Instrument Rating Time: Hours, Weeks and What to Expect

Instrument rating time has two meanings: the hours the FAA requires you to log, and the weeks or months it takes you to earn them. The regulatory minimum for an airplane rating is 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time, 15 of them with an authorized instructor, plus 50 hours of cross-country time as pilot in command. In calendar terms, most students need a few months of steady flying, and the pace you hold matters more than the minimum.

This guide separates the legal floor from realistic planning, explains where Part 61 and Part 141 differ, and shows how to build a schedule that does not stall.

TL;DR

• Part 61 requires 40 hours of instrument time (actual or simulated), including 15 hours of instrument training from an authorized instructor, and 50 hours of cross-country PIC time.
• Part 141 courses follow an FAA-approved syllabus, and the approved curriculum can be shorter in required flight hours than Part 61.
• A survey-reported median for the instrument rating is about 16 weeks, but your own timeline depends on lesson frequency, weather and preparation.
• Flying consistently, ideally several times a week, is the most reliable way to avoid repeating material and paying for extra hours.
• You must pass the knowledge test and a practical test (checkride) with instructor endorsements for both.

Table of Contents

• What the FAA actually requires
• Minimum hours versus realistic hours
• How long it takes in calendar time
• What makes instrument training faster or slower
• Part 61 versus Part 141 for instrument time
• The tests that end the clock
• A sample timeline you can adapt
• Our perspective: why discipline beats the clock
• Where instrument training fits in an airline path
• Practical steps to shorten your own timeline
• FAQ
• Sources

What the FAA actually requires

The governing rule is 14 CFR 61.65. Before anything else, you must hold a private pilot certificate or apply for one concurrently, and you must meet the English-language requirement. Then the hour requirements for an instrument-airplane rating apply:

• 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, with at least 10 hours in an airplane.
• 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time on the areas of operation listed in the rule.
• 15 hours of instrument flight training from an authorized instructor who holds an instrument-airplane rating.

The cross-country requirement is the one most students already satisfy while building time toward other goals, which is why the instrument hours get the attention. If you hold a combined certificate or earlier credit, section 61.65(g) may reduce what you need, so confirm your own logbook against the rule with your instructor.

There is also a recency requirement before the practical test. AOPA’s summary notes that you need at least 3 hours of instrument training from an authorized instructor in preparation for the checkride within two calendar months before the exam date. That detail shapes scheduling: you cannot do all your training early and then wait half a year to test without refreshing.

The instrument cross-country

The rule also requires one long instrument flight: at least 250 nautical miles along airways or ATC-directed routing, with an approach at each airport and three different kinds of approaches using navigation systems. Planning that flight around weather and aircraft availability is a common source of delay. We cover it in detail in our guide to instrument cross-country rules.

Minimum hours versus realistic hours

The numbers above are minimums for eligibility, not predictions. Hours are only one part of a rating: the FAA’s examiner guidance requires that the instructor endorse your logbook or training record certifying you are prepared for both the knowledge test and the practical test, per FAA Order 8900.2-series examiner guidance on instrument rating certification. An instructor who endorses you at the bare minimum while your approaches are still ragged is doing you no favor, because the examiner will test proficiency, not hours.

Public data on how long students really take is thin. A designated pilot examiner has pointed out that FAA data gathered during practical tests is not aggregated or published, so the industry leans on school-level and survey datasets. Treat any single average, including ours, as a planning range rather than a promise.

A practical way to plan:

1. Treat the legal minimum as the lowest possible total.
2. Assume you will need additional dual time if you fly irregularly or your private pilot skills (aircraft control, radio work, planning) are rusty.
3. Budget extra time for weather, because actual instrument conditions are both useful training and a reason for cancellations.

How long it takes in calendar time

For calendar planning, Redbird’s annual survey, reported by Flight Training Central, put the 2024 median for earning an instrument rating at 16 weeks, roughly four months. That is a median across many kinds of students, most of them flying part-time.

Your own timeline will sit somewhere along this spectrum:

The pattern in the table is a planning heuristic rather than a measured result, but it matches what instructors see: spacing lessons far apart means the first part of every lesson is spent recovering scan technique, partial-panel skills and procedures from the last one.

What makes instrument training faster or slower

Lesson frequency

This is the biggest lever you control. Instrument flying is a perishable skill built on a cross-check habit. Gleim’s instrument syllabus describes the building-block approach, where simpler tasks are mastered before more complex ones, to promote good habits. Building blocks only work if the blocks are still there when you return next lesson.

Weather

You need instrument conditions for the realism, but low ceilings, thunderstorms and icing can ground a training aircraft. Seasonal climate matters: schools in regions with more flyable days waste fewer lessons. Flying in a place with year-round weather is a genuine scheduling advantage, which is one reason many career-focused students train in Florida.

Preparation and ground knowledge

Students who finish the knowledge test early arrive at flight lessons already understanding approach plates, clearances and weather products, so flight time goes to execution rather than explanation. Our FAA knowledge test guide explains how to schedule it relative to your flying.

Simulators and training devices

Section 61.65 allows part of the instrument time to be logged in approved flight simulators and aviation training devices. They are generally cheaper per hour than an airplane, and they let you repeat an approach until it is right without weather risk. How much of your time can be simulated depends on the type of device and the training rules that apply. See our breakdown of instrument simulator hours, including the Part 142 allowance.

Aptitude and aircraft familiarity

Students fluent in the aircraft’s systems, with a glass-cockpit or autopilot already familiar, spend less time learning the panel and more time learning procedures. If you are transitioning to a new avionics suite, expect some of your hours to go there.

Part 61 versus Part 141 for instrument time

Part 61 is the flexible, instructor-driven path: the instructor builds the syllabus, and the regulatory minimums above apply. Part 141 schools, by contrast, must use a structured training program and syllabus approved by the FAA.

The FAA’s advisory circular on Part 141 schools says flight-time requirements are often reduced compared with Part 61, largely because of structured courses, instructor oversight and regular FAA surveillance. For the instrument rating, the approved curriculum in Appendix C to Part 141 sets its own minimum training content, including 30 hours of ground training for an initial instrument rating, and the flight portion is defined there rather than by the Part 61 hour count. The shortened minimum only helps if the student actually progresses through the syllabus on schedule, since stage checks must be passed along the way.

A structured course also reduces a different kind of time loss: the wandering lesson plan. Each lesson has an objective, a standard and a next step. If you want the full comparison, read Part 61 vs Part 141 flight training and our explainer on what FAA Part 141 means.

The tests that end the clock

The rating is complete only when you pass two tests, per the FAA’s certification guidance:

1. The FAA knowledge test, taken with an instructor endorsement.
2. The practical test (checkride), an oral portion followed by a flight. You must demonstrate proficiency in maneuvers and instrument approaches, including one precision and two nonprecision approaches.

The wait for a checkride can add weeks that no training plan accounts for, because examiner availability varies by area and season. That is a main reason we pay attention to the checkride calendar when we design a program. If you want to know what happens on the day, see what a checkride is and our checkride checklist.

A sample timeline you can adapt

The schedule below is an illustration of how a student flying several times a week might sequence the work, not a guarantee of any result.

1. Weeks 1 to 2: Ground study on regulations, weather, charts and approach procedures. Begin simulator or training-device sessions for scan and basic attitude instrument flying.
2. Weeks 3 to 6: Partial-panel work, holds, intercepts and non-precision approaches. Take the knowledge test while the material is fresh.
3. Weeks 7 to 10: Precision approaches, unusual attitudes, system failures and ATC communication in real or simulated weather.
4. Weeks 11 to 12: The long instrument cross-country, then review of weak areas.
5. Final weeks: Instrument training within the two-calendar-month window before the exam, a mock oral and flight, endorsement, then the checkride.

If your private pilot cross-country time is not yet at 50 hours, build that into the plan early, because you can fly those hours alongside early training.

Our perspective: why discipline beats the clock

We see two kinds of students arrive wanting an instrument rating quickly. The first treats the 40-hour figure as the target and is surprised when the instructor will not sign them off. The second treats the rating as a skill to be demonstrated, and finishes sooner because they fly consistently, prepare for each lesson and use the simulator to repeat procedures cheaply.

For career-minded pilots, time is less a matter of the Hobbs meter than of momentum. A student who flies three or four times a week, with ground study scheduled in between, keeps proficiency high and avoids paying for the same lesson twice. That is why we run structured Part 141 courses and why we pay attention to the practical test calendar. Because we hold Self Examining Authority, our checkrides can be conducted in-house, which removes one source of waiting that many students otherwise face at the end of their training.

The question we ask every student is not “how few hours can you do it in” but “how soon can you be consistently proficient.” Those are different questions, and the second one is the one an airline interview, and a cloud deck, will test.

— Rainer

Where instrument training fits in an airline path

For aspiring airline pilots, the instrument rating is one early step in a sequence that includes commercial and multi-engine ratings and a flight instructor certificate. Compressing the sequence works best when each rating flows into the next without gaps. Our Instrument Rating training program for career pilots describes how the rating is delivered inside a structured course, and our guide to realistic instrument rating training time goes deeper on planning.

If you are ready to price the whole route, we publish two programs: the Fixed-Price Airline Flight School Program at $85,900, and the U.S. Airline Pilot Career Program at $49,950. For standalone ratings, including the Part 141 instrument rating, see our pilot training courses. International students can ask us about M1 visa support when they enroll.

Practical steps to shorten your own timeline

• Fix a weekly rhythm before you start. Block lesson times and ground-study time the way you would a job.
• Pass the knowledge test early. It removes a distraction and improves lesson quality.
• Use devices for repetition. Fly the same approach ten times in a simulator for less than the cost of once in an airplane.
• Log your cross-country time deliberately. Know your PIC cross-country total before you begin.
• Schedule the checkride in advance. Ask about examiner availability when you enroll, not when you finish.
• Do not rush the endorsement. If your instructor says you are not ready, a few more lessons cost less than a failed practical test.

FAQ

How many hours does an instrument rating take?

The FAA minimum for an airplane rating is 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time, including 15 hours with an authorized instructor, plus 50 hours of cross-country PIC time. Many students log more than the minimum because proficiency, not the hour count, determines readiness. Your instructor decides when you are ready to be endorsed.

How long does it take to get an instrument rating?

A 2024 survey reported a median of about 16 weeks, or four months. Full-time students can finish sooner, and students who fly once a week or less usually take longer. Weather and checkride availability also affect the total.

Can simulator time count toward the 40 hours?

Yes, approved simulators and aviation training devices can count toward instrument time under 14 CFR 61.65, with the limits depending on the device and the rules under which you train. They are generally cheaper than an airplane for repeating procedures. Ask your instructor which device types are approved for your course.

Is Part 141 faster than Part 61 for the instrument rating?

It can be, because FAA-approved courses can set lower flight-hour requirements and follow a defined syllabus. The saving only materializes if you progress through the stage checks on schedule. A full comparison is in our Part 61 versus Part 141 guide.

Do I need a private pilot certificate first?

You must hold a private pilot certificate or apply for one at the same time as the instrument rating. You also need to meet the English-language requirement and obtain instructor endorsements for both the knowledge and practical tests.

Sources

• eCFR: 14 CFR 61.65, Instrument rating requirements
• AOPA: Instrument Rating
• FAA: Conduct an Instrument Rating Certification (Chapter 12)
• Flight Training Central: Redbird’s 2025 Flight Training Survey
• Jason Blair: How Much Flight Time Does It Take To Make A Pilot?
• Gleim Aviation: Instrument Pilot Syllabus
• FAA: Part 141 Pilot Schools
• FAA: AC 141-1B, Part 141 Pilot Schools
• Cornell LII: 14 CFR Appendix C to Part 141, Instrument Rating Course

Recommended

• Instrument Rating Requirements and Realistic Training Time
• Instrument Simulator Hours: Part 142 Allows Up to 30
• What Is the Instrument Rating? The Ultimate Guide 2025
• Instrument Rating – 7 Ultimate Maneuvers You Must Nail