I don’t know how much free time you have Eddspeter, but if I was you I would offer my services to local clubs. A volunteer/cheap IRI is the most difficult part of setting up an IR course in a club.
That would be a way to help the GA community expand and grow.
My club is lucky to have one such FI/IRI and the whole IFR group is based on him.
Clubs are usually DTOs. Can DTOs teach IR?
I think IRI is useful with CBIR for those who want to build IFR time and get ready for test long before stepping into the ATO, the problem is that independent students and independent instructors don’t match that well as both will have a busy life going on, someone in a hurry may just go for a quick course and rubber stamp from an ATO as they will get their training/rating quickly?
I got the same on IMCr rating, I just flew RHS with an FI who use it actively for his private flying and I learned a lot, for him to teach IMCr and do the exam in his/my aircraft was lot of hassle for both of us, so he just suggested I get a week off work and go for an ATO to get the paper…
I see actually instructing as something I would do in retirement. It’s difficult to imagine how the scheduling would work before then.
Furthermore, I see it as a moving around kind of thing—for example, instruct a couple years in Spain at an ATO; then move to Northern Europe for a couple more years; then move again.
My wife thinks there should be demand for a freelance instructor (or loosely affiliated with an ATO) willing to work with plane owners who actually want to tour both VFR and IFR.
Of course the reality is likely to be different from whatever I imagine….
WhiskeyPapa wrote:
Of course the reality is likely to be different from whatever I imagine….
pretty much the definition of reality vs imaginations : they are different
Do I understand correctly that the 7 IR and 13 CPL exams are completely standalone? If you take the 13 CPL exams, is there any credit toward the IR?
What is the best exam route to follow if your goals are:
1) to fly IFR in personal aircraft 3-4 years (no short term need of CPL)
2) subsequently take up instructing
3) no airline aspirations
The two overlapping subjects meteorology and human performance may be credited in either case. The credits are made in appendix 1 to Part-FCL. See point A.2.3. for the CPL and point A.4. for the IR. The relevant text will be easily found by searching the implementing rules (link) for crediting of theoretical knowledge.
The content of other subjects with common titles does not overlap and so no credit exist, eg subject 010 air law done for the CPL is not the same as subject 010 air law done for the IR. An exposition of the theoretical knowledge learning objectives is made in the appendices to AMC1 to FCL.310 FCL.515(b) FCL.615(b) starting on p 285 of the Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (link).
The flight instructor certificate in the aeroplane category requires 10 hours of instrument flight training and completion of the CPL theoretical knowledge requirement. The latter applies only when giving training above the LAPL(A) level. See FCL.915.FI in Part-FCL.
Aeronautical knowledge will be fresher at the point of starting the FIC course if all CPL training is delayed until then.
The IR theoretical knowledge course and exams are not required if you acquire any other ICAO annex 1-compliant IR and accumulate at least 50 hours of flight time under the IFR before pursuing a Part-FCL IR via the CB-IR pathway. In this case exam credit is unavailable.
WhiskeyPapa wrote:
Do I understand correctly that the 7 IR and 13 CPL exams are completely standalone? If you take the 13 CPL exams, is there any credit toward the IR?
To minimise the total number of exams, take ATPL exams instead of CPL ones – they are good for both IR and CPL. The syllabus is the same as for CPL, there are merely more questions per exam.
Qalupalik wrote:
The content of other subjects with common titles does not overlap and so no credit exist, eg subject 010 air law done for the CPL is not the same as subject 010 air law done for the IR,
Certainly they are not the same but they do overlap a lot. Just for fun I counted the learning objectives of subject 022 (Instrumentation) and about 70% of the learning objective for the CPL are also in the IR.
Certainly, if one wants a CPL and an IR, or CPL theory and an IR, it is less brain-dead crap to do the 14 “ATPL” exams.
Do them even before starting the PPL and then you save yourself another 7 (?) brain-dead exams.
Doing the CPL and IR exams as separate sets also prevents you ever getting an airline job, even though you have a CPL/IR ir can never be upgraded to an ATPL (via the 500hrs multi pilot cockpit route used in Europe). If you search my 2012 writeup for “dead end” you will find it. Many people have searched high and low for a route which avoids the 14 exam set but Brussels has comprehensively closed off the options. There are options for bizjet flying.
