Flight Instruction

 Log minimum of 40 hours of flight training total time that includes:

- At least 20 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor. And:

- At least 10 hours of solo flight training.

The training above must include at least:

• Three hours of cross-country flight training
• Three hours of night training that includes- (i) One cross-country flight of over 100 NM (nautical miles) total distances (ii) 10 takeoffs and landings to a full stop.
• 3 hours of instruments flight training.
• 3 hours of flight training in preparation for the practical test (must have been performed within 60 days preceding the date of the test)
• 10 hours of solo flight time, consisting of at least:

1. Five hours of cross-country time
2. One solo cross-country flight of at least 150 NM total with full stop landings at minimum of three points and one segment of the flight consisting 50 NM between takeoff and landing locations.
3. Three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop at an airport with an operating control tower.

 A person who applies for an instrument rating must:

• Hold at least a current private pilot certificate. 
• Be able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language.

You must have logged the following:

• At least 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command. At least 10 of these hours must be in airplanes for an instrument-airplane rating.
• A total of 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time on the areas of operation listed in 61.65(c).
• At least 15 hours of instrument flight training from an authorized instructor in the aircraft category for the instrument rating sought.

For instrument-airplane rating, instrument training on cross-country flight procedures that includes at least one cross-country flight in an airplane that is performed under instrument flight rules. This flight must consist of:

• A distance of at least 250 nm along airways or ATC-directed routing.
• An instrument approach at each airport.
• Three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems (Example: ILS, VOR, GPS, etc).
• At least 3 hours of instrument training that is appropriate to the instrument rating sought from an authorized instructor in preparation for the checkride within 2 calendar months before the examination date.

(a) For an airplane single-engine rating. Except as provided in paragraph (i) of this section, a person who applies for a commercial pilot certificate with an airplane category and single-engine class rating must log at least 250 hours of flight time as a pilot that consists of at least:

(1) 100 hours in powered aircraft, of which 50 hours must be in airplanes.

(2) 100 hours of pilot-in-command flight time, which includes at least;

• 50 hours in airplanes; and
• 50 hours in cross-country flight of which at least 10 hours must be in airplanes.

(3) 20 hours of training on the areas of operation listed in 61.127(b)(1) of this part that includes at least -

• 10 hours of instrument training using a view-limiting device including attitude instrument flying, partial panel skills, recovery from unusual flight attitudes, and intercepting and tracking navigational systems. Five hours of the 10 hours required on instrument training must be in a single engine airplane;
• 10 hours of training in a complex airplane, a turbine-powered airplane, or a technically advanced airplane (TAA) that meets the requirements of paragraph (j) of this section, or any combination thereof. The airplane must be appropriate to land or sea for the rating sought;
• One 2-hour cross country flight in a single engine airplane in daytime conditions that consists of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure;
• One 2-hour cross country flight in a single engine airplane in nighttime conditions that consists of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and
• 3 hours in a single-engine airplane with an authorized instructor in preparation for the practical test within the preceding 2 calendar months from the month of the test.

(4) 10 hours of solo flight time in a single engine airplane or 10 hours of flight time performing the duties of pilot in command in a single engine airplane with an authorized instructor on board (either of which may be credited towards the flight time requirement under paragraph (a)(2) of this section), on the areas of operation listed under 61.127(b)(1) that include;

• One cross-country flight of not less than 300 nautical miles total distance, with landings at a minimum of three points, one of which is a straight-line distance of at least 250 nautical miles from the original departure point; and
• 5 hours in night VFR conditions with 10 takeoffs and 10 landings (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower.