The Instrument Rating is not a separate license, but is rather an additional category rating that enhances whatever license you have. For example, you can become an instrument-rated pilot at anytime in your helicopter flying career; you may hold an instrument rating as a Private or Commercial helicopter pilot. You must have an instrument rating to become a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), and even then, you cannot give instrument training until you become an Certified Flight Instructor/Instrument (CFII).
The rating is category-specific. An Instrument Airplane rating does not qualify you as an instrument pilot in helicopters, although you may count your instrument aeronautical experience toward a portion of the requirements for the Instrument Rotocraft rating.
An Instrument Rating qualifies you to operate an aircraft under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), that is, within the national IFR system. Some people mistakenly think this is just "flying in the clouds," but it is much broader than that; the IFR system is more about the system in which aircraft are under constant, positive control than about the weather conditions they operate in.
Most professional helicopter jobs require at least a Commercial License with an Instrument Rating.
Requirements to be eligible for an Instrument Rotorcraft Rating
General requirements.
- You must be able to read, write, understand, and speak English.
- You must hold at least a Private Pilot License, Rotorcraft Helicopter.
- You must pass the written knowledge test the instrument rating, unless you already hold an instrument rating for another category of aircraft.
- You must complete the aeronautical and ground instruction requirements with a Certified Flight Instructor/Instrument (CFII).
- You must pass an oral and practical test (checkride).
Aeronautical experience.
- At least 50 hours PIC cross-country time.
- At least 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time.
- At least 15 hours of instrument flight training in helicopters,
including:
- At least 3 hours in instrument training within the preceding 60 days before the checkride
- At least 1 cross-country flight conducted under Instrument Flight Rules, that is at least 100nm, includes an instrument approach at each airport, and includes 3 different kinds of instrument approaches.