Have you ever been stuck on the ground, ready to depart but a marine layer kept you firmly stuck on tera firma? Headed back to your home airport and there is cloud cover that keeps you from landing anywhere nearby? An Instrument Rating can help. This rating is the natural progression in your flying career and one that we highly recommend. Not only do we augment the skills you learned in your initial training, we teach you how to be a better pilot. We teach you how to integrate into the National Airspace System in order to allow you the safest and most fulfilling flights you can do as a pilot. Our 7-day accelerated instrument rating course is intense, fun, challenging, and rewarding.
Course Overview
High Flight Aviation offers an accelerated Instrument Rating course with a 7-day format. Accelerated courses are meant to be fully immersive courses and the student should plan on minimal distractions during any of our accelerated courses. This is a great opportunity for those looking to finish their instrument rating in the shortest time possible in order to move on to the next certificate or rating!
The course utilizes a flight simulator during the initial stages of the training saving both time and money. Research has shown that an hour of simulator training saves the student an hour in the airplane. HFA utilizes scenario-based training to ensure your 10 hours of simulator time gives you the realistic systems failures, weather and other IFR scenarios.
All courses, both accelerated and standard, include the Sporty’s Instrument Rating Course. HFA books all accelerated courses a minimum of 30-days out to provide the student a chance to complete this ground course and take and pass the written test. If you have already completed the written test, we will do our best to get you scheduled ASAP. Additionally, all of our courses include a course study binder, HFA Polo Shirt, and our check ride guarantee.
Aeronautical Requirements
FAR 61.65 governs the Instrument Rating requirements. Those requirements can be found here.
- Basic Requirements
- (b) Aeronautical knowledge. A person who applies for an instrument rating must have received and logged ground training from an authorized instructor or accomplished a home-study course on the following aeronautical knowledge areas that apply to the instrument rating sought:
- (1) Federal Aviation Regulations of this chapter that apply to flight operations under IFR;
- (2) Appropriate information that applies to flight operations under IFR in the “Aeronautical Information Manual;”
- (3) Air traffic control system and procedures for instrument flight operations;
- (4) IFR navigation and approaches by use of navigation systems;
- (5) Use of IFR en route and instrument approach procedure charts;
- (6) Procurement and use of aviation weather reports and forecasts and the elements of forecasting weather trends based on that information and personal observation of weather conditions;
- (7) Safe and efficient operation of aircraft under instrument flight rules and conditions;
- (8) Recognition of critical weather situations and windshear avoidance;
- (9) Aeronautical decision making and judgment; and
- (10) Crew resource management, including crew communication and coordination.
- (c) Flight proficiency. A person who applies for an instrument rating must receive and log training from an authorized instructor in an aircraft, or in a full flight simulator or flight training device, in accordance with paragraph (g) of this section, that includes the following areas of operation:
- (1) Preflight preparation;
- (2) Preflight procedures;
- (3) Air traffic control clearances and procedures;
- (4) Flight by reference to instruments;
- (5) Navigation systems;
- (6) Instrument approach procedures;
- (7) Emergency operations; and
- (8) Postflight procedures.
- (b) Aeronautical knowledge. A person who applies for an instrument rating must have received and logged ground training from an authorized instructor or accomplished a home-study course on the following aeronautical knowledge areas that apply to the instrument rating sought:
- Aeronautical Requirements
- (d) Aeronautical experience for the instrument-airplane rating. A person who applies for an instrument-airplane rating must have logged:
- (1) Except as provided in paragraph (g) of this section, 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, of which 10 hours must have been in an airplane; and
- (2) Forty hours of actual or simulated instrument time in the areas of operation listed in paragraph (c) of this section, of which 15 hours must have been received from an authorized instructor who holds an instrument-airplane rating, and the instrument time includes:
- (i) Three hours of instrument flight training from an authorized instructor in an airplane that is appropriate to the instrument-airplane rating within 2 calendar months before the date of the practical test; and
- (ii) Instrument flight training on cross country flight procedures, including one cross country flight in an airplane with an authorized instructor, that is performed under instrument flight rules, when a flight plan has been filed with an air traffic control facility, and that involves –
- (A) A flight of 250 nautical miles along airways or by directed routing from an air traffic control facility;
- (B) An instrument approach at each airport; and
- (C) Three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems.
- (d) Aeronautical experience for the instrument-airplane rating. A person who applies for an instrument-airplane rating must have logged:
Course Prerequisites (Accelerated Courses Only)
- Have at least 45 hours of Cross-Country PIC time logged
- Have at least 10 hours of airplane simulated instrument time*
- Purchase the following texts prior to the start of the course
- ASA Instrument Rating PTS
- ASA Instrument Rating Oral Exam Guide
- Airport Facility/Directory
- Current FAR/AIM
- Appropriate Approach and Low-Altitude IFR Charts
Course Schedule
High Flight Aviation has three course formats for you to choose from. The 7-day course format is great for pilots that have the time and effort to dedicate to studying both leading up to, and during, the course. It is an intense format with a full day of training each day.
7-Day Course – The 7-Day course is an intensive and challenging week of ground and flight instruction that will end with an endorsement and schedule for your check-ride.
- Day 1 | Ground School
- Ground School (FAR’s & Instrument-Specific Rules)
- Day 2 | Simulator Training
- Flight Instruction (Simulator)
- Daily Debrief
- Day 3 | Simulator Training
- Flight Instruction (Simulator)
- Daily Debrief
- Day 4 | Airplane Training
- Flight Instruction (Airplane)
- Daily Debrief
- Day 5 | Airplane Training
- Flight Instruction (Airplane)
- Daily Debrief
- Day 6 | Airplane Training
- Flight Instruction (Airplane)
- Daily Debrief
- Day 7 | Check-Ride Training
- Final Flight/Mock Check-Ride
- Endorsements, Certificate and Check-ride expectations
Course Cost
$12,500
This is an all-inclusive course. It covers your membership in Plus One Flyers, aircraft rental, and all ground and flight instruction. The aircraft utilized include a mixture of Garmin G5 or Garmin GI-275 aircraft. Other aircraft options are available for an additional cost.
Examiners are booked once the course is confirmed. Examiners fees are paid directly to the examiner and not included in the cost of the course.
Payment Terms and Conditions
A 50% refundable deposit is due when booking the course and the balance on Day 1. HFA accepts all major credit cards (a 3% fee applies), cash, check. A 5% discount is applied to cash customers.
Are you ready to get started? Sign up now for our 7-Day Instrument Accelerated Course and you will be flying through the clouds in no time. As always, we are here to help if you have any questions, drop us a line.
