I forgot about the 50 hours PIC bit. The person I’m thinking of met those requirements due to being an IMC holder.
I’m also thinking about getting the IR rating and pretty much decided to do the ATPL theory. From what I’ve read on here it’s not that much more work than the IR theory. Doing the IR theory and then potentially having to redo lots of exams if I wanted to go to the airlines doesn’t seem great.
