Instrument flight training teaches pilots to navigate using flight instruments alone, without looking out of the cockpit. Pilots with an instrument rating can fly under instrument flight rules (IFR), giving them more flexibility. The training involves learning about aviation instruments and practicing in real or simulated instrument weather conditions. Pilots must have a pilot’s license and flight experience to receive training. Mistakes are common among new pilots, but experience helps build skills and confidence.
Instrument flight training is aviation training that helps pilots earn an instrument rating, a certification that indicates they can navigate using flight instruments alone without having to look out of the cockpit. The amount of training required to obtain an instrument rating varies, depending on the regulations established by the aviation authorities in the country where a pilot wishes to become licensed. In the United States, approximately 100 hours of instrument flight training in aircraft and with simulators are required to obtain an instrument rating.
With an instrument rating, pilots have the option of flying under instrument flight rules (IFR), which means that local aviation authorities have decided that conditions are dangerous enough that pilots need to use instruments. aviation to navigate safely. On the other hand, without an instrument rating, pilots can only fly under visual flight rules (VFR), when visibility is good enough to fly without instruments. Typically, pilots must also hold an instrument rating to fly above a certain height. Instrument flight training gives pilots more flexibility.
During instrument flight training, pilots are familiar with instruments used in aviation, such as the altimeter, heading indicator, vertical airspeed indicator, artificial horizon, and airspeed indicator. Pilots learn about what each instrument does, how to read each instrument properly, and how to identify common errors with aviation instruments. They are then taken to real or simulated instrument weather conditions in which pilots are expected to navigate with instruments, giving them the opportunity to put their training to use.
To receive instrument flight training, a pilot must have a pilot’s license, and instructors generally prefer to work with students with flight experience so that they are familiar with operating aircraft under VFR. There are several options for training, including instructors traveling for pilots to provide instruction or flight schools that pilots can enroll in for intensive training. The training will provide the pilot with the hours required by law, along with the skills needed to pass tests administered by authorities in order to determine whether or not a pilot should receive an instrument rating.
Instrument flight training is designed to ensure that pilots are comfortable and competent when flying under IFR. Even after training, pilots can become disoriented in bad weather conditions and still make poor choices. Mistakes are especially common among pilots who are just learning or just certified, with experience gradually exposing pilots to a wide variety of situations and conditions that make them more skilled and confident in flying.
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