Which Instrument Rating?

Lots of time and lots and lots of money later, FAA IR,50 hours PIC IFR to CBIR was my route but I don’t know if the 50hr CBIR ICAO route is still open in 2022? All I would say is that if you are planning IFR with the family don’t be short on the training and keep very, very current. It’s a great challenge,a huge amount of fun and very rewarding. Good luck.

If you want to use the IR outside the UK, DO NOT get the UK-only IR(R) aka IMC rating – get a full ICAO IR, either via a traditional IR course or CBIR.

Amateurish wrote:

I’d like to be able to fly above the clouds

and don’t forget to budget for the jet… else you will be flying in clouds. Don’t assume an IR is the key to every weather flying…

I’m doing the IR R. Once done, will build some experience and will then do the CBIR. Might not be the cheaper route, but it suits me well.

Many would say it is the cheapest option

I’m doing the IR R. Once done, will build some experience and will then do the CBIR. Might not be the cheaper route, but it suits me well.

I have done it that way: an IRR is useful to build IMC & IFR time and probably more than enough to fly IFR in UK, especially if you pick one of the instructors who know how to teach instrument flying: I could shoot Southend ILS with 1.5km visbility down to 250ft height & depart from Stapleford with 1.5km and 600ft ceiling, in 250h of flying on IMCR, I only had to cancel two flights when Stansted RVR was in few hundred meters…

The CBIR will be useful when you start flying in Europe as VFR airspace is mess and planning is cumbersome, for weather you will notice that flying SVFR departures & arrivals in France or asking for ILS in Germany on VFR FPL won’t go well vis-a-vis the paperwork after landing but you will be flying them with a smile

On UK Airway flying, if you get CBIR you will find that flying in LTMA IFR in frontal IMC tend to get you load of ice on wings all year around…

@Amateurish, as others pointed out you could use IR to get to CBIR (the one need for flights under IMC in continental Europe)

The choice is:
1. IR(R) → hour building → CBIR. You are doing theory twice, but many use that route as this one is the cheapest and allows you to use all the procedures in the UK, while you are hour-building and preparing for your CBIR. The only negative here is that you have to pass IR(R) theory exam which is not counted towards CBIR theory. Forgot aout the other one – you CANNOT fly most airways in the UK under IR(R). But in general, you could take-off in fairly poor weather from the UK airfield, climb to your enroute ALT/FL and fly to your destination inside the UK.
2. EIR→ hour building → CBIR. Unlike in the EASA world, in the UK you still can do Enroute IR, that way you do all your theory once, and you CAN flying airways. Netgatives – you CANNOT fly instrument procedures at any aerodrome! So if you can climb VFR above the MSA at the DEP and then descent under VFR at the DEST, then it works.

So as you can see here, IR(R) is more prevalent with the UK pilots than EIR.

In general, after you’ve done your PPL and start building your VFR P1 Cross-country hours, you could start reading the IR(R) book (volume 5 from Pooleys).
After you’ve got you IR(R) skills test, you could start with the CBIR/EIR theory (it is the same one) – it takes about forever (unless you are @Ibra :) )

In general, if you go either route, you will have no problem with instrument hours anyway (both routes are 15+10 hrs min), but you will need 50hrs PIC XC flying (VFR or IFR).

Amateurish wrote:

I’m confused by the different kinds of instrument rating available. I’m currently working towards my PPL in the UK and planning to get my instrument rating soon after.

On a UK license, there are only two kinds of instrument ratings: The full IR and the restricted IR – IMC or IR(R) rating. The restricted IR is only valid within the UK and is, well, restricted. So if you want to fly IFR abroad, you must have the full IR.

There are two different training schemes for the full IR (three if you count the integrated CPL/IR training). The “traditional” IR and the competence-based (CB) IR. They differ in the amount of theoretical work you have to do and how much of the training can be credited from prior experience of flight on instruments. There is absolutely no difference in the competences or privileges you get from the two schemes. Both give you an IR which is fully compliant with international standards.

The only difference that possibly matters is that, as the CB-IR has less theoretical knowledge, if you later want to train for a high-performance aircraft (HPA) endorsement, you have to do some addition ground school compared to what you would need with the “traditional” IR.

Airborne_Again wrote:

On a UK license, there are only two kinds of instrument ratings: The full IR and the restricted IR – IMC or IR(R) rating. The restricted IR is only valid within the UK and is, well, restricted. So if you want to fly IFR abroad, you must have the full IR.

@Airborne_Again, EIR as well? It still exists in the UK