Originally Posted by
Justiciar
To do the IR you need to have done the exams first. You can either do the stand alone IR exams, of which there are 7, or do the full ATPL course with 14 exams if you are going straight on to CPL and IR.
That's the bit that people forget.
That's why it's (generally) a good idea to do the IMC as part of the hours building process, where it not only counts towards the hours building but gives valuable experience which should help towards the IR. You also have time to do the exams during the hours building.