Learn to Fly
Instrument Rating
If you have had your travel plans canceled or delayed due to our persistent coastal low clouds and fog during certain times of the year, perhaps you should consider adding an instrument rating to your pilot certificate. Pinnacle Aviation Academy offers training for your instrument rating in our new Cessna 172’s and our FAA certificated AST 300 simulator. For those students desiring to minimize training cost, we can also incorporate a portion of the training in a Cessna 152 which would reduce the cost by approximately $500. Our FAR Part 141 Instrument Rating Course requires a minimum of 35 hours of “under the hood” flight time to complete (Approximately 40 hours of total time).
The Instrument Rating Course is Made up of Three Stages:
| Stage 1: | Provides basic instrument attitude flying and an introduction to navigation. |
| Stage 2: | Trains our students for holding patterns, DME arcs and instrument approaches. |
| Stage 3: | Contains cross country flights and preparation for the practical test. |
FAA 141 Minimum Instrument Course
| 30 hours Cessna 172R @ $135/hr. | $4,050 |
| 10 hours AST 300 SIM @ $49/hr. | 490 |
| 30 hours Flt. Instruction @ $59/hr. | 1,770 |
| 10 hours Stage Checks @ $65/hr. | 650 |
| 5 hours Gnd. Instructon @ $59/hr. | 295 |
| Total Training Cost ** | $7,255 |
Average Instrument Pilot Training Time
| 45 hours Cessna 172R @ $ 135/hr. | $6,075 |
| 10 hours AST 300 SIM @ $49/hr. | 490 |
| 45 hours Flt. Instruction @ $59/hr. | 2,655 |
| 10 hours Stage Checks @ $65/hr. | 650 |
| 20 hours Grnd. Instruction @ $59/hr. | 1,180 |
| Total Training Cost ** | *$11,050 |
Pinnacle Aviation Academy has provided quality Instrument training for hundreds of pilots who have completed their course with flight times that are slightly over the FAA minimums. We recommend the Cessna Computer Based Training kit, which is an interactive program that provides the Ground School training as well as previews each flight lesson. The flight lesson previews allow you to see what you will be learning in the air – before you go fly! The Cessna Kits contain everything you need to get started on your instrument training.
Instrument Kits Include:
- 22 Interactive CD-ROMs
- Instrument Computerized Exam Review CD –helps prepare you for the FAA Knowledge test
- Pilot Information Manual – C172S
- Practical Test Standards booklet
- Textbook for reference and review
- Syllabus
- IFR Flight Planning Log
- IFR Chart Organizer
- FAR/AIM CD-ROM
Benefits of the Cessna Computer Based Instruction Training Program
- IT SAVES YOU TIME! You don’t have to travel back and forth to a ground school class 2-3 times per week.
- CONVENIENCE - You can study when and where you choose! Home, Office or at the flight school.
- REVIEW – you can review the labs and lessons just before your check ride to “freshen up” – also down the road, when you need an Instrument Proficiency Check, just dust off your kit and review!
Value of the Cessna Computer Base Instruction Training Program:
- The Kit includes over 30 hours worth of Instructional video lessons and Labs – If a Flight Instructor covered all the material in the course it would amount to over $1,600.00 of ground lessons billed!!!!
- The CBI lessons and labs are taught by professionals. They include graphics that could never be reproduced in the ground training class room environment.
- With the CBI training program minimal additional ground is needed, lowering the cost of flight training!
The average part-time student completes the Instrument Rating in 6 months and 57 hours. The average full-time student completes the Instrument Rating in 6 weeks and 45 hours. Please contact one of our friendly instructors for more information!
* The actual training cost depends on the rate of learning of each student.
** In each of the above examples, the cost of study materials, charts and examiner's fee are in addition to the flight training expense.
