Thanks for the responses...
Just to clarify, I would complete my written and get my 50PICXC hrs before going into the program so that I dont have to bother with that. From a flying standpoint, I would be using a plane that is always available to me... The way the program is structured, the student does 20 hours sim + 20 hours flying to get the total 40 hours required... Hence, if the weather sucks, it would be more sim time..
Regardless, I see what you guys mean..its jst a little tempting.. My PPL training dragged on for 1.5 years ( since I had to wait until I was 17 ) and I found that it was a lot of wasted money and that the frequent gaps in my training led to frustration and rusty skills! The hours I built were mostly to get me back in the saddle everytime I stopped flying for 3-4 weeks
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There was a point in my training, when I had gotten a good feel for the trim,etc and could nail my heading and altitude consistently.. Then, I stopped flying for a month or so ( since I had time to kill,bad weather and instructor scheduling issues) and then when I returned, I had major deviations again! This is just one example.. Hence, the structure of the 10 day program appeals to me. This way, I know what I am going to do and how I am going to do it in a defined period of time.
Here's what one of the guys who got their license from the 10 day program ( called PIC ) had to say:
"The instrument training is very involved. There is a lot of knowledge and mastery of flight controll that has to occur. With that said, If you are dedicated, you can do it. I found it helpful to have had the written exam out of the way as this will help you in a general sense, to have the basic IR data in your knowledge tank. I am much older than you and have been away from the formal learning process for many, many years. Persistance is the key.
The PIC instructor was patient, understood my gaps in my knowledge and was able to help me bridge those gaps for a suscessful oral exam.
2) I had 41 hours of X-C and 26 Hours of Instrument when I hired PIC. We flew for 6 days and I was well prepared for the check ride.
3)We had 2 days of no fly because of Ice Airments and Pirep 's for ice. We mad that time up on the back end of the program.
4)You are not alone, I too had trouble with altitude. This is caused by not having the airplane trimed properly for the airspeed and or heavy controll pressure. PIC corrected this problem with the simulator and in the aircraft.
5) I have no regrets at all with this training. I feel well prepared to BEGIN my IR flying. I wont do hard IFR but will start with MVFR conditions to a base of 1000' to "cut my teeth" in a sense and ease my way as experiance builds. Like running a marathon, you need to practise and prepare with the new rating."
Here are my choices:
1) Do 10 day program. If I find that I am not confident enough to go up myself or that my skills are lacking, I go back to my old CFI and do some flights with him. The 10 day program I am looking at seems to have very experienced instructors ( 4000hrs TT + ) and has gotten good reviews from the people who graduated from it..
2) Instead of the 10 day program, Go to another accelerated program offered in Boston where they do 3-4 full day flights a week and the rest of the days, they assign ground stuff to learn the material... I'd probably be done in 25 days or so. This route is more expensive though ( $10,000 approx )
3) Go do the conventional route.. Problem with this is that I dont really like any of the CFII's in the local area and my old CFI now works for the airline so he's only in town for a week or so ....
I'm torn..