experience is required to act as pilot in command under IFR or in weather below VFR minimums. Within the 6 calendar months preceding the month of the flight, the pilot must have logged six instrument approaches, holding procedures and tasks, and intercepting and tracking courses using navigational electronic systems.
If the initial six-calendar-month currency period has passed, the pilot has another six calendar months to regain currency using a compliant method, such as simulated instrument flight with a qualified safety pilot or an approved training device. The pilot may not act as pilot in command under IFR, or in weather below VFR minimums, until currency is restored. After that additional period, an instrument proficiency check is required.
The training itself lives on the instrument training page. Whether the rating is worth pursuing at all is its own question: whether an instrument rating fits your flying. See also night flying training and the career pilot pathway.
Currency is a legal threshold. Proficiency depends on recency, conditions, aircraft, workload, and the pilot’s own limits.
What it costs
The variable is that 40 hours of instrument time, and how much of it is dual. The 15-hour instructor minimum is a floor, and most people need more than the floor.
The two levers that actually change the total: fly frequently, because instrument skills are particularly sensitive to long gaps, and arrive prepared for each lesson. An hour spent chair-flying an approach at home is an hour you are not buying in the airplane.
Training for it here
If you are still deciding whether the rating is right for you rather than what it takes, we have written separately on whether you actually need an instrument rating. Our instrument rating course covers the structure and what each stage involves. Training runs from the historic Bowman Field, with approach variety close by and a towered environment from the first lesson.
If you would like help understanding where you stand against the instrument-rating requirements, call the front desk on (502) 452-2115 to discuss your experience and training goals.
References: 14 CFR 61.65 · 14 CFR 61.57
Where do you actually stand?
If you would like help understanding where you stand against the instrument-rating requirements, contact our front desk to discuss your experience and training goals.
See the instrument rating course
