Multi IFR: What Order Is Best?
Moderators: North Shore, sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, Right Seat Captain, lilfssister
Multi IFR: What Order Is Best?
Hello everyone,
I fly floats commercially and am planning on moving onto multi IFR. I know almost nothing about the IFR world, and was hoping for some guidance.
My current proposed timeline is:
Summer 2020 Work/Study
Winter 2020/1 Write INRAT, Get Multi (I CANNOT do IFR this winter)
Summer 2021 Work/Study
Winter 2021/2 Write SAMRA/SARON, Get Group 1 IFR
Spring 2022 Look for Multi IFR Job
I am curious if this is a smart order of operations. As I have my commercial I don’t need too many hours to get instrument rated, but I need to buckle down and learn stuff backwards and forwards before training to minimize flight time above the necessary 40 hours.
Is it worth getting my multi out of the way, and then the following winter doing all my IFR training in said multi?
How much flight time might be reasonable for me to expect to knock off that IFR? I should be sitting at 2000 hours, 90% floats by then.
Thanks!
I fly floats commercially and am planning on moving onto multi IFR. I know almost nothing about the IFR world, and was hoping for some guidance.
My current proposed timeline is:
Summer 2020 Work/Study
Winter 2020/1 Write INRAT, Get Multi (I CANNOT do IFR this winter)
Summer 2021 Work/Study
Winter 2021/2 Write SAMRA/SARON, Get Group 1 IFR
Spring 2022 Look for Multi IFR Job
I am curious if this is a smart order of operations. As I have my commercial I don’t need too many hours to get instrument rated, but I need to buckle down and learn stuff backwards and forwards before training to minimize flight time above the necessary 40 hours.
Is it worth getting my multi out of the way, and then the following winter doing all my IFR training in said multi?
How much flight time might be reasonable for me to expect to knock off that IFR? I should be sitting at 2000 hours, 90% floats by then.
Thanks!
Re: Multi IFR: What Order Is Best?
Unless you need the multi rating sooner to fly a VFR Twotter or Beech 18 on floats or something, I'd wait and do it all together.
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Re: Multi IFR: What Order Is Best?
Do you multi-engine at the same time as the IFR.
You won't loose the hand on the airplane between and IFR is still about handling and check-list.
You won't loose the hand on the airplane between and IFR is still about handling and check-list.
Re: Multi IFR: What Order Is Best?
Ah yes, February 2020, what a great time to be planning for the future.
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Re: Multi IFR: What Order Is Best?
And… Where are you at now brother?

TPC
Re: Multi IFR: What Order Is Best?
I didn’t fly for a couple years and did office work during COVID, been on floats since, and now the industry sucks and I’m studying for multi-IFR. Should’ve done it sooner, but with a young family I don’t know that it would’ve been possible. Getting a mortgage in March of 2020 was a time.
Re: Multi IFR: What Order Is Best?
Good for you! I'm sure you're having tons of fun on the floats.bangalore wrote: ↑Sun Jun 15, 2025 11:17 amI didn’t fly for a couple years and did office work during COVID, been on floats since, and now the industry sucks and I’m studying for multi-IFR. Should’ve done it sooner, but with a young family I don’t know that it would’ve been possible. Getting a mortgage in March of 2020 was a time.
Re: Multi IFR: What Order Is Best?
For what it's worth - the industry is just one big game of musical chairs. Incredibly hard to time. For as long as the music stops, it will start again.bangalore wrote: ↑Sun Jun 15, 2025 11:17 amI didn’t fly for a couple years and did office work during COVID, been on floats since, and now the industry sucks and I’m studying for multi-IFR. Should’ve done it sooner, but with a young family I don’t know that it would’ve been possible. Getting a mortgage in March of 2020 was a time.
Best of luck.