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IFR ticket or aerobatic training???

Should I do IFR or Aerobatic training next?

  • Areobatic

    Votes: 51 54.8%

  • IFR

    Votes: 42 45.2%
  • Total voters
    93
Mike D

Mike D

Well Known Member
Well I must not be the average pilot because I don?t have the unlimited funds that everyone thinks a pilot has. :D So I need to decide where to spend my very limited ?continued training? dollars.

I will not do either IMC or aerobatics without proper training. (that should be a given)

I have a PPL with the tail wheel endorsement and I am still under 300 hours.
The plane is an RV-6a with GRT EFIS and EIS, 496 w/WM WX, 2-coms (1w/a VOR). Planning on a D6 for an independent backup. AP coming sometime in the future.
Mission = burger runs, stress relief, and X-country.

I think I would use the aerobatics more often than the IFR ticket. Burger runs with a little upside down time would be more fun.
But the IFR ticket could save my bacon someday. Or it might get me through a thin overcast and improve my options. It might make those ?VFR on top? or ?over the top? flights happen. Even with a IFR ticket I don?t think I would ever do more than an overcast layer.

So, what say all you?? Where would you spend your money given my limited experience. IFR or aerobatic training? Is one more important?
 
aerobatics

I did my initial aerobatic training in a Super Decathlon. If you thought the RV grin was addictive, you have a pleasant surprise ahead of you :)
 
You will gain much either way!

It's kind of like which RV to build. You won't go wrong either way.
Personally I would do the aerobatic training first.
Learning to fly IFR will not help you fly aerobatics.
Learning to fly aerobatics WILL help you fly IFR.
(MY Opinion!)
 
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No data to back this up, but I think that the aerobatic skills you will get will serve you better on EVERY flight from here on out than the instrument ticket. Not to diminish the instrument rating, but when do you really NEED those skills on your typical mission? Learn the "stick and rudder" flying first, then go for the utility of the instrument ticket.

I'd say the average pilot is more likely to stumble into an unusual attitude upset event than IMC... Play the odds to your favor.
 
Good question

That is exacty the question I have been asking myself. I would like to both but like you my funds are limited. I await with interest in seeing the replies. Maybe we could be each others safety pilot since we are at the same airport.
 
If you do a lot of cross country flying and have time crunch type scenarios where you will have "get home-itis"...go for the instrument rating.

If not, definitely aerobatic. I feel like good judgment can keep you from needing an instrument rating, but the control skills you will learn doing acro could be called upon any time.
 
Instrument ticket, for more reasons than there is room here to write but a few:

You'll be a better pilot
Statistically you're a MUCH safer pilot
It'll open up the skies when your friends are walking/driving
It'll lower your insurance
Is a must have if you want to enter the pro world and not just the weekend warriors


Aerobatics are fun for about 15 minutes, then you're still stuck without the ability to go XC on less then a VFR day. You can only do so many loops before you just get bored with it... instead look over the horizon and all the places you could be going.

Just reread your quals, PPL and <300 hours... the CFII and years of dual given in me say absolutely get the instrument ticket.
 
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Another vote for Instrument

Not to diminish the value of recovering from unusual attitudes - which acro training will provide - but an instrument rating can help keep you out of them in the first place.

There are plenty of NTSB reports where the root cause is VFR pilots INADVERTENTLY entering IMC. An instrument rating can save your life in that event.

I personally found training for my instrument rating to be a lot of fun (ok, and work) AND it made blasting in or out of a marine layer a non-event. And for my home airport, that means not having to wait until 2PM (or never) to depart several months of the year.

Craig
 
IFR or Acro

Mike
''I think I would use the aerobatics more often than the IFR ticket''

Either one is a good choice and either one will required that you keep practicing to stay sharp....

Also both are licences to learn...respect your limits and those of your aircraft..

IMHO

Bruno
[email protected]
 
Acro!

The acro training and contests I've been flying have developed my handling skills way past what you need to fly IFR. Sure, you have procedures, rules, planning, etc. that you will need to fly IFR safe and legal, but the skills you need to hand-fly an approach are elementary compared to acro. The confidence you gain from emergency maneuver training is amazing, no matter what type of aircraft you fly.

That all being said, good acro is all about keeping your eyes outside - which does no good in IMC. Until you get your I-ticket - you have to make up your mind to never, ever let yourself fly in a situation that might get you into IMC unintentionally. This goes back to decision making and situational awareness - something you will also learn a lot about flying Acro.

The best way to wait out the low clouds at your destination, is inverted close to home!

Forrest

50 hours acro, just starting my IFR training.
 
why one or the other?

The Instrument rating is a big ticket cost in time and money, but you can do a hour of Acro training here and there. Getting some acro training isn't the same as working on an advanced rating. You can do both.

CM
 
IFR

I thought I had posted my response but I guess it was lost. Acro is a fun and ego thing but instrument flight in IMC Is a whole different realm of flight. If you are not a serious traveler the decision is not critical but if you are instrument training is essential. Instrument training is so hard and little joy that if you don't start it early it becomes more difficult to start later. Life saved several times and trips completed because of instrument training but no known impact on quality of flight and safety for me personally as a result of not having aerobatic training.

Bob Axsom
 
I'd go with acro lessons...

...because with as little as a few hours of dual...in your airplane, you can easily learn to do safe gentleman's aerobatics. Loops, rolls and spins are the basics and combinations of loops and rolls allow you to do Immelman turns (half loop and then a half roll)...cuban eights very similar and split esses the reverse of an Immelman, though entered much slower.

The cost of an instructor only will be waaay less than dual for the IFR ticket.

My .02?
 
I vote for Instrument ticket/training

While I rarely use my instrument ticket, but it has provided me with loads of comfort and occasional help getting me somewhere when I planned to be there. I'm sure acro training is great and I should do more of it. But, getting home safely is a much higher priority to me than doing rolls and loops. I think the IFR training helps me get home safely. I'm with Bob Axsom on this one.
 
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Louise Hose said:
While I rarely use my instrument ticket, but it has provided me with loads of comfort and occasional help getting me somewhere when I planned to be there. I'm sure acro training is great and I should do more of it. But, getting home safely is a much higher priority to me than doing rolls and loops. I think the IFR training helps me get home safely. I'm with Bob Axsom on this one.
Click to expand...

I am with Louise and Bob.

The IFR ticket will lower your insurance cost and the acro will not. The money you save on your insurance can be used to pay for the acro.
 
MNForrest said:
The acro training and contests I've been flying have developed my handling skills way past what you need to fly IFR. Sure, you have procedures, rules, planning, etc. that you will need to fly IFR safe and legal, but the skills you need to hand-fly an approach are elementary compared to acro.

.......

50 hours acro, just starting my IFR training.
Click to expand...

It's not that one skillset is easier than the other; it is that they are very different skills to have. When you finish your instrument training and get your ticket, you'll understand what I mean.
 
Christopher Murphy said:
The Instrument rating is a big ticket cost in time and money, but you can do a hour of Acro training here and there. Getting some acro training isn't the same as working on an advanced rating. You can do both.

CM
Click to expand...

chris, you took the words right out of my mouth, well said, vote for both.
by the way, one level roll equals 500 ft loss. clearance comes in, decend 2,000 ft, that is 4 level rolls, see you can combine ifr and acro. do both.
 
Another thing to consider about Acro training - if you are starting from scratch, you might have a better beginning flying something other than an RV - so there could be some significant rental costs if you took a course. Instrument training has a well-defined syllabus with an ending point, Acro training is something that you continue forever (like practicing golf, only it doesn't take you away from home for as many hours....).

I'd say work on the instrument ticket, and when you get tired of it, go do an hour of Acro. By the time you're done with the instrument ticket, you'll probably be safely doing Acro in your RV on your own....

Paul
 
Aerobatics! Of Course!

My vote is for aerobatic training! IFR is definitely in the long-range plan, but aerobatic gives you immediate satisfaction. I started with a simple roll - and then had something to do for hours and hours of fun. Then moved on to a plain loop - even more hours of fun.

The great part about aerobatics is that you can learn a skill (roll/loop/cuban 8/ split S...) and use it, and then build more skills as time and wallet allow. IFR - you can't really use it until you get your ticket punched.
 
Thanks!!

Wow, great replies and advice for both options. The votes are almost 50/50. Huge Thanks!! but I am still torn between the two.:)

I do plan on doing both at some point. But I was hoping to concentrate on one. I have done the book work on the IFR ticket and 3 hours of IFR in the plane (with an instructor of course). But this doesn't mean I know anything.

I am planning to go to Harvey & Rihn for the acro, but don?t have a place in mind for the IFR training. So, both options mean renting a plane for the training.

I like that the thought that acro will help you explore the edges of the envelope in prep for the IFR ticket. This make some sense to me, so I think this is the way to go for me. But now I am wondering if there is a better season for the acro. In Houston, the summers will bring the heat and the T-storms.

Thanks again for the replies.
 
A skill for a lifetime

of safe and enjoyable flying. IFR rating for sure. Re-read the comments from Sig600 and then read them again. Sounds like the voice of experience to me.
Good luck whichever route you take.
Steve
 
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