Instrument Rating

Fly in cloud. Fly in the system. Stop cancelling.

A Private Pilot certificate lets you fly in good weather. An Instrument rating lets you fly in the clouds, on an IFR flight plan, into airports you cannot see until short final. For most pilots it is the rating that turns flying from a fair-weather hobby into transportation you can actually plan around. It is also the single biggest step up in skill you will make.

We fly the whole rating in the Cherokee 180. It has dual Garmin G5s, a GNS 430 WAAS navigator, and an autopilot, so you train on the same panel you will use afterward rather than learning on equipment you will never see again.

Pay-as-you-go pricing

$175/hr wet · Cherokee 180 (fuel included)
$55/hr · instruction, billed only for time spent
$165/hr wet · Clemson students and employees · $160/hr ROTC cadets

Most instrument students fly 45 to 55 hours to the checkride. Price out your rating →

What the FAA requires

50 hours of cross-country time as pilot in command, at least 10 of it in airplanes
40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time, at least 15 of it with an instructor
A long IFR cross-country of 250 nautical miles, with three different kinds of instrument approaches
The instrument written test and a checkride with an examiner

Much of the cross-country time you already have from your Private Pilot training and the flying you have done since.

Who this is for

Private pilots tired of scrubbing trips for a low ceiling
Anyone flying somewhere they actually need to be on a given day
Pilots building toward a Commercial certificate, where the instrument work is required anyway
Pilots who want the precision, whether or not they ever file IFR

New to all this? Start with the Private Pilot certificate first.

Talk Through Your Instrument Plan

Commercial Certificate

The certificate that lets you get paid to fly.

A Commercial certificate is the standard the FAA holds a professional pilot to: tighter tolerances on every manoeuvre, and a set of commercial manoeuvres you will not have flown before. Most people arrive here having already earned their Private and Instrument, and the honest part nobody mentions up front is that the certificate needs 250 total flight hours. The training itself is a fraction of that.

Most of the work is flown in the Cherokee. The 10 hours of complex or technically advanced time the certificate requires are flown in the Marchetti S.205, which has retractable gear and a constant-speed prop.

Pay-as-you-go pricing

$175/hr wet · Cherokee 180 (fuel included)
$225/hr wet · Marchetti S.205, for the complex hours
$55/hr · instruction, billed only for time spent

The training runs 40 to 60 flight hours on top of whatever time you already hold. Price out the full path →

What the FAA requires

250 hours of total flight time, including 100 hours as pilot in command
20 hours of training, of which 10 are instrument and 10 are in a complex or technically advanced airplane
A 300 nautical mile cross-country with landings at three points, flown solo or with an instructor aboard while you act as pilot in command
The commercial written test and a checkride with an examiner

The 250 hours is the part that takes the longest. We will be straight with you about where you are against it before you spend anything.

Who this is for

Pilots aiming at a flying career and working through the ratings in order
Instrument-rated pilots who want the precision the commercial standard demands
Anyone who wants to instruct, which starts with this certificate

Starting from zero and aiming here? The estimate tool prices all three ratings and the time building together.

Talk Through the Commercial Path

Take the First Step.

Book a 60-minute discovery flight (90 minutes total at the airport) and find out whether flying is for you. You'll be at the controls for most of it, with a CFI beside you the whole time.

No commitment. If you decide to continue, the time counts toward your Private Pilot certificate.

Book a Discovery Flight

Learn to Fly

Private Pilot

Pay-as-you-go pricing

What to expect

Who this is for

Instrument Rating

Pay-as-you-go pricing

What the FAA requires

Who this is for

Commercial Certificate

Pay-as-you-go pricing

What the FAA requires

Who this is for

Discovery Flight

Cherokee Discovery Flight

Accelerated Private Pilot

What's included

Cherokee Rental

Rental rates

Learn more before you fly

Take the First Step.