IFR  MULTI  ENGINE  RATING  COURSE  SUMMARY

Pre-requisites: Private or commercial pilot, airplane single engine land with instrument rating. Must be instrument current and competent in complex singles. If you are not instrument rated, please check VFR Multi Engine Rating Course Summary.

Note: You must arrive with a high level of instrument proficiency, not just current as per FAR 61.57(c). If you have no instrument experience in complex singles, you will probably require an additional 2 hours of multi engine instrument training. If you are not IFR proficient it may take considerably more instrument training in the Apache.

The latest editions of the private and commercial pilot PTS (dated August 1, 2002) no longer allow an instrument rated private or commercial pilot the option of a “VFR Only” flight test. An instrument rated pilot has to demonstrate the ability to perform a simulated engine out instrument approach on the multi engine flight test. This can at times be very challenging for a pilot who may have received his instrument rating several years ago and who did not maintain instrument proficiency. If you are rusty on instrument procedures you will have to allow for the necessary time and expense to get proficient again. In order to reduce your cost we can also use the ATC-610 flight training device if necessary to refresh some basic instrument skills and also familiarize you with complex airplane instrument procedures and procedural drills.

The VFR part of the multi engine training will consist of the following maneuvers and procedures: Steep turns, stalls, slow flight, Vmc demonstration, emergency descent, engine out emergency procedures (enroute and in the traffic pattern), engine feathering and restart, normal and crosswind take-offs and landings, aborted take-offs and simulated single engine landings. The only difference between a private pilot and a commercial pilot multi engine add on rating flight test are the tolerances.

If you are currently flying complex single engine airplanes and are current with basic airwork you should have no problem getting your multi-engine rating in 6 hours. If you are rusty, have not practiced basic airwork recently, or have not yet been checked out in complex singles, you will probably require an additional 2 hours of multi engine instruction. If you feel that some additional training may be necessary, please allow additional time and let us know when you schedule your training.

The IFR part of the training will consist of an additional 2 hours of multi engine instrument training. This will prepare the student for the simulated engine out instrument approach which has to be demonstrated on the flight test. We will cover engine out procedures under the hood, and usually fly about 7 instrument approaches, typically one (1) twin engine and three (3) simulated engine out ILS and three (3) simulated engine out VOR approaches. Familiarity with both procedure turns and radar vectors is required.

Training Schedule :

Day 1:             1.5 hours cockpit briefing

                        1 or 2 flights of 1.5 – 2.0 hours each

                        2 hours multi engine ground school

Day 2:             .5 hours cockpit briefing

                        1 or 2 flights of 1.5 – 2.0 hours each

Day 3:             1 flight of 1.5 – 2.0 hours

                        Flight Test (IFR multi engine rating)

We usually fly a training flight on the day of the flight test to insure the student has a feeling for that day’s weather and wind conditions

Weather Requirements: The FAA requires most multi engine airwork maneuvers to be completed no lower than 3000 feet AGL. Therefore ceilings below 4000 feet can cause weather delays. Occasionally strong winds or turbulence may also make meaningful training difficult. While it may be possible to fly under such conditions, it can be very challenging and usually also requires more flight time to master the required tasks, which will increase the total cost. It is best if your schedule allows you to stay longer in the event of weather delays.

MULTI  ENGINE  FLIGHT  TRAINING  SYLLABUS:

Depending on the student's background, the multi engine training will typically require approximately 6 hours of flight training for a VFR multi engine rating and 8 hours for an IFR multi engine rating. The training typically consists of 4 or 5 flights of 1.5 to 2.0 hours each. Refer to the multi engine ground school instructor guide for the subjects to be covered during ground school.

Flight Lesson 1: 1.5 hours ground and pre flight briefing, 1.5 hours flight:

            (a) Preflight inspection, cockpit checkout and lesson briefing.

            (b) Start up, taxi, run up, normal take off and climb.

            (c) Stalls, climb power and approach configuration, straight ahead and turning.

            (d) Slow flight, clean and flaps down, straight ahead and turns.

            (e) Steep turns.

            (f ) Engine out drills, straight ahead at approach cruise speed.

            (g) Normal traffic pattern and landing.

Flight Lesson 2: 0.2 hours pre flight briefing, 1.5 hours flight:

            (a) Start up, taxi, run up, normal take off and climb.

            (b) Engine out drills, all phases of flight.

            (c) Traffic patterns, twin engine, normal and maximum performance.   

(d) Traffic patterns with engine failures at different points in the pattern and engine out landings.

            (e) Aborted take offs.

Flight Lesson 3: 0.3 hours pre flight briefing, 1.5 hours flight:

Note: Multi engine ground school and discussion of Vmc to be completed before this flight.

            (a) Vmc demonstration.

            (b) Engine failure in cruise, troubleshooting procedures.

            (c) Feathering, securing checklist, crossfeed, restart.

            (d) Demonstration of effects of airspeed and configuration on performance (this can be combined with (c) while engine is feathered).

Flight Lesson 4: 0.3 hours pre flight briefings, 2.0 hours flight

            Note: This lesson does not apply if the student is not instrument rated

            (a) Engine failure drills under the hood.

            (b) Twin engine ILS approach.

            (c) Two (2) engine out ILS approaches.

            (d) Two (2) engine out VOR approaches.

Flight Lesson 5: 0.2 hours pre flight briefing, 1.5 to 2.0 hour flight:

(a) Review of all maneuvers and procedures and flight test prep

(b) One each engine out ILS approach and engine out VOR approach    

Note: Multi engine instrument privileges:

If the multi engine student is instrument rated, he will have to demonstrate a simulated single engine approach on his multi engine flight test. The latest versions of the Private and Commercial Pilot Airplane Multi Engine PTS do not contain provisions allowing an instrument rated pilot to add a "Multi Engine VFR Only" rating. An instrument rated multi engine student has to demonstrate instrument competency as part of the multi engine flight test.

If the student does not have experience in IFR operations in complex single engine airplanes or is rusty in his IFR skills, the multi engine instrument training can be very challenging.

After  Flight Lesson 4 additional instrument lessons may be necessary until the student meets the instrument competency requirements. We will only proceed to the final review of Flight Lesson 5 when the student is proficient in multi engine instrument procedures.