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Instrument Rating Flight Training Alabama
The instrument rating (IFR) is something that will eventually come along if you've been flying very long. Typically, it comes up when looking at buying an aircraft or seeking a commercial pilot career, but otherwise, some pilots may take quite a while to get their instrument rating in Alabama. Though many pilots in Alabama do eventually get an instrument rating, chances are learning to fly IFR in Alabama now could greatly benefit your future flying.
An instrument rating will make you a better pilot, is required to get a commercial pilot certificate, and will generally lower your insurance rates. Flying on instruments in Alabama will make you a better pilot. When it comes to flying on instruments, precision is the keyword. There are many different things to learn for your instrument rating, but none are more difficult and rewarding as learning to fly with precision.
Once you complete your instrument rating in Alabama, you will be able to not only hit a specific altitude or descent rate but hold it. You will be more in control of your aircraft than you ever thought possible and this will surely affect your flying in general.
Perhaps you're not thinking about it right this moment, but at some point in the future, you may decide to get a commercial pilot certificate. That doesn't mean you have to run off to the airlines. There are many commercial pilots that never really get paid to fly, but it is nice to have the option.
Commercial Pilots in Alabama Need an Instrument Rating to Get a Job
Maybe your company has a nice aircraft that you'd like to spend some time in or you'd occasionally like to take on a paying passenger--whatever the case, although it's not required, you're going to want an instrument rating to go along with your commercial pilot certificate.
If you wait until then to get instrument rated, you're going to have a lot of training to do. Instead, reap the benefits of learning precise flying early and you can sail through commercial pilot training when you need it.
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Do You Want to Earn Your Instrument Rating IFR in Alabama?
Insurance rates are generally cheaper for instrument-rated pilots. Perhaps the poorest-kept secret of the aviation insurance industry is that instrument-rated pilots enjoy rates that are generally cheaper. The increased training instrument-rated pilots take on and their increased skill pay off in lower insurance premiums. Depending on the type of aircraft you fly, this can be a very significant amount of money.
So, if you'd like to be a better pilot with lower insurance rates and you might get a commercial pilot certificate, you should definitely consider an instrument rating. Sure it may be difficult, but the sense of accomplishment and precision flying skill is more than worth it in the long run.
Legend has it that the instrument rating in Alabama is the most difficult to earn of all licenses, ratings, and endorsements. And if you talk to an instrument-rated pilot, he or she will probably agree. However, the instrument rating could also be the most rewarding of all to earn, and the benefits and privileges of acquiring the rating are well worth the initial effort.
Simply stated, the instrument rating allows pilots to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR) in Alabama, in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and in class A airspace (the airspace between 18,000 feet msl and 60,000 feet msl). IMC is loosely defined as conditions that do not meet the basic requirements of operating under visual flight rules (VFR), including ceilings less than 1000 feet above airport elevation and/or visibility less than 3 miles at the airport.
Although the instrument rating gives pilots permission to operate in less than basic VFR conditions, it's not a "license" to fly in bad weather. Prudent pilots do not launch into deadly weather just because they are instrument rated. Learn about instrument rating training.
The FAA World From The Perspective of Air Traffic
At any given moment there are approximately 5,000 aircraft traversing the U.S. skies. The FAA is a year-round, 24/7 operation, responsible for 5.3 million square miles of U.S. domestic airspace and 24 million square miles of U.S. airspace over the oceans. There are 43,290 average daily flights in and out of the U.S. More than 14,000 air traffic controllers manage traffic from many of the FAA’s 700 facilities. Fifty-five hundred airway transportation system specialists maintain more than 70,000 pieces of equipment. Aviation contributes $1.6 trillion annually to the U.S. economy and constitutes 5.1 percent of the gross domestic product. Aviation generates 10 million jobs in the U.S. annually.
Fixed-Wing Aircraft Factoid Landing Gear
The landing gear supports the aircraft during landing and while it is on the ground. Simple aircraft that fly at low speeds generally have fixed gear. This means the gear is stationary and does not retract for flight. Faster, more complex aircraft have retractable landing gear. After takeoff, the landing gear is retracted into the fuselage or wings and out of the airstream. This is important because extended gear create significant parasite drag which reduces performance.