INSTRUMENT RATING (IR)
Continue your aviation career today with our Instrument Rating Pilot Course.
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Once you earn your pilot certificate, the adventure has just begun. The GACA Instrument Rating (IR) course is designed for pilots who wish to fly without visual reference to the ground. This rating allows pilots to fly under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR).
To enroll for the IR course the student must hold a private pilot certificate and have completed required hours as pilot in command on cross country flights. This qualification will improve your flying skills and you will become a more competent and generally safer pilot.
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The training for the instrument rating consists of several distinct phases of training. Each level builds on the knowledge and skills learned in the previous level and contain coordinated ground and flight training lessons. See Course Break-Down Below
STAGE 1
Stage 1: Basic IFR Flight. Using an approved hood will restrict your outside vision, you will learn to fly the airplane blind while your instructor looks outside. Learn how the instruments work and use them to your advantage. Stage completion will indicate that you have what it takes to fly inside the clouds.
STAGE 2
Stage 2: IFR Approaches. You will learn how to fly within the complex ATC system and perform holding patterns and also how to fly instrument approaches such as the ILS, VOR, GPS, and NDB approaches. The instrument approach systems and our training will enable you to land at airports where the clouds are as low as 200 feet and the visibility less than half a mile.
STAGE 3
Stage 3: IFR Cross-Country. You will learn IFR cross-country planning, weather and meteorology, and how they all interact. Further, you will fly cross-country flights to distant airports without ever looking outside. You will only use radio aids such as VORs, NDBs, or GPS. Upon completion you will be prepared to take the practical exam. You will study the procedures set by the GACA and ready yourself both in ground and in flight. Upon completion you will receive your GACA Instrument rating.
The Instrument Rating teaches you to navigate by relying solely on the navigational instruments in your aircraft and electronic navigation aids on the ground and in space. Learning to use these Instruments and Navigational Aids will allow you to know precisely where you are every second of your flight.
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For those wanting to go on to become Commercial Pilots, the Instrument Rating is a must have rating, as 95% of the flying you will be doing as an Airline Pilot will be done under these IFR rules.
