Instrument Rating — Airplane: The Complete IFR Ground School
intermediate 39 lessons ~35h total 70 practice questions 8 units Certificate on completion
Master single-pilot IFR from the scan to the missed approach.
About this course
This course prepares you for the **FAA Instrument Rating — Airplane** knowledge test and, more importantly, for safe real-world flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). Every lesson is built around the **Instrument Rating Airplane ACS**, the AIM, and Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, with the practical judgment of a working CFII woven throughout. You will learn to interpret the six-pack and modern PFDs, build a disciplined instrument scan, fly precise attitude instrument maneuvers, and recover from unusual attitudes on partial panel. We dig deep into the regulatory backbone of IFR — currency, alternates, fuel, and lost-communication procedures — and then fly the full IFR sequence: clearances, departures (ODPs, SIDs), enroute structure, holding, and every common approach type including **ILS, LOC, VOR, RNAV (GPS), and LPV**. The back half of the course confronts the things that actually hurt instrument pilots: weather and **structural icing**, GPS/WAAS integrity and RAIM, single-pilot resource management, spatial disorientation, and emergencies. By the end you will read approach plates fluently, plan a legal and survivable IFR cross-country, and walk into your checkride knowing the *why* behind every rule.
What you'll learn
Build and sustain a disciplined instrument scan and fly precise attitude instrument maneuvers, including partial-panel and unusual-attitude recoveries.
Apply IFR regulations correctly — recency of experience, alternate and fuel requirements, and lost-communication procedures.
Plan and fly a complete IFR flight: clearance, departure procedure, enroute structure, holding, and a stabilized approach to minimums.
Brief and fly ILS, LOC, VOR, RNAV (GPS), and LPV approaches from the chart, including circling and missed approaches.
Evaluate IFR weather products and structural icing hazards and make a sound go/no-go decision.
Manage GPS/WAAS systems, recognize avionics failures, and mitigate spatial disorientation using single-pilot resource management.
CD
Your instructor
Captain Dana Reyes
ATP · CFI · CFII · MEI · AGI · IGI
ATP and Gold Seal CFII with 6,800 hours, including 1,900 hours of actual instrument time flying Part 135 freight and corporate turboprops across the Rocky Mountain West.
Summary
Skill level
Intermediate
Lessons
39
Duration
7h 12m
Practice bank
70 questions
Certification
Yes
Language
English