That makes complete sense. I believe I'm just going to focus on the instrument written and then towards the end of the course, i can knock out the CFII.

 

I would definitely suggest taking the instrument (IRA) and CFII (FII) written relatively close to each other. The questions come from the same bank and if you're scoring well on IRA you should have no problem with FII. Try some practice FII tests when you feel confident with the IRA questions to see how you do. I took IRA, FII, and IGI (instrument ground instructor) all in the same day and passed them all with no problem. I'd suggest just going ahead and taking it.

 

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I have to agree. When I posted earlier, I was only thinking about the instrument rating. I didn't consider a instrument instructor rating in you near future.

 

All great advice so far! Be very careful about using Flight Sim to practice, you may be doing something that you think is the correct way and it could be completely wrong. The law of primacy will really hurt you here if this happens.

AFTER getting some real instruction with your instructor it can be a great and free learning and practice tool. Key word here is after. Do not try to teach yourself using flight sim.

If you plan on using digital approach plates and charts through a program like fore flight or wingx, Do NOT use georeferencing. That is only a bandaid during training. Georeferenced plates are a cool situational awareness aid to use AFTER you learn the correct way. I have witnessed more than 1 person fail a checkride because they relied on georeferenced plates and then couldn't fly when their IPad magically failed halfway through the checkride.

Good luck!

 

Agreed with r0cknry, feel free to use an approved electronic flight bag (EFB). I used one for my check ride and it was great. The examiner will probably want you to have paper charts/plates as a back up though, redundancy is never a bad thing. Good luck with your IFR training, definitely a rewarding addition to your license.

 

WWW.mypilottests.com

It got me through 4 written so far and when I get enough cash ton get my CFII (read never on a flight instructors salary), then I will make it 5 written passed.

 

Just throwing this in there, I bought Sheppard Air and after 5 days of hard study I passed my IRA Written and my FII written with a 92 & 94% respectively.

 

Do the advice above from those that know, also get out "jogging" for 20 minutes a couple of times a week.
Jogging will soon become running if you try hard
Good luck.

 

In my 25 years of being a CFII, My observations are that the sooner you get the monkey off your back (the written) you can concentrate more on the rating.
I've seen many people continue to work on the flying part only to paint themselves in a corner by having to study for the written then reduce their flight training significantly enough to loose the edge for the check ride. I also recommend the first 10 hours to be done in a simulator or an FTD , AATD such as a Redbird Flight training device (sim) With a CFII to learn all of the basics in. Lastly, transition to the aircraft until proficient and take your ride! Have fun and good luck!