Instrument rating (IFR) time milestones
The counting side of the instrument rating.
What is tracked
- Total instrument time — actual plus simulated, with simulator time kept separate where the requirement excludes it
- Instrument time with an authorized instructor
- Cross-country pilot-in-command time
- The long IFR cross-country — distance, number of approaches and the navigation systems used
- Approaches flown, by type
- Holding procedures and intercepting and tracking courses
- Recent instructional time before the practical test
Where the figures come from
Your logbook columns for actual IFR, simulated IFR, simulator, approaches and cross-country, plus the detail you enter in IFR Insights. Entering an approach in IFR Insights is what lets the track tell an ILS from an RNAV rather than just counting to three.
Currency versus the rating
These milestones are about qualifying for the rating. Staying current afterwards — approaches, holding and tracking inside the rolling window — is what IFR Insights watches for you.
If something looks short
Approaches logged on a row with no instrument time are not counted; the entry needs actual or simulated instrument time on the same flight.