Multi-Engine/IFR Rating Multi IFR is aviation language for “Multi-Engine / Instrument Flight Rules”. They are separate ratings, but are traditionally earned together. Let's look at each of them. Multi-Engine As the name infers, this rating will allow you to fly an aircraft with more than one engine, such as our Piper Seminole, which has two engines. A multi-engine rating is a must if you wish to advance your flying career toward a job with the major airlines, or even if you want the option of owning or renting a multi-engine aircraft. If you are taking your family on a trip through mountains or over long stretches of water, you might want the extra safety of another engine. IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) When you obtain your Private Pilot’s license, you will be what is referred to as a VFR pilot, or Visual Flight Rules. This means you will be restricted to flying in weather that allows you to remain certain distances from clouds and bad weather conditions. If you can not maintain sufficient separation from clouds to remain VFR, conditions are referred to as IFR, which means you will require advanced knowledge of your aircraft’s instruments and of IFR procedures in order to navigate safely. This rating does not pertain only to multi-engine aircraft. Some single engine aircraft are also equipped to operate in IFR conditions, and having an IFR rating can be extremely useful if conditions deteriorate below VFR. Again, as with your commercial license, this rating makes you a better pilot in that you will be more familiar with your aircraft, its systems, advanced flight procedures, and the air and weather in which you travel. This rating will allow you to fly and navigate “in cloud”, where you have no visual reference to the outside world. The ground school for your Multi-IFR rating is a 3 day seminar, with the rest of your knowledge earned through one-on-one instruction from you instructor both in the air and on the ground. Your in-flight training will fall into three categories- IMC, hood time, and simulated. IMC This is the real thing. IMC is flying in cloud, when you will have nothing but a gray wall for a wind screen. Fortunately for IFR students, Vancouver is lucky in that we have ample opportunity to acquire real IMC IFR flight training. Hood Time For the purposes of IFR training, we use a tool called a hood. The hood is hat-like, with a wide plastic shield that blocks your view of the outside world, allowing you only a view of your instruments. When the skies are clear and blue, you can still do IFR flight training by using this tool. Your time logged with this tool is recorded no differently than any other IFR flight training, and is simply referred to as “hood time”. Simulated It is not news to any flight student that flight training, especially advanced flight training, is very expensive. Canadian Flight Centre offers many ways to help you cut down this cost, and one of the most useful to IFR students is our flight simulator. Right in our facility, our students can utilize our ATC-810 Flight Simulator. This is a highly advanced training tool that allows you obtain IFR experience without ever leaving the ground. According to Transport Canada, up to 20 of the required 40 hours of dual IFR flight training can be in a simulator. Why would you want to train in a simulator? Well, dual time in the simulator is $80.00 per hour (plus tax). Dual time in our Piper Seminole is $320.00 per hour (plus tax). You’ll save almost $4,000 by using the simulator. Your Multi-IFR flight training will teach you everything you need to know to safely fly a multi-engine aircraft through poor visibility and cloud. Bear in mind, that this is not a license to fly through storms. A good pilot knows that some weather is just not flyable, regardless of your ratings or aircraft. Click here for Multi-IFR course fees. (back to top)