Instrument Flight Simulator - FAA Approves of Flight Simulators As Credit Toward Instrument Rating

If you happen to be a private pilot who is looking toAmong those reasons is because instrument flight
add an Instrument Rating to your certificate, then yousimulator software is able to replicate the behavior and
may already be aware of the fact that the Federalperformance of an actual aircraft down to the
Aviation Administration (FAA) allows you to apply upminutest detail. Thus, training for instrument flight in a
to a maximum of 20 instructor-led hours of time insimulator is virtually the same experience as training for
training in an instrument flight simulator to be applied asinstrument flight in an actual airplane under the hood.
credit toward your instrument rating.The only difference between the two experiences of
Of course you can spend more than 20 hours trainingsimulated versus actual flight (with respect to
on a simulator, but only the first 20 hours will apply, andinstrument training) is that you will not be able to
all of those 20 must be spent with an instructor andexperience the sensations of movement that could
not solo, using an FAA approved flight simulationotherwise deceive you, causing spatial disorientation,
program. (You are of course free to spend as muchduring certain maneuvers in flight such as climbs, turns,
time as you want on a home-based simulator for theand descents (which you are taught to ignore anyway,
PC to maximize the amount of time you get tosince you must trust the instruments and not what
practice and perfect your techniques.)your five senses are telling you).
There are many reasons why the FAA allows you toAmong other reasons is the cost. Using an instrument
use a flight simulator to log instrument training time inflight simulator is no doubt a lot cheaper than renting an
lieu of time spent in an actual aircraft.aircraft.