Pre-FI Course Requirements (FCL.915)

[alphaLaura]

Hi all,

Looking for some guidance regarding some of the pre-requisities outlined in FCL.915.

I'm a PPL holder starting the FI course soon. I did my 5 hours of "instrument appreciation" during my PPL. (Exercise 19?!) In FCL.915 it says that I should "have received at least 10 hours of instrument flight instruction on the appropriate aircraft category, of which not more than 5 hours may be instrument ground time in an FSTD;"

Is this 5 more hours of stuff described by Ex 19? Can I ask an FI who does not hold an IR FI to sit in with me and instruct these 5 hours?

L

[Whopity]

The requirement is to show the ATO that you have received 10 hours of Instrument Instruction. To be instrument instruction it must be given by a FI qualified to do so, or even an IRI. Essentially, it is the 10 hours of IF that makes up the BIFM which may be credited to either the CPL or IR. Whilst it is not formerly stated as such, it would make sense to complete training that can be credited to either of those ratings. Some ATOs may not credit you with Ex19 from a PPL Course as Instrument Instruction, because it is part of a VFR course and not necessarily given by a FI qualified to give Instrument Instruction. The decision lies with the ATO doing your FI Course.

[mykul10]

Good luck with the FI course, its a great one to do. Consider not only the basic instrument flight requirements in terms of hours, but look too at the quality. As with all things, it will be much easier to learn to teach skills where your own understanding and technique is solid. I used to teach FIC and found that although many of my students held an IR (I only ever had an IMC!), the understanding of the basics was sometimes lacking. Time in an FNPT II can be very beneficial here - was one of my favourite parts of the course.

[alphaLaura]

Thank you both for your replies - this is really helpful.

Whopity - In that case, can a "regular" FI (not IRI) act as the instructor for these 10 hours? i.e. If I disregard the 5 hours I did during my PPL, I can utilise a non-IRI FI-holder to instruct me on the syllabus for everything in Exercise 19 and beyond.

mykul10 - Good point about quality over quantity! I was dreading revisiting all this stuff but running through some of the basics on the weekend I realised how much fun it is.

[Whopity]

An IRI is a stand alone qualification and actually quite rare. To conduct Instrument Training, the FI would have to be qualified to teach for the IR or in the UK, the IMC rating. Normally, such training would be towards a further qualification however; in the case of a PPL (FI) simply having met the 10 hour requirement is all that is required. Such training could also be credited towards the CBM-IR.

There is an anomaly, CPL training requires 10 hours of Instrument Training and there is no requirement for the CPL instructor to be qualified to teach for the IR! If the same 10 hours of IF trainng is conducted on a BIFM Course the FI must be qualified to teach for the IR.

If you have a FIC ATO in mind, contact them and see what they recommend.

[alphaLaura]

Thanks Whopity!
I have spoken to my ATO this morning as well and confirmed that they are happy to honour my PPL hours for this.