Instrument rating · Space Coast, FL

Fly the clouds. Legally, and well.

One on one instrument training on Florida's Space Coast with a dedicated CFII. File IFR, fly real weather, and become the pilot your passengers think you already are.

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or call / text (919) 285-5350

Dedicated CFII
Garmin G5 Cessna 172
Year round Florida flying weather

Cockpit panel and Space Coast shoreline in flight

IFR country

Real coastal weather and instrument approaches at fields all around the Space Coast.

Why this rating

The rating that turns a license into a capability.

Go when others can't

Weather freedom

A marine layer or a summer buildup stops a VFR pilot cold. Instrument pilots file, fly, and arrive.

Fly sharper

Precision and safety

Instrument training rebuilds your scan, your procedures, and your discipline. Every hour makes you a better VFR pilot too.

Career prerequisite

The professional gate

Commercial, CFI, airlines: every professional path runs through the instrument rating. It is step one of going pro.

What it takes

Part 61 minimums, in plain English.

Cross country time as pilot in command50 hrs

Actual or simulated instrument time40 hrs

Instrument training with a CFII15 hrs

IFR cross country with three kinds of approaches250 nm

Knowledge test and checkridePass both

Those are FAA minimums, not averages. Most pilots take more, and the training plan is built to proficiency, not to a stopwatch. Where you actually are determines where we start.

The easiest first step

Start with one assessment flight.

Fly once with Gretchen in the G5 equipped 172. You leave with a written picture of where you stand against the requirements, what it takes to finish, and a realistic timeline. Fresh private pilot or halfway through a stalled rating, this is the honest starting point.

Book an assessment flight

$215 per flight hour, all in: $165/hr for the airplane (wet, fuel included) plus $50/hr for instruction.

View over the Space Coast shoreline from the cockpit — The office, somewhere over the Space Coast

Getting started is simple

Three steps to your first session.

No school enrollment, no commitment. A clear path from "thinking about it" to flying.

STEP 01

Text or call

Ten minutes on where you are, what you fly, and what you're after.

STEP 02

Get a simple plan

Where you stand against the requirements and what comes next, in plain English.

STEP 03

Fly

Your first session on the calendar.

Book a session

Tell Gretchen where you're starting from.

Fresh private pilot or halfway through a stalled rating: a ten minute call gets you a straight answer on timeline, cost, and the next step.

Call or text Gretchen

(919) 285-5350

Texting is fine and often fastest. Say what you fly and what you're after.

☎ Call 💬 Text

1A ten minute conversation about where you are
2A straight answer on timeline and what it takes
3Your first session on the calendar