Single engine IFR before CPL?

[Climb150]

I have recently found out that in the USA most CPL students do single engine IR straight after PPL. I can see the advantages. A lot more flying days and when the multi IR training comes up you just have to worry about flying the plane. The rest you will already be familiar with.

Has anyone done it this way?

[Okihara]

Me! And I can't stress this highly enough.

[Geosync]

Yes. Me, but I'm American. We all do it this way. The Faa restricts the CPL without IFR to some like 50 NM from home base. Which means unless you want a career in crop dusting or para dropping it's not practical to be a VFR commercial only. And I doubt many parachute ops would hire you without an instrument ticket. The legal liability is too great if you inadvertently fly into a cloud with jumpers and plummet to earth in a death spiral. For all intents and purposes VFR commerical rated is useless in fixed wing. Helicopters are a different story.

[Climb150]

Geosync,
Australian pilots usually do multi IR but they do all IR training after getting a vfr CPL.

You are right. Having a CPL with IR is pretty useless these days. We don't have a 50 mile though.

[hawkerxp]

I did and Multi Engine IFR right after PPL and used those hours for the 200 hour program, not sure if it is still called that. But basically gave me more instrument proficiency early on and also the flexibility in what flights (did lots of ferry flights) counted towards to CPL rather than a strict syllabus like to 150 hour one was.

[MarcK]

The FAA requires less time for the IR than for the Commercial, and IR training time can be applied to the Commercial. In the US, IR is a category rating (e.g. IA = Instrument Airplane), that applies to both Single and Multi. So if you get your IR in a single, the Multi checkride also tests to IR standards. Cheaper to do it that way.

IR: 50 hours X-Country as PIC, 40 hours Instrument training.
CPL: 250 hours including 100 hours PIC, 50 hours X-Country

[The name is Porter]

Do your PPL, whilst building your 50 hours x-country in command study for you IREX. Get the IREX passed PRIOR to starting your SE-IR. It takes a truckload of pressure off you. Finish your hour building VFR with the occasional IFR flight whilst doing your CPL theory.

Get 50 hours multi, as much night as you can, 1500 hours and GTFO of here!

[snoop doggy dog]

Just go straight into your ME CIR. SE can be used for part of this.