Accelerated IFR Instrument Flight Training

[Cloud Hunter]

Has anyone recently attended an accelerated IFR training school? If so, any reccomendations or experiences to share (good or bad)? Thanks.

[LR2205]

I haven't personally done accelerated training. They say it's supposed to be cheaper, since you can retain the training skills better due to frequent practice, and therefore complete the ratings in less flying hours.

But in reality, I don't think your saving all that much, if anything at all. You still have to do all the lessons either way, there's nothing left out of accelerated training. Due to this reason, you might (notice i said might) save 5 hours on each rating, if that. Five hours, big deal, they make it seem like your cutting the time in half. That's not the case.

With that said, is it worth the mental stress of flying or studying 10 hours a day for 2 weeks straight to do the instrument rating just to save a few dollars? That's for you to decide.

[KCSunshine]

Hi Cloud Hunter. I'm going to give a thumbs-up for accelerated training and tell you why. As LR2205 points out, you still have to do all the work. The training that you do in acclerated training doesn't get lost or have to be re-worked when you take time off from training and fill your brain with other things (ie what you know as 'your life'!). So the good thing is that you set aside a block of time and commit yourself to one goal during that time-period. Multi-tasking is way overated when it comes to learning something. Just focus on one thing - and that's what accelerated training does.

I did my private, instrument, and commercial certificates/ratings in a non-accelerated enviornment. My Multi-Engine and Instructor ratings where done accelerated. After having done both of them, I strongly believe in accelerated training. It gets you where you want to go in the least amount of time. And in that respect, time is money. So not only do you save some 'cash', but in the long run, you save time (did I mention that time is money???).

What to look for in an accelerated school? In my opinion the three most important things are : Syllabus, Instructor qualifications, and cost. And not necessarily in that order.

Syllabus. If your 'school' doesn't use one, forget them. This is an arena most accelerated schools excel at (pun intended). Most have them and they keep you on track.

Instructor Qualifications. Minumum pass rate here is 80% for first time applicants (preferable is 90%). You don't want to go up with a great pilot who can't transfer their knowledge to you. That's ultimatley what you're paying for - a transfer of knowledge. Preferably, your instructor will be Gold Seal (FAA designation) or Master Instructor (National Association of Flight Instructors designation). Both mean mainly the same thing. It means your instructor has a PROVEN track record of getting the job done.

Cost. I should really call this value instead of cost, but doesn't almost everything come done to money? There's enough schools out there that 'guarantee' a final cost to get your rating. Insist on this. One of the accelerated flight schools I went to quoted a price for the course. They provided sub-standard instruction and then wanted to charge me almost $300/hr for additional instruction/airplane cost to get me where I needed to be!

There are some great accelerated schools to go to. P.I.C. has been around a long time, though they are VERY expensive. I have a friend who went to True-BlueAviation.com, was very happy with the instruction and cost, and passed their checkride on the first attempt. If you're gong accelerated, go somewhere that gives you one-on-one instruction, with a 'final-cost guarantee'.

You'll hear people question whether or not these programs work. They do. They get you what you want. But realize, it is always prudent to use baby steps when excercising ANY new privlege.

This post got a bit long, but this is something I have strong opinions about! And it is a big decision about whether to go and where to go. I hope this helps.

[LR2205]

KCsunshine brings out some great points on acelerated training, none of which necessarily conflicted with my first post on this. Notice before how I said you won't save any flight hours since nothing is left out of accelerated training. But what KCsunshine brings out that is a great point is that you will get your ratings faster, as in, less time on the calendar. And as pointed out already, time is money. So in that regard, yes, you are saving money by saving time, and getting that first job faster. But NOT by saving costs on flight time or instruction. Note the difference on that.

The flight schools make it seem like you are saving money by doing everything faster but don't believe it. You might save a few hundred dollars, possibly even a thousand or two. But don't think your gonna walk away from the training having saved a substantial amount.

Perhaps the best part of accelerated training is that you can focus on your flight training and not have life get in the way. Personally for me, this wouldn't work, because I need to change things up thrughout the day, and would never be able to spend the whole day doing one thing, no less weeks or even months. But for some people it works just fine.