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Where did you do your IR?

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Where did you do your IR?

Old 22nd Nov 2007, 09:06
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Where did you do your IR?

There are a number of PPL/IR regulars on this site and I'm interested to know where you all did your instrument training.

With the IMC rating under threat I might be considering the IR and I'd also be interested to know which aircraft you did it in (both single and multi).
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Old 22nd Nov 2007, 09:21
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Did mine split between Taylor Aviation at Cranfield with Bob Moore(who is a tough but first class Instructor) and then next door at Bonus Aviation who again were a first class school, well organised, good fleet and upfront with exactly what the costs would be, nothing hidden.

I did all of my training in the twin, Seneca and the Seminole. I also went on tour across Europe with my Bonus Instructor as part of my training and so got to fly airways and real approaches rather than the rather repetitive standard training routes.

I did do an hour in the simulator but found it boring and as I was doing the IR for real flying not a tick in wannabee box I preferred to do it all in the aircraft.

I started the ground school with Atlantic but after feeling demeaned by them after being made to feel stupid over my apparent lack of 'basic' maths and the fact that their course structure is not very flexible I moved to CATS at Cranfield and completed the theory with a high 90% average at my own pace and schedule.

All exams were at Gatwick which was a royal PITA over the three sittings. Fortunately I did not have to re-sit any exams.

All in all the IR is not difficult my friend just did the theory in 4 months and the practical in a month.

Don't believe all the myths about hydraulics and fire extinguishers and don't get talked into doing the ATPL theory 'just in case' if all you want is an IR.
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Old 22nd Nov 2007, 09:45
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I did mine at Cardinal Wings at Bowman Field, Louisville KY, USA in 1999/2000.
I was working in Louisville and it was an ideal opportunity to get the FAA IR.
Mine was actually 40+hrs of actual flying in a C172SP (zero sim time) as I was paired up with another student and he sat in the back watching me make a mess of the wind correction in the hold (among other things) for 40 of my flying hours. I also had the pleasure in watching him mess up for 40 hrs.

Also most of the flying time was night because of our various work commitments which made cheating under the hood far less easy.

Nothing prepared me better for actual IFR through tough weather than flying with a retired airline captain.

The IR - another license to learn,

SB
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Old 22nd Nov 2007, 09:54
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I did mine at Purdue University Airfield, Lafayette IN, USA in 1997/1998.

I was working in Lafayette and it was an ideal opportunity to get the FAA IR.
Mine was actually 40+hrs of actual flying in a C172SP (zero sim time).

Also most of the flying time was night because of our various work commitments which made cheating under the hood far less easy.

The IR - another license to learn,

WP

SB - great minds think alike, eh? !!
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Old 22nd Nov 2007, 09:57
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American or UK?

The UK ground exams were done with the late Sandy Thompson and the flying with Wyombe air centre who are now unfortunatly part of the Cabair group but dispite that they are still worth considering (at least for the moment).

THe American IR was with the Ann Arbour flight centre about 30 west of Detroit metro.

Both used the BE76 and were very good at the time.

It has to be said that two pre booked American training companys compleatly failed to come up with the goods on time, if I had not been working in the USA at the time I would not have got the rating. The guys at Ann Arbour were very good and well up to the job but about 50% more expensive than the headline rates seen in the UK flying mags.
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Old 22nd Nov 2007, 10:02
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American or UK?
Both I suppose, only thing being I'm not sure about finding N-reg aircraft in the UK.

Keep the comments coming and thank you all for your posts so far.
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Old 22nd Nov 2007, 14:22
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I did my IR in Arizona, USA.

2 weeks of incredibly hard work, so hard I was ready to chuck it all in on every single day. And that was for a 500hr pilot who had been flying IFR for 2 years on the IMCR, and had been flying some airways around Europe for a year (with a RHS pilot who had an IR but knew next to nothing about IFR flight planning) all without any difficulty whatsoever.

I had also done the written exam in the UK beforehand.

There are N-reg planes that can be rented but they are rare. Normally, one does an IR to fly distances around Europe, and most people that do that are owners. An IR doesn't really make much sense for the self fly hire scene - for starters, most G-reg SFH planes are not even airways legal.
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Old 22nd Nov 2007, 14:51
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Threre are a few 'N' reg machines around for hire. By way of an example, there is a very nice 'N' reg. Piper Lance available at North Weald which I fly sometimes. PM me and I'll let you have the owners details.

Remember that you can exercise FULL IR priviliges with an FAA IR provided you're in an 'N' reg aeroplane. Plus as a bonus, if you don't already have an IMC rating, the CAA will GIVE you one!

(Actually, they'll charge you almost £80 for one - but you get the point! )
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Old 22nd Nov 2007, 14:55
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I also happen to know where there is a very nice N-Reg Arrow for sale that would make a great IFR tourer or group aircraft.......
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Old 22nd Nov 2007, 18:53
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Cool

Cabair all the way; quality training and first time passes throughout.

Set me up for a great career.

Quality costs!!!

(Done years ago on the GA7 - a good, stable, and undemanding aircraft; much simpler than the bigger Piper pistons and Boeing jets I now fly).
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Old 22nd Nov 2007, 19:42
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Hi ContactTower,

Although I went on to add the CPL component afterwards I did my MEP & Multi IR as a PPL with Bristol Flying Centre (all above on Seneca II).

Excellent instruction/instructors: 1st time IR pass in minimum hours and saved me a few hundred quid on the initial sum they advised that I set aside. Good airport facilities and highly recommend them both for PPL/IR or beyond. Not a brag (although I was chuffed at the time) - just an indication of their result(s) only.

Nasib is the legend/King in that part of the world without a shadow of a doubt.

Good luck whichever route you take.

EG
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Old 3rd Dec 2007, 06:59
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Hi

I did my Uk IR at Professional Air Training in Bournemouth, did all of that in the Duchess though they had singles available as well. I later added FAA at Crystal River in Florida, who Were great fun to fly with, they had C172 and a C310, and had the advantage of a good group of very experienced instructors.

Good luck wherever you go, you will not regret it!
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Old 3rd Dec 2007, 09:29
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PPSC for ground school (PPSC are no more but GTS are similar )

Bournemouth Flying Club (prior to them buying the old SFT and forming Bournemouth Commercial Flight Training for this sort of thing) for the flight training. All flying done in MEP.
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Old 3rd Dec 2007, 15:17
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Like rustle, PPSC for CPL/ATPL techs and SFT for the IR. In their day they were the definitive IR school and a lot of people went through their doors.
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Old 3rd Dec 2007, 17:01
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I'm toying with the idea of doing an IR, but can't decide between UK IR, FAA IR, or ATPL.
I'd only be doing the ATPL because it seems, to me at least, that it's not much more work than doing the IR, plus it does rather open up a few options.
There's an outfit local to me that hire N reg planes, who I
highly recommend, but then you've got your minimum hire rates to consider if you want to go off for a few days.
I have no need to fly for business, so it all gets rather expensive, but the alternative is to forget the whole thing and drive to Europe when needed I suppose.
What would be really handy is if one of you IR holding Europe travelling rich blokes fancied taking me on a "familiarisation" trip, so I could weigh up for myself the pros and cons......
Don't forget, Christmas is coming!
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Old 3rd Dec 2007, 17:15
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FAA IR in G-reg c/w UK CAA PPL

For those considering the FAA, note that the UK CAA allows you to use your FAA IR on G-reg aircraft. You can use the ICAO IR outside the country because as long as you have a UK CAA/JAA issued pilot's license then you are flying under the rules of the license issuing country (UK). Of course you may only use the IR for private flying and thus you cannot use it for any hire and reward.
Source of info - CAA FCL. PM me with your email address and I'll send you a copy of the email from FCL that confirms this.
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Old 3rd Dec 2007, 17:17
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The ATPL exams are SIGNIFICANTLY greater than the IR exams. Don't listen to all the waffle and bull**** on this site about how long and time consuming the IR exams are when what they are referring to is being hoodwinked into selling their sole to do the 14 ATPL exams and all the stuff that goes with it.

The usual line is you might want to go commercial in the future so do the whole lot now. Well unless you want to sit in a people tube you dont need an ATPL. Unless you get multi crew jet time you won't get the ATPL 'unfrozen' and the exams expire after 5 years. If you do the ATPL exams and only do the IR the exams for the CPL side expire in 18 months.

If you do the IR and want do the CPL later then you do the CPL exams when you are ready.

The IR exams are not hard.
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Old 3rd Dec 2007, 17:20
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For those considering the FAA, note that the UK CAA allows you to use your FAA IR on G-reg aircraft. You can use the ICAO IR outside the country because as long as you have a UK CAA/JAA issued pilot's license then you are flying under the rules of the license issuing country (UK). Of course you may only use the IR for private flying and thus you cannot use it for any hire and reward.
Source of info - CAA FCL. PM me with your email address and I'll send you a copy of the email from FCL that confirms this
.

This I REALLY look forward to seeing! You have no idea how wrong you are.

What you can in a G Reg aircraft with an FAA is fly IFR OUTSIDE of controlled airspace and only in the UK. The CAA will issue you an IMCR on the back of your FAA IR but nothing more.
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Old 3rd Dec 2007, 17:31
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From my research I am leaning towards Professional Air Training at Bournemouth. I like the sound of the Beech Sierra they use for training and also they make specific mention of PPL/IR training.

This I REALLY look forward to seeing! You have no idea how wrong you are.
bose perhaps we should wait until we see the letter?
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Old 3rd Dec 2007, 17:33
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bose perhaps we should wait until we see the letter?
Yes lets. I am looking forward to seeing who in PLD took it upon themselves to change the ANO.......

Do you really think if it was true we would have the endless rounds of committee meetings and proposals?

Everyone would just need nip off to the states get and FAA IR and use it in a G-Reg.......
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