Instrument Rating Cost | 2023 Update 

Would you be able to do the estimated cost of the commercial license next?

Awesome video David! I love the way the cost is shown one by one and explained. This and the private pilot cost video has helped me quite a bit!

I'm going to start my instrument rating soon! Thank you for the detailed info!!

Love your videos, I was recently signed off for my first solo !

Great video thank you!

Man, I said it in your private video and I have to say it again, this is ACCURATE. I did my instrument training at a part 141 school, we had a redbird simulator, and the rental was 175 an hour for a 172R, flight instruction is $65 per hour. My total time to complete my instrument rating was 47.4 hours, at a total cost of $14,434.20 + $800 (Checkride). There was one thing that you didn't mention, if someone is chugging through certificates and ratings and goes directly from private to instrument, under part 61 they are going to have to have 50 hours of PIC in ASEL. For many people that have just finished their private certificate under part 61, they are going to have ~10 hours (minimum) or so? So I would say that you have to also for that person calculate Plane Rental x 40hrs. Under part 141 I didn't have to meet that requirement, and it saved me a boatload of money. Fantastic video!

Thank you!!!

Both your Private and Instrument videos are quite informative. I took my first Discovery and Flight Lesson way back in 1968. Both were in a 152. Given the rather significantly overweight instructor, I could hardly move at all in the cockpit. Top that with heavy winds during the first lesson, with the same guy, the topsy turvy ride scared me away from continuing. My loss. All these many years later, I do enjoy MSFS 2020 simply for "sight seeing" around the world to places I could never afford to see in real life. I sincerely appreciate your presentations in both videos and I thoroughly enjoyed watching both of them. Now 77 years old, keeping my feet firmly on the ground.

I’m doing my IR training. The long pole in the tent is the 50 hrs xcountry. Concurrent training is important. I have all my instrument time completed and 10 hrs left on xcountry time. Strategy is over half the battle.

Great video and explanation of the minimum requirements for the instrument ticket. I completed my instrument ticket 25 years after my ppl. Took me a little longer than the minimum (66 hours, with 11 in the Sim), and my total cost was $19,135 not including Foreflight, iPad, ground school, DPE, and using less expensive rentals and instructor fees in the midwest. A proficient pilot should never let the cost deter the safety and freedom that comes with an instrument rating.

This is an excellent video on instrument rating cost.

I watched a few youtube videos, I feel that's more than sufficient.

This is a great video, David! Great breakdown of the costs. Can you provide some information about how much a multi-engine rating is in 2023?

What I'm hearing, I think, is to pass the Instrument Written, before even approaching the Flight School - the cockpit is always the worst classroom. Also, squeeze as much out of approved simulators, because you could then repeatedly practice maneuvers (with different weather conditions) within a given flight hour. Thanks for your perspective and financial reality checks.

very good video, kindly make one for the full training cost from zero to CFI, thank you

The cross country 45-50hr requirement he did not include FAR 61.65

From what I hear as long as you have a data iPad it has built in gps

It would have been helpful falto mention the difference in cost between the more affordable 6pack and the flashier g1000 equipment airplanes are are becoming more common. In addition advantages and disadvantages of the g1000. Maybe a wash in the long run when 10 hr of g1000 could count towards your commercial requirements. And as someone mentioned in the posts having gone 141. Doing the 141 should be a better training by design and overlook of the Faa with a reputable school. The advantages of time and savings can be argued based again on mínimums and real times but it makes a difference for thise in the IRA and commercial and heading towards the RATP. Plus a unwritten + is that airlines prefer, love, encourage,(want) 141 graduates since it arguably shows success in a structured training curriculum which translates into a higher success in the airline training. There is a significant and undeniable difference when pilots show up to the airline class between the 61 and 141 path, hands down. The part 141 also includes self guided CBT training that if done and monitored saves on the overall cost at every stage ppl, ira or cpl. in my experience cfi s don’t like to do 141 because they don’t like to do paperwork that many times they don’t get paid to do… Good luck you all. Great job with the videos. Maybe provide at end a range or a grid that people can use to plug in the numbers for their locality or school.

Anyway you can make a video like this to get your CPL? Edit: do you need an aviation college degree? Or can you just have any kind of degree? Or do you need one at all??

Sir, here is my story. My instructor was an ex (UK) RAF Tornado fighter pilot. I had done a few hours cross-country solo flights, building up the hours nicely anyway, one Sunday when I was due another flight the weather had a low cloud base and I knew there is no way under VFR I would be allowed to solo but to my surprise when I got to my school my instructor, who had not flown with me for a good few hours said "just what I've been waiting for, let's go flying." Anyway he let me fly up to cloud base, then said "my controls" he then took us up what would have been around 1000-1500 feet into the clouds. He then said your controls hmm let me think, let's make a left turn onto (a heading which was about 120deg from my current) anyway I did what was asked. Suddenly I burst out of the clouds at a steep bank angle nose down, we were heading for the ground in no uncertain manner. Four-letter words from me were bouncing off the cockpit and my instructor just said "OK, what you're going to do about it"? "Straighten her up, was my reply" "what an excellent idea, he said"! I said to him what the hell happened I've never got into that mess before" he then explained, "your turn was way too aggressive, rate one turn only, secondly, although I saw you looking at the attitude indicator you were not reacting to what it was telling you, never rely on your own sense of equilibrium when in cloud, it will let you down every time he went on to explain I just wanted to give you the experience just in case you accidentally found yourself in IMC conditions. I replied, "you know what, as soon as I get my PPL, I want to carry on to get an IFR/IMC rating. "Most excellent" was his reply. For the record, I got the rating with only an hour and a half extra training. I later came to the conclusion your flight instructor is the nearest thing you will come to God whilst being alive on earth!

Do u have a cpl breakdown?

Hi watched your Private - spot on….!!!! Regarding your IR video -- you are kind of mixing apples and oranges in my humble opinion. Old 172s with analog panels are anachronistic classics that are almost useless. “T” scans are really no longer part of real flying world. There goes the cost per hour of the airplane. And most single engine non-complex sims today (sitting at/in one) are mostly equipped with glass panels. So, someone with a fresh IR certificate needing to rent a much nicer aircraft - opens the door and yikes will most likely see two black screens. Then, they want to continue for a multi - good luck finding a newer training aircraft that has those old familiar analog gauges. Lastly IMO - I would not train for a private or an instrument rating in an aircraft that has analog gauges. With the exception of maybe the first 30 hours or so of private - learning just how to stay “ahead” of the aircraft. Years ago I was a CFII, MEI then later typed in 727s as an FE, and later right and left seats - drove those, and others for many years. All initially kind-of analog, then transitioned to the PFDs . So, I could be wrong about my above post. In any case your videos are super informative… Regards,

Sounds like I could build my hours with only a ppl by being the safety pilot for instrument rating students correct?

One flaw your calculation has: The minimum required is 40 hours INSTRUMENT TIME. Since most flights are not done under instrument conditions from ground up and most of them are under the hood you need to add additional flight time to each flight before you go under the hood. that adds another 5 hours of flight time or another 1000$

Is the FAA world wide or just the United States?

Is that 190/hr dry or wet?

I wonder if it is worth it buying a plane for those 1500 hours?

You did not include fuel

Flight simulator 2020 is a video game worthless for learning how to fly.