How long is the instrument checkride?

Plan on a full day. The oral exam typically runs 1.5 to 3 hours depending on the DPE and how cleanly you answer. The flight portion is usually 1.5 to 2 hours of Hobbs time, plus preflight, debrief, and paperwork. Most applicants block 6 to 8 hours total. Expect a break between oral and flight if weather or fuel forces a delay, but the test must be completed within the calendar timeframes specified by the ACS.

What's the pass rate for the instrument checkride?

FAA practical test data typically shows an instrument airplane first-attempt pass rate around 80%, varying year to year and by region. The most common bust areas are regulations (especially alternate requirements under FAR 91.169), approach chart briefings, and altitude busts during holds or missed approaches. Applicants who do thorough mock orals before the real test pass at notably higher rates than those who only review notes.

Do I need 40 hours of actual instrument time?

No. FAR 61.65 requires 40 hours of *actual or simulated* instrument time. Simulated includes time under a view-limiting device with a safety pilot or in an approved simulator/ATD within the limits in 61.65(h) and (i). Of those 40 hours, at least 15 must be with an authorized instrument instructor (CFII). Confirm how much sim/ATD time your training program is crediting — DPEs verify this against your logbook.

What three approaches do I have to fly on the checkride?

The ACS requires at least one non-precision approach, one precision approach (ILS) or approach with vertical guidance (LPV, LNAV/VNAV), and one circling approach. You must also demonstrate a published missed approach. The DPE chooses the specific approaches based on what's available and the aircraft's equipment. At least one approach is typically flown partial panel or with a simulated equipment failure.

What's the 1-2-3 rule for IFR alternates?

From FAR 91.169: you must file an alternate airport when, from 1 hour before to 1 hour after your ETA, the forecast at the destination shows a ceiling less than 2,000 feet or visibility less than 3 statute miles. Then the alternate itself must meet alternate minimums — generally 600-2 with a precision approach, 800-2 with a non-precision approach, or whatever non-standard minimums are published on the chart.

Can I use a simulator for instrument training hours?

Yes, within limits set by FAR 61.65(h) and (i). With an authorized instructor, you can credit up to 20 hours from a full flight simulator or FTD, or up to 10 hours from an approved aviation training device (ATD) toward the 40-hour total instrument requirement. The training must be conducted under an FAA-approved program. The 250 NM IFR cross-country, however, must be done in an actual aircraft.

What documents do I need to bring to the checkride?

Photo ID, pilot certificate, current medical, logbook with all 61.65 endorsements signed, knowledge test results, IACRA application or paper 8710, the aircraft's airworthiness and registration certificates, POH, weight and balance, maintenance logs showing current inspections (annual, 100-hour if applicable, ELT, transponder, pitot-static, VOR check), and your completed cross-country flight plan with weather. Many DPEs also expect payment up front in the form they specified.

How current do my approaches need to be before the checkride?

Recency for the checkride itself comes from FAR 61.65: you need at least 3 hours of instrument training in the airplane category within the 2 calendar months preceding the test, and your CFII must endorse you for the practical. Separately, FAR 61.57(c) instrument currency (six approaches, holding, intercepting and tracking in the preceding 6 calendar months) is what keeps you legal to fly IFR after the rating — not a checkride prerequisite, but worth understanding.

Instrument Checkride Prep: Pass the IRA Oral & Flight

Most instrument checkride busts aren't about flying. They happen on the ground — a fuzzy answer on alternate requirements, a missed item on an approach chart briefing, or a regulation cite the applicant almost remembers. This page is built to fix that. Below you'll find an honest map of what the Instrument Rating practical test actually covers, the FARs your examiner will press on, and how to drill until your answers are automatic.

What the Instrument Checkride Actually Tests

The practical test is governed by the Instrument Rating — Airplane ACS (FAA-S-ACS-8C). It has two parts:

Oral exam — typically 1.5 to 3 hours. Regulations, weather, IFR procedures, systems, aeronautical decision-making, and a full cross-country flight plan you brought with you.
Flight portion — at least one non-precision approach, one precision approach (or APV like LPV), one circling approach, one missed approach, plus holding, partial panel, recoveries from unusual attitudes, and intercepting/tracking courses.

The ACS organizes everything into Areas of Operation with specific Tasks. Your DPE is required to test at least one Task from every Area, and certain Tasks are mandatory every checkride.

Mandatory Tasks Every Applicant Sees

Preflight Preparation — weather, performance, cross-country planning
Preflight Procedures — IFR cockpit checks, including avionics setup
Air Traffic Control Clearances and Procedures — copying and complying with a real or simulated clearance
Holding Procedures
Instrument Approach Procedures — at least three different approaches as listed above
Emergency Operations — partial panel, loss of comm, unusual attitude recovery
Postflight Procedures

Eligibility — FAR 61.65 in Plain English

Before you schedule, FAR 61.65 requires you to:

Hold at least a Private Pilot certificate (or be applying concurrently)
Be able to read, speak, write, and understand English
Receive and log the required ground training from an authorized instructor or complete an approved home-study course
Pass the Instrument Rating — Airplane knowledge test
Receive an endorsement from your CFII for the practical test
Log the required aeronautical experience

Aeronautical Experience Required

Requirement	Minimum
Total cross-country PIC time	50 hours, with at least 10 in airplanes
Total instrument time	40 hours of actual or simulated
Instrument training from a CFII	15 hours
Instrument training in the aircraft category	At least 3 hours within 2 calendar months before the test
IFR cross-country with a CFII	One flight of 250 NM along airways or ATC-directed routing, with three different approaches

Simulator and ATD time counts toward the 40 hours within limits set by FAR 61.65(h) and (i). Confirm with your school how much of yours is creditable — DPEs check this carefully.

The Oral Exam: What Your DPE Will Actually Ask

The oral isn't a regulation pop quiz. It's a scenario walkthrough. Expect your examiner to hand you a cross-country — say, your home airport to somewhere 200+ NM away — and pick at every decision you make.

Regulations You Must Know Cold

FAR 91.169 — IFR flight plan: alternates required. When do you need an alternate? The 1-2-3 rule: from 1 hour before to 1 hour after ETA, if forecast ceiling is less than 2,000 ft or visibility less than 3 SM, file an alternate. Then know the alternate minimums: 600-2 for precision, 800-2 for non-precision, or what's published on the chart.
FAR 91.171 — VOR equipment check for IFR. Within the preceding 30 days: dual VOR check (±4°), VOT (±4°), ground checkpoint (±4°), airborne checkpoint (±6°), or dual VOR cross-check (±4°). Log date, place, bearing error, signature.
FAR 91.175 — Takeoff and landing under IFR. The descent-below-DA/MDA rules: you need the required flight visibility, the aircraft continuously in a position to land normally, and at least one of the listed visual references (approach lights, threshold, REIL, VASI, touchdown zone, runway markings, etc.).
FAR 91.176 — EFVS operations. Even if you don't fly EFVS, know it exists and what it permits.
FAR 91.177 — Minimum altitudes for IFR. 1,000 ft above the highest obstacle within 4 NM of course in non-mountainous terrain; 2,000 ft in designated mountainous areas. Know how this interacts with MEAs, MOCAs, and OROCAs.
FAR 91.103 — Preflight action. Yes, still applies. Weather, fuel, alternates, runway lengths, takeoff and landing distance.

Weather

You will brief a real weather package. Be fluent in:

METAR / TAF decoding, including remarks
PIREPs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, Convective SIGMETs, CWAs
Prog charts, icing and turbulence products, freezing level graphics
Radar and satellite interpretation
Personal minimums vs. legal minimums — and why yours should be higher

Systems and Instruments

Pitot-static system failures (which instrument does what when which port clogs), gyroscopic instrument failure modes, GPS RAIM/WAAS, autopilot modes, and your specific aircraft's avionics. If you fly a G1000, expect deep questions on PFD failure modes, reversionary mode, and FPL/PROC button workflow.

Approach Chart Briefing

The DPE will hand you a plate and say "brief this approach." Have a flow: identifier, frequencies, courses, altitudes (IAF, intermediate, FAF, MDA/DA, MAP), missed approach procedure, notes, minimums table, and the airport diagram. Know the difference between LPV, LNAV/VNAV, LNAV+V, LNAV — and which give you a DA versus an MDA.

The Flight Portion: Where Applicants Trip

Common bust items, in rough order of frequency:

Busting an altitude during a hold or procedure turn — usually because of task saturation when ATC throws a curveball.
Below MDA without visual references required by FAR 91.175.
Botched missed approach — not climbing on runway heading or published track, late configuration change, navigation not set up.
Hold entry confusion — pick a method (direct/teardrop/parallel), commit, fly it. DPEs care more that you fly it correctly than that you used the "perfect" entry.
Partial panel — losing focus on the working instruments and chasing the failed one.
Failure to identify the navaid before using it for course guidance.

Fly to ACS tolerances: ±100 ft altitude, ±10 kt airspeed, ±10° heading on most maneuvers; tighter on approaches (no descent below DA, ±100 ft on MDA on the high side, on-course within ¾-scale CDI deflection).

A Realistic Two-Week Prep Plan

Day	Focus
1–2	Re-read the ACS cover to cover. Mark every Task you can't explain out loud.
3–4	Drill regulations: 61.65, 91.103, 91.167–91.177, 91.205. Out loud, not just reading.
5–6	Approach plate briefings — 10 plates a day, different airports, mix of ILS/LPV/VOR/RNAV.
7	Full mock oral with your CFII or an AI examiner. Identify gaps.
8–10	Fly: full approach sequence, partial panel, holds, unusual attitudes.
11	Cross-country flight plan for a likely DPE scenario. File it. Brief it.
12	Second mock oral focused on weak areas.
13	Mock checkride end-to-end.
14	Light review. Sleep. Show up.

How GroundScholar Helps With This

GroundScholar runs an AI oral examiner trained on the Instrument Rating ACS. It doesn't quiz you with multiple choice — it asks you the same way a DPE does: open-ended, scenario-driven, follow-up questions when your answer is shallow. When you cite a regulation, it checks the cite against the live FAR/AIM database. When you brief an approach, it pushes back on the parts you skimmed.

The mock checkride mode runs a full ACS-mapped oral, scores you Task-by-Task, predicts your pass probability, and tells you exactly which Areas of Operation need another pass before you sign the 8710. You can drill at 6 a.m. before work or at 11 p.m. after a flight lesson — the examiner is always available, and it remembers what you missed last time.

Pair it with your CFII, not instead of one. The AI handles repetition and gap-finding; your instructor handles the airplane and the endorsement.

Final Word

The instrument rating is the certificate that makes you a real pilot in most weather. The checkride should feel like one more flight, not an interrogation. Get the regulations automatic, get the approach briefings flowing, and get reps with a tool that pushes back when you're vague.

Ready to find out where you actually stand? Start free →