IRI 800 hours rule. Simulator hours?

[Cloabp]

I would like to do the IRI(A) rating. I have close to 700 hours of ifr. So I need around 100 to start. But I was wondering if my simulator hours counts toward the 800 hours?

An applicant for an IRI(A) rating shall have:
(a) completed at least 800 hours flight time
under IFR, of which at least 400 hours shall be
in aeroplanes;

It says that '400 hours shall be in aeroplanes'.

The last 400 hours could be simulator time? Or should it be understood only as helicopter time?

Thanks

[nick14]

Sim time is not IFR, it's IGT instrument ground time.

I will find the regs but I believe it's AMC 1 FCL.050

[Whopity]

(a) completed at least 800 hours flight time
under IFR, of which at least 400 hours shall be
in aeroplanes; You have answered your own question!

[nick14]

I have lots of sim hours in various types and in various roles, very little of it counts for anything.

[BEagle]

According to that asylum known as EASA, since an aeroplane 'flight' is from chocks-to-chocks, if that flight is an IFR flight, then IFR flight time may be logged from chocks-to-chocks even if it was flown in gin clear VMC throughout.

Before the EASA lunatics took over, it was simple. 'Actual' IF time meant time spent in IMC and 'Simulated' IF time meant any time under a visor/hood but not in IMC.

Last time I was in an airliner from London Airport to Köln/Bonn, we probably spent 5 min in cloud, if that. The autopilot would have been flying the A319 for 99% of the trip. Time spent controlling the aircraft by sole reference to instruments? 5 min at the most, but zero in reality. But about 90 min of 'IFR flight time' as far as EASA is concerned, as we were waiting quite a while for departure....

[BizJetJock]

'Actual' IF time meant time spent in IMC and 'Simulated' IF time meant any time under a visor/hood but not in IMC.
It still does. IFR time means time spent flying under IFR. Different things. I don't understand why people keep getting their knickers in a twist over this.

[Cloabp]

I would say that the simulator time has been more about ifr-flying than the 700 hours logged in real flight.

Thanks guys. I will wait till I have logged the last 100 hours.

[Whopity]

I don't understand why people keep getting their knickers in a twist over this. Because IFR time has no relevance as a pre entry qualification to be able to learn how to teach flight by sole reference to instruments!

[FlyingStone]

Because IFR time has no relevance as a pre entry qualification to be able to learn how to teach flight by sole reference to instruments!

Agreed, but under EASA there is no legal obligation to log instrument time - only time spent under IFR rules.

[BizJetJock]

Because IFR time has no relevance as a pre entry qualification to be able to learn how to teach flight by sole reference to instruments!

I think you have completely missed the point here. The IRI allows someone to teach for the issue of an IR. An IR is not just about flight by sole reference to instruments, that is just one (important!) part of it.
An IR (of some description) is required to fly IFR; unlike the old rules someone without an IR may not fly IFR in any met conditions. But on the other hand, they have the privilege to fly in controlled airspace anywhere in the world. The whole argument about the IMC rating or IR(R) centres around this being excessive to allow a PPL to get home in UK weather.
To have adequate experience to teach for this, adequate experience of all aspects of IFR flight are required. Someone who has spent hundreds of hours tracking to and from their local VOR in Class G airspace while under the hood may be excellent at hand flying with sole reference to instruments but is hopelessly inadequate to teach IFR procedures.
Anyone who thinks that that modern airliners are not being flown on instruments just because they are not in cloud is hopelessly wide of the mark. They may not be being hand flown, but the crew are most definitely determining the flight parameters by sole reference to instruments. Indeed, one of my hardest tasks as a trainer on modern jets is getting the crew to look out the window when they need to (e.g. class E or below airspace!).
Don't get me wrong, I also have tremendous problems with people who struggle to hand fly - but that is as much the fault of companies who encourage use of automatics to the max, since these guys presumably were able to hand fly well enough to pass their initial IR at one point but have not been able to practice and consolidate.

[S-Works]

Well said.