Hey Guys,

Need some help setting expectations based on experience if you could.

I am planning to start flying later this spring and based on answers to another post I think there is a lot of logic in trying to knock out at least a few of the ratings while maintaining my day job.

I intend to fly three to four days a week on average, possibly more this summer to make up for lost days coming this fall and winter here in the upper Midwest.

That being said here are the ratings I am trying to get ball park durations for, I understand there are a lot of factors that go into the duration of these, I’m just looking for a conservative ballpark if anything.

-Private Pilots License

-Instrument Rating

-Multi Engine Rating

-Commercial

-CFI

-CFII

-MEI

Also, which ratings would be preferable/feasible to get while having a full time day job and which ones would be best to get after you have taken the final leap?

Thanks in advance,

Steve

Hi Steve.

I would say that you are looking at 12-18 months of full time equivelant study to do a good job. If you want to do the minimum to just barely pass the exams, you can possibly do so in 6-8 months. In any case, you will need a minimum of about 300 flight hours, and that's if YOU are really good.

With respect to your last question, you should get your private, instrument and commercial, then get any type of flying job. Part time is fine, as long as you get some type of paycheck. It may be necessary to get your CFI to get this job. Once you have this job, it makes your expenses for additional ratings deductible on your tax return.

Wherever you decide to train, make sure that they have a good simulator available. This will save you a great deal of money by flying lessons in the simulator first. The airplane is a terrible classroom. Unfortunately many of the flight instructors that you meet will just want to hop in the aircraft so that they can build flight time toward their next job.

Joe

Are you wanting durations for individual ratings? Like you said, there are many factors that go into figuring out how long it may take to complete a rating. Here is what I typically see:

Private: 3-6 months
Instrument: 3-6 months
Multi Add On private?: 1 month (Most people will get their multi after the commercial so you do not have to take two separate check rides)
Commercial: This varies depending on what training program you go through and how much time building you need
CFI: 3-6 months
CFII: 1-3 months
MEI: 1-3 months

Definitely keep your job and work on the ratings on the side to save money. Once you get your CFI, then you can look at teaching to build hours. Some schools offer discounted aircraft rates to instructors working on additional certificates. This way you may be able to save some cost on the CFII and MEI. All these certificates and ratings are doable with a full time job, it will just take longer.