Accelerated IFR training in DA40 - recommendations?

[alanhawse]

I’m 770 hours in and just passed cfi. Of that I have about 40 actual and 90 simulated

In my personal minimums I am very Uber conservative.
1. All cc is done on ifr flight plan
2. I don’t ever fly imc actual below 10c
3. I do not start to fly somewhere that is below 1000
4. I remember that my Dpe told me that my 40ng is a good plane to fly from moderate conditions into good. Not the other way around
5. I fly with a very experienced CFII every 2 weeks to keep sharp

I am badly afflicted with 4 of the 5 hazardous attitudes (anti authority, macho, invulnerability and impulsive) so I strive every single flight to manage these problems

I’m currently working on my CFII… and I don’t think much will change when I get that done.

I think caution is warranted especially for people like me who started late (53 in my case)

There is a giant gap between current and proficient in very low time pilots like me.

I think that getting an ir is totally worthwhile…. It is the using it where you should be careful

Alan

[dant]

I think the key takeaway you may be observing is that the most important part of your IFR training is understanding what you yourself will need to do to keep yourself safe when using your IR ticket moving forward - but also still get it.

[oldmangettingold]

I am CFII based out of San Fransisco Bay Area and was giving an accelerated IFR in 10 days. But, I stopped provided that training as I found the stickiness was not there. Now, committed students get their IFR usually in 2-3 months with me . I train for the first 20 hrs in SIM and then transition into the plane. There are quite a few accelerated programs that I have heard of. DoubleEagleAviation (http://www.doubleeagleaviation.com/flig ... -programs/) , CFIAcademy(https://www.cfiacademy.com/courses/inst ... ek-course/) and Shelbe which provides a semi accelerated training (https://www.shebleaviation.com/course/i ... ng-course/).

[wellknow]

ifr6 is supposed to be good accelerated program. afit for ppl was disappointing

[Boatguy]

ifr6 is supposed to be good accelerated program. afit for ppl was disappointing

They're essentially a broker and I think it depends on the instructor you get. The AFIT IR instructor I used at KLHM in California at was excellent.

I used GATTS in Manhattan, KS and they were horrible. The instructor literally did not know the FARs for IR. The only thing good about them was they had an excellent relationship with a DPE and I was able to get a check ride when DPE's in California were booked out for months.

[nworthin]

I used PIC to "finish up" almost 20 years ago. Three day course. The instructor sat with me for 20 minutes, asked a few questions, looked me up and down and apparently knew what I needed to work on. Got it done and I felt it was the best IFR training I had had in the 14 months I was working towards getting the ticket.

Turns out he was a retired TWA 747 check pilot. Guess he knew what he was doing. It was an amazing experience in how this guy just instantly knew what I had down and where I was struggling. I am a big advocate of the PIC accelerated approach. I wish, in retrospect, I had done their 10 day course and then gingerly stepped into "IFR on sunny days" flying.

I've introduced a (double digit hours VFR rated) friend to PIC. His plan is to get the ticket with PIC, then fly in a TBM with a qualified mentor for as long as it takes for him to feel confident to go solo. Amazingly, insurance is only requiring 70 hours (!) with the mentor aboard, though they are charging $70k for the insurance (also exclamation point!). He will likely fly with the mentor longer than that and then, once comfortable enough to go solo, will bring the mentor aboard for challenging missions afterward. He is a sensible guy who won't fall for the Dunning–Kruger effect.

I kind of think the IFR training approach is backward: fly 1.5 hours each week for weeks on end, forgetting half of what you learned between lessons. It may be too costly for those not using their aircraft for business purposes to hire a mentor for real life flying but that's where you learn all stuff that gets overlooked in formalized training (in my opinion). So, if you can go the route of getting the accelerated ticket, then fly with a mentor for as long as it takes, I think it will be more effective, rewarding and safe.

[ememic99]

Amazingly, insurance is only requiring 70 hours (!) with the mentor aboard, though they are charging $70k for the insurance (also exclamation point!).

IIRC legal requirement for TBM is 24 flight hours with mentor on board.

[CFIDave]

Amazingly, insurance is only requiring 70 hours (!) with the mentor aboard, though they are charging $70k for the insurance (also exclamation point!).

IIRC legal requirement for TBM is 24 flight hours with mentor on board.

In the US, the FAA doesn't require a Type Rating for a TBM (or Epic) single-engine turboprop under 12,500 lb max gross weight, so technically all you need is a single-engine PPL to fly one! Of course what matters is insurance, which will also require an Instrument Rating, factory training (I had to get signed off for the *equivalent* of a jet Type Rating after demonstrating 80 maneuvers to proficiency) and flying with a mentor pilot -- in our case 50 hours (we climbed to FL340 and throttled back to economy cruise to rack up hours with least fuel consumption.) I'm surprised that insurance for a new TBM pilot without much turbine experience was only $70K -- it was much more for us in the first year of Epic ownership.

I've heard good things about PIC Instrument training where the instructor comes to you, flying in your plane, and provides intensive training in less than 2 weeks.

[Pbwears1]

I second the PIC recommendation....10 days; the guy came to me and my plane; he was patient and even had a sense of humor; I was toast at the end of 10 days of non stop simulator and flying but I passed the check ride a week later....was too toasted to do it at the conclusion of the program, which they strongly urge you to do it while you a " fresh"

[ememic99]

I'm surprised that insurance for a new TBM pilot without much turbine experience was only $70K -- it was much more for us in the first year of Epic ownership.

And previous ME/IR didn't help in lowering insurance? What if you had previous turbine/jet experience?