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Frequently Asked Questions
 Click
on any question to see answer.
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What is Accelerated Training?
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How can I get an instrument rating in just 7-10 days?
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What are the
prerequisites for taking the course
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How
does your price compare to other schools?
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How long does average student take to complete the
course?
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Do you have a flight
examiner on staff?
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What aircraft do you have available for me to fly?
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What
happens if I need to stay longer than 7-10 days?
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What kind of accommodations are available?
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How long will I be training
every day?
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How many hours will I get in the airplane and simulator?
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How can I get
40 hours of instrument time in one week?
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Why should I come with 15 hours of instrument time?
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How much of the accelerated training will I retain?
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What experience do your flight instructors have?
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Do you offer accelerated Private or Commercial training?
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How can I tell if I have 45 hours PIC cross-country
time?
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Are there certain times of the year more suitable for training?
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Do you have financial aid or loans available?
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Is your school part 61
or part 141 approved?
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Are you approved by the VA for Veterans Benefits?
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Can I take the written
test at your location?
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How
should I prepare for the written test?
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What
radios should my airplane have to be used for training?
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Will I be able to get some actual experience in the
clouds?
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What inspections
does my airplane need to have completed?
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How can I prepare to maximize the benefit of my
training?
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What books should I read
before hand?
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Do you offer
finish up courses?
- What
does SPIFR mean?
-
How far in advance do I need to schedule training?
What is Accelerated
Training?
Accelerated
Training simply means training on a full-time basis. The airlines and military
have used full-time accelerated training as their standard for years.
Accelerated training allows pilots to immerse themselves in the training
environment without constant gaps and interruptions in training.
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How can I get an
instrument rating in just 7-10 days?
When
you train with us, you will be flying two to three times a day coupled with
quality ground and simulator sessions.
You will be immersing yourself in the perfect learning environment to
master the skills necessary to fly IFR with confidence.
One flight instructor will be assigned completely to you until you have
completed the course and passed the checkride.
Your flight instructor will have no outside commitments that could conflict
with or delay your training.
Furthermore,
your SPIFR flight instructor is a full-time IFR expert.
You will be learning from someone who has been “in the system” far
more than your average “time building” flight instructor at typical FBOs and
flight schools.
We love to teach and our passion will guide you
through a challenging and enjoyable week of training.
Not only is it possible to earn your instrument rating in 7-10 days, you
will also earn the confidence to use your new instrument rating once
you leave.
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What are the
prerequisites to taking the course?
To take our instrument
rating course you must have the following:
- FAA Instrument written
test passed
- USA third class medical
or better
- 45
hours PIC cross
country time
- 15 hours of instrument
time in an airplane
- Current Biennial Flight
Review
- Be VFR current at or
above the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards
Pilots that are not current
or who have not flown in a while should fly with an instructor prior to training
with us. Pilots should be proficient in normal and crosswind landings, VFR
radio operations, VFR steep turns, stalls, and slow-flight. We recommend flying
5-10 hours in the two months preceding your IFR training. To maximize the benefit of your investment in training
with us, you should arrive fully prepared to build on your Private Pilot
knowledge.
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How
does your price compare to other schools?
The national average for
completing the FAA Instrument Rating is about 70 hours. Average CFII
instructor rates are over $40/hour and sometimes as high as $80/hour. A
typical modern aircraft rental is about $110 per hour with fuel. After 70
hours of instrument training, you would already have $10,500 or more into IFR
training. Now add in the cost of additional ground school sessions,
training materials, simulator time, and testing fees. Also factor in the
value of your time as you drive back and forth to the airport over a typical one
year period. Expenses for "typical" IFR training can easily
approach $15,000. We hear from many pilots who have close to 100 hours of
IFR training and still have not completed their training at a traditional flight
school or FBO.
SPIFR Flight Training, on
the other hand, is able to offer complete IFR training for a fixed fee of $4950
plus airplane time. The airplane time (for clients who rent our C172) is
billed at $110 / hour. We average a little over 20 hours in the airplane
for most clients. Our total costs are around $7200, plus the checkride
fee, depending on how much airplane time is flown. Our fees include
simulator time, training materials and even a hangar for your airplane if you
choose to bring one for training. In addition, we save you valuable time
by completing your training in just 7-10 days. The entire training
is spent with one expert IFR Flight Instructor for about 9 hours a
day.
One hour with one of our
expert instructors is equal to about two or three hours of traditional FBO
training. Our increased training efficiency is partly due to a training schedule
that virtually eliminates the need to endlessly review the same material.
Secondly, our time tested syllabus offers the advanced lesson sequencing
necessary for the understanding of complex IFR procedures. And finally,
our instructors are 100% focused on your training exclusively. This means
that your CFII will not be juggling 20 other students along with you. It
is difficult for a FBO instructor to remember exactly what you need during a
training session since it may have been a week or two since your last
flight. Your FBO instructor often conducts many other training flights
with other students before training with you again.
We invite you to do the
math when considering your training options. We think our quality and value
of training is difficult to beat anywhere in the nation. And if you
do happen to find a better deal, we'll match it. See our Price
Guarantee for details.
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How long does
the average
student take to complete the course?
If the weather and airplane
do not cause any major delays, the average student completes the course in about
eight days including the checkride. The course is designed as a seven
or eight day
course if delays do not interfere. Since we cannot
control the environment, we advertise the course as 7-10 days so that clients
provide enough room in their schedule to accommodate any delays. Clients
with complex/high performance aircraft that include 2-axis autopilots and
advanced avionics
should anticipate 8 or 9 days of training. These estimates are for
active pilots with current private pilot flying and knowledge skills.
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Do you have a flight
examiner on staff?
We maintain close working
relationships with several examiners in the local area to ensure that a examiner
will be available by the time you complete the course. We prefer to utilize an
independent examiner in order to ensure unbiased evaluation of our applicants.
At the end of the course you will face the same objective standards set forth in
the Practical Test Standards as a pilot trained anywhere else in the United
States. You can be sure you earned your instrument rating when you have
completed the instrument checkride. The examiners we use are thoroughly
familiar with our training and are used to the well trained applicants we send
to them for checkrides.
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What aircraft do you
have available for me to fly?
For your convenience,
we have a Cessna 172R available for pilots who do not wish to bring an airplane with
them. Our C172 is a 2002
model with a KLN94 color IFR GPS and a KAP140 two-axis autopilot with altitude
pre-select. If you
prefer, you can bring a personal or club airplane with you to train in to
maximize the benefit of your training. Training in your airplane allows us
to teach according to the equipment you have installed. We can also
develop power settings and procedures for your specific airplane.
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What happens if I need
to stay longer than seven to ten days?
If we encounter a week of
unusually bad weather or mechanical difficulties with an aircraft, it is
possible training could extend past 10 days. If you need to stay longer than
10 days due to weather, aircraft mechanical delay, or to become proficient,
there will be no additional charges for the training. You will
need to take care of meals, accommodations, and entertainment (and time used on our C172 at $110/hr). We understand your time is valuable so we will do everything in our
power to have you completed in about eight days.
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What kind of
accommodations are available?
There are four local hotels
available: The Carlton Lodge, Holiday Inn Express, Super 8, and the Days
Inn. The first three are owned and managed by the same company.
The Carlton Lodge and
Holiday Inn Express both include heated pools. The Carlton Lodge includes
a hot breakfast, the Holiday Inn Express has a continental breakfast.
Previous clients have not recommend the Days Inn but it does offers the lowest
weekly rates.
A vehicle can be rented
from Enterprise Rent-A-Car for clients who fly to Adrian. No local transportation
is provide by SPIFR.
Carlton Lodge --
(517) 263 7000
1629 W Maumee, Adrian 49221
Holiday Inn Express
-- (517) 265 5700
1077 E US 223, Adrian 49221
Super 8 -- (517)
265 8888
1091 W US223, Adrian 49221
Day's Inn -- (517)
263 5741
1575 W Maumee, Adrian 49221
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
-- (517) 264 9926
1063 S Main St., Adrian 49221
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How long will I be
training every day?
You will be training for
about 8 to 9 hours a day at a moderate pace. We try to provide a relaxed and
enjoyable atmosphere where you can learn at your own pace. You will have time
to relax each evening at your hotel. A moderate amount of review material is
provided for you each evening.
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How many hours will I
get in the airplane and simulator?
You will get as many hours
as it takes for you to be comfortable, confident, and proficient with all the
procedures. We
will make sure you meet the FAA time minimums to take the instrument checkride
and that you are fully qualified to fly IFR. Typically each client will fly
about 18 to 25 hours in the airplane along with a minimum of 10 hours in the
PCATD flight simulator. These hours are the same even if you bring your own
airplane. Ten hours of PCATD time can be counted towards your instrument
rating. However, you may fly the simulator as much as you need to become proficient.
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How can I get 40 hours
of instrument time in one week?
In order to have a US
Private Pilot license you must have at least 3 hours of instrument time already. We ask
clients to arrive with an additional 12 hours of instrument time in an airplane
(can be logged with a safety pilot or flight instructor). If you examine your
logbook you may already have 10 or more hours of instrument time. Most pilots
find they only need a few hours of instrument time to reach 15 hours if they
have been flying for several years.
Only 15 of the 40 hours of
instrument time required must be logged by a CFII (instrument flight
instructor). You will log 10 or more hours of instrument time on our PCATD
flight simulator. The remaining hours necessary to meet the FAA minimums
and to become proficient will
be logged in the airplane (about 18 - 25 hours).
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Why should I come with
15 hours of instrument time already?
We have found that if
clients have 15 hours of instrument time already logged, we are able to focus on
learning and teaching instead of time building to meet a FAA minimum. It is
important to meet all the time and experience requirements established by the
FAA. However, just meeting a time minimum does not make a pilot qualified. We
want to focus on making you a qualified and skilled instrument pilot rather than
simply flying to get the hours. The most important part of IFR training is
actually the information learned during ground school sessions. 15 hours
of prior IFR time saves us about 3 full days of flying in the airplane.
This time can be more efficiently used for ground school and simulator time
without compromising any proficiency in the airplane at the end of the course.
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How much of the training
will I retain if I learn in such a short period of time?
By training on a full-time
basis, you will retain more information then if you had spent six months or one
year training. No matter how long you train, you will have to make an effort to stay
current and proficient. The simple fact is that if you don't use any skill you
will gradually lose it. We encourage all of our clients to file an IFR flight
plan for every cross-country flight, and to practice approaches and holding when
feasible. Our clients who follow this advice stay exceptionally proficient and
confident with their IFR flying skills. We often conduct IFR refreshers
for our past IFR clients. We are always impressed with the level of
proficiency and confidence our returning clients have after using there
instrument rating in the real world.
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What experience do your
flight instructors have?
Our flight instructors are
uniquely qualified to coach you through your instrument rating. Each of
our flight instructors have over three thousand hours and have been training for
more than eight years. Because we only teach the instrument rating and
instrument refreshers, our flight instructors are experts on the subject of
instrument flying. Typically, our flight instructors will teach from 20 to
25 clients a year for the instrument rating. All of our flight instructors
are selected for their personal and teaching skills. You will never be
yelled at or "taught a lesson". We believe in positive reinforcement and
careful constructive criticism. Our flight instructors will set you up for
success during each lesson while giving you enough room to make some real world
mistakes and correct them.
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Do you offer accelerated
Private Pilot or Commercial Pilot training?
At this time, we only offer
instrument and instrument refresher training for pilots flying single-engine
airplanes.
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How can I tell if I have
45 hours PIC cross-country time?
Add up the following
cross-country hours:
- All of your student
pilot cross-country time when you were flying solo (no dual cross-country).
- All of your
cross-country time since you have had your Private Pilot license. (can include
dual cross-country or solo)
For the purpose of ratings,
a flight is considered
cross-country if you made a landing or touch and go at an airport that is 50
Nautical Miles or more straight-line distance from the airport you
departed from.
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Are there certain times
of the year more suitable for training at your location?
The entire year is suitable
for training in Adrian, Michigan. Spring, Summer, and Fall are ideal for
training in actual IMC conditions. We usually get a good mix of visual and
instrument meteorological conditions during the week. During the winter, icing
can sometimes be a limiting factor. If weather cooperates, we can still complete the course in
about eight days during the
winter. Other than icing, winter can be the best time to train, providing
the best aircraft performance and the greatest hands-on experience with real
world weather decisions.
You could learn to fly on
instruments at a location that boasts about 350 VFR flying days a year.
Then again, you would never learn about weather and weather decision-making.
Weather knowledge and experience will keep you alive when you're flying IFR.
How much real world weather knowledge can a flight instructor based in a
VFR-only region really have? Many instructors living in
the fair weather regions have little or no Actual Instrument time.
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Do you have financial
aid or loans available?
We do not have any loans or
financial aid programs for flight training. However, we do accept credit cards to make payment transactions easier. Our courses are
designed to save valuable time for all of our clients. You can be assured
that you will receive the highest quality training and dedication to meeting
your personal flight training goals.
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Is your school part 61
or part 141 approved?
SPIFR Flight Training
operates under part 61 of the Federal Aviation Regulations for two reasons:
- To
eliminate the restrictions on lesson sequencing that part 141 regulations
impose.
- To eliminate the multiple phase
checks that 141 schools must conduct.
Both
of these 141 restrictions are a source of potentially long delays that are not
conducive to effective accelerated training. The shortest 141 IFR programs
are usually at least two to three weeks due to the time delays caused by 141
requirements.
For example, a student may
have to wait a day or two to complete a phase check before advancing in the
syllabus. A phase check may be delayed due to weather or availability of a
check pilot. Time waiting for a phase check is wasted since no further training
can be conducted until that check is passed. A 141 IFR program can include up to 3 phase checks plus a final
progress check.
Some 141 schools advertise that no checkride is required
at the end of the course. This is misleading since the final "Progress
Check" is a full blown FAA checkride with a pass or fail result that is
added to your permanent flight training record. A 141 checkride is
just as stringent as a designated examiner will give when following the FAA PTS standards.
There are many good part 141 schools and many good part 61 schools. The quality of
both types of school will be determined by their individual syllabus and their
flight instructors.
We believe our advanced IFR
training syllabus is more precise and better organized than 141 university
training. Universities do not offer accelerated training because their
syllabus typically cannot meet the exacting requirements of professional accelerated
training. Instead, they typically use commercially produced syllabus'
designed for an academic semester or year.
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Are you approved by the
VA for Veterans Benefits?
Only part 141 flight
schools can be authorized for VA financing.
In addition, a pilot using Veterans Benefits for IFR training must also be
enrolled in Commercial training to meet the VA requirements. SPIFR does
not provide Commercial training.
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Can I take the written
test at your location?
The
written test must be completed prior to arrival at SPIFR.
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How should I prepare for
the written test?
Our clients have had the
most success with the King
Schools DVD ROM or CD ROM instrument written test course. Although we
believe there is room for improvement with the King's course, they still
represent the best course out there. Sporty's offers a professionally made
course but it does not effectively prepare you for the written test (it does contain other
excellent material however). Another option would be to use the Gleim test
prep books if you prefer written material to read and study.
If you use the King
Instrument course, Martha King will provide your written test endorsement via
fax when you send her a copy of a practice test you have taken. The
endorsement is necessary to take the test. If you cannot get the
endorsement, you can send us a practice test and show us your study materials.
We can then give you an endorsement to take the written test.
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What radios does my
airplane need to be used for training?
The minimum requirements
for an IFR airplane can be found in FAR part 91.205. In addition to these
requirements, the airplane should be capable of flying every maneuver in the
Instrument Practical Test Standards. This means the aircraft must be capable of
flying one precision approach (ILS) and two different types of non-precision
approaches. Typically the non-precision approaches will include one VOR
approach and either a NDB approach or GPS approach. If your airplane is not
equipped with an NDB or IFR approved GPS give us a call to talk about what
options you may have.
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Will I be able to get
some actual experience in the clouds?
Typically yes. If conditions are
appropriate we will try to get you in the clouds during some portion of the
week. We will not fly in icing conditions or in areas where thunderstorms
are probable. Also we don't believe in deliberately practicing approaches
all the way down to minimums (200 foot ceilings with 1/2 mile visibility).
Other than these restrictions, we believe every pilot needs some IMC experience
if possible.
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What inspections does my
airplane need to have?
A
- Air Worthiness Directives complied with
A - Annual (12
calendar months)
V - VORs
(within + or - 4 degrees of each other)
I - 100 hour
(if used for hire)
A - Altimeter &
Pitot/Static (24 calendar months)
T - Transponder
(24 calendar months)
E - ELT (12
Calendar mo., 1/2 life battery date, 1 Hr. cumulative use)
Notice these inspections
spell "A AVIATE". (Might be
a good thing to know for the oral exam).
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How can I prepare to maximize the benefit of my training?
You should arrive VFR
current and with flight and knowledge skills at the Private Pilot Practical Test
Standards level. If you are not at this level or if it has been years since
your Private Exam, you should consider flying a few hours with a good
instructor. Spend some time with the books to brush up on knowledge areas you
have not used in a while (when was the last time you did a complete weight and
balance).
If you would like to get
started on some of the instrument training, we recommend the following:
- Always get a FSS Weather
briefing before every flight.
- Always ask for flight
following on your VFR cross countries.
- Practice VFR steep turns
(45 degrees bank) or try them under the hood with an instructor until you can
hold altitude consistently within 100 feet.
- Learn about how the
various instruments and systems work (Pilot static, vacuum, electrical etc.)
- Keep the autopilot off
and practice precise heading and altitude control.
- Learn everything you can
about weather, text reports, charts, and theory.
- Review VOR orientation
and intercepting and tracking radials.
- Practice copying holding
clearances and drawing them out.
- Purchase "Clearances on
Request" and "Comm1 IFR Radio Simulator" from Comm1 and practice IFR
communications.
It is not necessary to do
all these things before training with us, but you will benefit greatly if you
are able to do some or all of the things listed above.
We do not
recommend trying to teach yourself instrument approaches with a safety pilot or
even an inexperienced instructor. If you do fly with an instructor in
advance of your training, you will probably benefit the most from practicing
steep turns, unusual attitude recoveries, timed turns and compass turns, and VOR
intercepting and tracking.
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What books should I read
before hand?
Other than your preparation
for the written test, we recommend the following:
- FARs pertaining to IFR
(91.167 and about the following 4 pages pertaining to IFR)
- AIM chapters 4 and 5
pertaining to IFR
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Do you offer finish up
courses?
Yes, we offer a finish up
course. See our tuition
costs for current pricing. Since a finish up course is based upon
training conducted with another flight instructor, we are unable to predict how
long training will take until we have flown with you. All finish up
courses are a minimum of 5 days long (or longer). If you believe you can
complete your training quicker than this, you should finish your training with
your current CFI or a local FBO flight instructor.
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What does SPIFR mean?
The acronym SPIFR stands
for Single Pilot IFR and simply refers to an IFR flight operation where only one
instrument rated pilot is on board. Some refer to SPIFR as being only one pilot
on board during an IFR flight.
Since most general aviation
IFR flights have only one pilot on board, we believe in teaching IFR pilots to
reduce the workload and manage the flight all by themselves. Believe it or
not, standard instrument training is typically geared towards a pilot eventually
flying for the airlines where there will be two pilots on board.
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How far in advance do I
need to schedule training?
Our schedule is often filled
three to six months in advance. We recommend getting on the schedule early even if
you have not met all the requirements yet. Occasionally we have rescheduling
that frees up dates earlier than three months so please call or e-mail to check for
available training slots.
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