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No rating in aviation carries moremystique and prestige than theinstrument rating. Sure, the ATP

is a pinnacle of sorts, but for most pilots,the instrument rating is the big jumpthat separates professional pilots fromtheir more casual brethren. Called “blindflying” in the 1920s, the ability to flysolely on instruments became a much-sought-after skill, as it is today. It’s nosecret that most newbie pilots look toinstrument-rated pilots as being just belowChuck Yeager in their aviation stature.

The traditional way to earn the instru-ment rating is based on the time-honored FBO model: You go to a localFBO, and they tell you it will take aboutsix months to earn if you fly once ortwice a week. You meet your certifiedflight instructor, instrument (CFII), whomore than likely, is young, building timeand aiming for a first-officer job with aregional. You dig in, and nine monthsto a year of rescheduling, maintenance

IMMERSE YOURSELF!

IF YOU’RE READY FOR INTENSIVETRAINING, AFIT WILL GET YOU ANINSTRUMENT RATING IN 10 DAYSB Y M A R C C . L E E

Mike Bundy Eddy Rico

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issues and different instructors later, youmight earn your instrument rating.

There’s another way that seems to beredefining the way pilots earn their instru-ment rating. With a 98% pass rate andgaggles of satisfied customers singingtheir praises, Accelerated Flight andInstrument Training (AFIT) is revolu-tionizing instrument training with anapproach that’s being proven time andagain. So, what’s their hook? Just givethem 10 days.

Ten days to earn an instrument rat-ing seems intense, and it is. But AFIThas the process down and accomplishesit over and over by employing some mas-terful tools: Each instructor is handpickedby Tony Montalte, president of AFIT,and must have at least 8,000 hours oftime (most average 10,000) and 2,000-3,000 hours of instrument time. Each ofhis 46 CFIIs is at least 58 years old, withthe maturity and finesse that come withthose years. Instructors don’t work forairlines or corporate flight departments—instrument training is all they do. Andthey come to you; the training can bedone at your airport or at airports acrossthe nation, in your airplane or one fromAFIT’s extensive rental network.

There’s a beauty to AFIT’s approach.By devoting an exclusive 10 days to train-ing, clients put off distractions (likework). Instrument students have foundthat leaving their local environs and trav-eling to an airport served by AFIT getsthem away from family obligations andforces them to concentrate on nothingbut training. Also, AFIT assigns oneinstructor to the client for all 10 days.There’s a rapport there that can’t beunderestimated. And ultimately, you flylike crazy.

Stories From The FrontIt’s a testament to the success of AFIT’sprogram that pilots from countries allover the world have earned their U.S.instrument rating in 10 days, andsometimes less. We talked to a few ofthem, and thought it valuable to sharetheir experiences.

Eddy Rico lives on remote ReunionIsland in the Indian Ocean, east of Mada-gascar. The 63-kilometer-long (39 miles)French island is home to Piton de laFournaise, one of the most active volca-noes in the world, rising 8,600 feet abovethe sea. Involved in the tourist industry,Eddy Rico lives in this paradise of beauty.With 110 hours in his logbook as a pri-vate pilot, Rico decided to earn his instru-ment rating. “I wanted to become a betterpilot and to extend my knowledge,” hesays in his charming accent.

Rico was impressed by AFIT’s 10-dayapproach. Having previously lived in theU.S., he signed up to come to Boulder,Colo., (one of AFIT’s core locations) todevote all his time to training. “Theunique thing is that my instructor, John,took the time to work with me andunderstand my heavy French accent,”explains Rico. “That gave me great con-

fidence and put me at ease.” Rico trainedin a G1000-equipped Cessna, and passedhis checkride after 10 intensive days.

Rico’s advice to others is to find thebalance between the time required tofully devote yourself to the training andwhat you want out of it. “It is a little bitmore expensive to do it this way, butyour time is expensive, too.” Sevenmonths after passing his instrumentcheckride, Eddy Rico earned his com-mercial certificate. Today, he flies pas-sengers around Reunion Island. “More

than anything, John made all the dif-ference,” adds Rico. “I believe that whatreally puts him on top is his ability toalways find the right words to preservethe balance between confidence andhumility. I may not be a perfect pilot,but I have confidence.”

Cirrus In MexicoAlberto Bremer lives in Mexico and workswith Cirrus Aircraft’s Mexico sales rep-resentative. He earned his Mexican pri-vate pilot certificate in 2006, and becausehe needed an American private pilot cer-tificate to earn his instrument ratinghere, he acquired that in 2007. Bremerflew his Cirrus SR22 as a VFR pilot forabout a year—often with a safety pilot—

to become familiar with the airplane.After reading about AFIT and with 300hours under his belt, Bremer decidedthat the total-immersion approach wasexactly what he was looking for.

“The benefit was not that the train-ing was fast, but that it was available,”says Bremer. “I had gone to flight schoolsthat said I could do the rating in sixmonths or so, but I knew that wouldstretch into more time.” Bremer also hadto study for the written, and came toTexas because it was closest to his home.

Robert McEwan

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Bremer finished his training in eightdays in the Cirrus. “The Cirrus Perspec-tive system is just beautiful for this,” saysBremer. “You really don’t exploit the capa-bilities of the Cirrus until you fly it IFR.”Bremer attributes his success tohis instruc-tor. “Bill had me fly in every kind ofweather you can imagine,” he explains.“I had found instrument instructors atother places who didn’t like to fly in actualIMC! Bill was fantastic.”

German ConnectionRobert Bailey McEwan is a VP for BMW

in Germany. He also owns a MooneyAcclaim, and found that he needed a U.S.instrument rating to fly effectively inEurope. As with Bremer, a U.S. instru-ment rating meant McEwan had to re-earn his private. Though AFIT offeredto come to Europe to train McEwan, Ger-man bureaucracy didn’t allow the Amer-ican CFI to train in a German flightschool. McEwan came to Texas insteadand utilized AFIT for both certificates.“In two weeks, I earned both the privateand instrument,” says McEwan, “with a98% and a 96% on the exams.”

Such a feat meant grueling training.“My instructor and I were together eightto 10 hours every day for 14 days,” helaughs. “We flew four hours or moreevery day, and I couldn’t even eat with-out him asking me questions and goingthrough the material. It was excellent.”McEwan didn’t bring his Mooney butchose to train in a G1000 Cessna 172.To meet the requirements for both cer-tificates, McEwan would study and flyall day, return to his hotel at 10 p.m.,then study for several more hours.

“I looked very hard at different schools

Alberto Bremer Scott Dillion

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before deciding on AFIT,” McEwanexplains. “But for a busy person with abusiness and limited time, this was theperfect choice for me.” McEwan uses hisinstrument rating all the time nowthroughout Europe. He advises that oth-ers do early preparation. “I used the KingSchools course, and it was excellent.Make sure you do all the theory part firstand be prepared.”

Windy-City Training“I asked around and looked at manyplaces to do my instrument training,”says Scott Dillion, “but AFIT was quali-fied in my airplane and came to me. Thatconvinced me.” Dillion works in the travelindustry and intended to do lots of fly-ing for business. That meant gettinggrounded much of the time if he didn’thave his instrument rating. Dillion spenta year flying in his SR22T getting usedto the airplane, and when he felt ready,he turned to AFIT to start instrumenttraining in his home base of Chicago.

“It was pretty intense,” Dillionexplains, “but John made it easy withsolid lesson plans and total familiaritywith my airplane.” Dillion had taken athree-day “pass your instrument writ-ten” course earlier, but found he lacked

depth of knowledge. This added to hisburden while training. Dillion says hehad to study six to eight hours a day,in addition to his eight hours a day ofinstrument training, to learn everythinghe needed. It ended up being a valuableexercise, since Dillion says his oral examran three and a half hours!

“I’d advise people to go in with a solidfoundation of knowledge and to be sureyou’re exceptionally prepared,” Dillionsays. “And go in with lots of flexibility.”

42 Hours In Nine DaysWith 235 hours as a private pilot, MikeBundy had made a commitment to hisfamily that he would train hard to becomethe safest and most capable pilot he couldbe. That path led Bundy to earn his instru-ment rating. “I just wanted to be better,”he says.

Bundy looked at many options, butwas turned off at the “you can earn itin six months” approach of the localFBO and the heavy reliance of FTDs(flight training devices) at some of theother accelerated schools. AFIT appealedto Bundy’s ideal that his training timebe spent actually flying. Another drawwas training in his own airplane. Bundyhad purchased a Cessna 182 Turbo that

was G1000 equipped. AFIT assignedBundy an instructor named Hal whoknew the 182 very well, and the twosimply flew as much as possible. “Wedid 42.2 hours in nine days,” laughsBundy. “That was intense.”

The trainingpaidoff, andBundy earnedhis instrument rating. More important,Bundy has gained an obvious confidenceand familiarity with the capabilities of hisairplane. “Critics say you can’t possiblyretain information with a 10-day course,”explains Bundy. “But I found it to be theopposite. The flows and procedures areingrained in me. We flew our butts off.”

Getting It DoneAFIT is on to something here. Provingtheir critics wrong, AFIT is graduatingquality instrument-rated pilots across theworld using a nontraditional approach.With a growing menu of offerings thatinclude not only instrument ratingsbut other courses including private andcommercial, AFIT is proving that youcan become a safe, confident and profi-cient instrument pilot in just 10 days.And they guarantee it. If you’re going torun with the big dogs, AFIT might bejust the place to start. Give them a lookat www.afit-info.com. P&P