instrument or multi first

[Ryan]

Im about ready ready to start flying again and was all set on going after my instr rating when I came across a post from someone who got their multi right after their PPL. They then did the rest of their ratings in the multi. This sounds like a good idea to me since it would build up multi time faster. But Im curious to know if you more experienced guys think someone with my low, low time should stick to singles for a while and get my ratings in singles and build at least a few hundred hours before making the jump to multis.

I realize that going multis right away would be a lot more expense but since I have the gi bill some of that expense would be offset.

Thanks for any opinions

Ryan

 

[Please Hire Me]

$?

Depends on how much money you have. If money is no problem, I'd probably get my multi first and do all my training in that. But that will cost hella money.

If money is tight like it is with all of us, do your instrument, commercial and then multi. By the time you get to your multi engine training, your skills will be sharp and you will get more out of your training.

My 2c.

 

[stingray]

I would do your inst in a single engine then your commercial single.
Don't become a JFK jr
Your still a new pilot take your time getting use to single engine planes. you can do that by getting your inst and commercial in a single first. Then worry about a multi

Remember Fly Safe.

 

[bobbysamd]

Multi and instrument

I agree with Please Hire Me. You can get your Private Multi and then work on instruments. After you get your Private Multi, all your multi time will be multi PIC. Multi PIC certainly does not grow on trees, for anyone.

You do want to earn your instrument rating as early as possible, though, to develop those skills thoroughly. Instrument flying is your most important skill. Your instrument skills come under particular scrutiny at "the interview," so it is vital that you hone them early.

If money is a problem and you must make a choice, I'd choose instrument for the reasons I just wrote. Tons of people add on their multis after getting their Commercial-Instrument, and are every bit as successful as those who get initial Commercial-Instrument certifications in the multis.

Hope that helps. Good luck with your decision and training.

 

[Lrjtcaptain]

I would say do the Instrument in the single....get your commercial single and then do the multi addon. If money isn't an object, then do this....dont rush, get the instrument, and csel. first...do the multi addon then buy a block to get multi pic. There is never a right or wrong way to do this stuff. But some more logical then others.

 

[flyboy]

I think there is a nationwide misconception about the JFK crash. JFK jr. had around 350+ hours according to the NTSB report. Let's face it, he wasn't a novice......even though around 250 of those hours were with another pilot or instructor. Still, I don't think he was incompetent.

In response to the post, if you have the money I would go for the multi first. Multi time is soooooo hard to come by. If you do go this route though, stay with a basic twin and be ready to work your butt off. Stick with a Duchess or Seminole. I would also get opinions from instructors that have flown with you or other pilots that have flown with you. They know more about your skill and work ethic. They will probably be able to give you more usable advice.

 

[El Cid Av8or]

stay with a basic twin and be ready to work your butt off.

I would also get opinions from instructors that have flown with you or other pilots that have flown with you. They know more about your skill and work ethic. They will probably be able to give you more usable advice.

In regards to the first point I quoted... you got that right! I was sweating every time my instructor and I got done with a flight lesson. It was a workout, that's for sure.

On the second point... that's good advice.

For what it's worth, I got my multi rating just because it was quicker than the instrument rating and it prevented me from having to do a biennial review. Not that I was worried about the biennial, just didn't want to pay for that and a multi rating. I'm now studying for the instrument written and will start "full-time" into the lessons soon.

 

[Rvrrat]

Depends on geographic location & goals

I took some time to enjoy some solid cross-country flying after getting the PPL. Did some of the $100 hamburger flights to get my family in the air; turned out my mom & brother enjoyed it that I always had a "flying buddy." Went so far as to fly in to & camp under the wing the week of OSH one year. Navigation skills become second nature quickly.
Moved from YNG to LGB and quickly learned that an instrument rating is the ticket to freedom dealing with coastal stratus. Then finally got into twin engine aircraft.
There's always more than one way to skin a cat and no one "right true way" to accomplish things. However, it seems logical to go about getting the basics down pat before adding complexity that could put one in a corner quickly with higher performance when all the equipment is working correctly.

Regards,

 

[Griego]

A couple things to be cautious about:
1. When talking to your cfi's realize their bias toward building their own twin time.
2. If you do your multi pvt first make sure you are at a school with several and/or reliable twins... most training twins are old airplanes and go into maintenance regularly. which means your inst rating will not be quick.
3. You will be taking an extra check ride by doing pvt multi and comm multi.
4. Not everyone should go from simple singles to complex multi directly. consider doing some intermediate stages. Be realistic about your own abilities, and be ready to work.

All that said, it can be a reasonable way to build your multi IF... money is no object.

 

[V1 cuts R fun]

do your instrument rating first. Jumping right into a twin with complex systems, and trying to understand the fundementals of IAPs and procedures is a sure way to get into trouble. Do the IFR in a single. Something your comfortable with. Then go do the csel and cmel. Multi time is a great thing...but not worth getting hurt over.

 

[AlphEcho]

I suggest that you get your multi-private right away while your skills are still sharp. It only took me 9 hours to get my multi-private in a Seminole, and I started right after I got my private single engine. You won't have time to be unsafe with your private, which was a concern mentioned above, if you jump into your multi now. Besides, believe it or not it is a much bigger transition from instrument training to multi-engine training, and if you get it done now it will be cheaper than if you do it later. What I did was do most of my training for instrument in a single-engine airplane, and just my last few hours in a Seminole, and then took my instrument checkride in the Seminole. It worked great for me and it was cheaper than I expected. Anyway, just my experience...
Oh yeah, get ready to work...