Instrument rating

Yesterday, after 45 days at ATP(not including weekends) I passed my instrument checkride. I wanted to share with you my experience thus far. I am really enjoying ATP. I have met some great people that really want you to succeed. It took a considerable amount of time studying to be prepared for the test, but if you make the time to do it from day one, or even before you get to ATP you’ll do just fine. A few bits of advice to current or future instrument students. Do well on the written test, the oral portion of my test was quick and easy and the examiner said it was because I scored high on the written. I’m sure this varies greatly from one examiner to another but it couldn’t hurt. Get the most out of every lesson. Your time with with your instructor every day is valuable. Write down questions in a small notebook as you think of them and when you see your instructor ask them, or any instructor for that matter, most of them are happy to answer a few questions. Make friends at school. This is one of your best resources, everyone has different strengths and I guarantee that you will learn something if you sit down with a group of people at least a couple times a week, if you are shy, DONT BE! You already have a very big thing in common with all of the other students, start with that. There is not a pilot out there that doesn’t like talking about airplanes. Rid yourself of doubt. This one can be difficult, but positive thinking goes a long way. For now I have earned my weekend off and it looks like Monday I’ll be starting Crew training and crew cross countries. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. Good luck everyone.

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Robert,

Congrats on the Instrument Rating (that’s a biggy!) and all the valuable advice. I completely agree and believe you’ll find most examiners feel the same. Show up with a solid score and the oral will go much smoother. Keep up the great work and please keep us posted. The real fun starts next week!

Congrats again!

Adam

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