Instrument Rating
Aeronautical experience
A person who applies for an instrument-airplane rating must have logged:
50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, of which 10 hours must have been in an airplane; and
Forty hours of actual or simulated instrument time in the areas of operation listed in paragraph (c) of this section, of which 15 hours must have been received from an authorized instructor who holds an instrument-airplane rating, and the instrument time includes:
Three hours of instrument flight training from an authorized instructor in an airplane that is appropriate to the instrument-airplane rating within 2 calendar months before the date of the practical test; and
Instrument flight training on cross country flight procedures, including one cross country flight in an airplane with an authorized instructor, that is performed under instrument flight rules, when a flight plan has been filed with an air traffic control facility, and that involves--
A flight of 250 nautical miles along airways or by directed routing from an air traffic control facility;
An instrument approach at each airport; and
Three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems.
Commercial Pilot Single Engine
§61.129 Aeronautical experience.
For an airplane single-engine rating. A person who applies for a commercial pilot certificate with an airplane category and single-engine class rating must log at least 250 hours of flight time as a pilot that consists of at least:
100 hours in powered aircraft, of which 50 hours must be in airplanes.
100 hours of pilot-in-command flight time, which includes at least--
50 hours in airplanes; and
50 hours in cross-country flight of which at least 10 hours must be in airplanes.
20 hours of training on the areas of operation listed in §61.127(b)(1) of this part that includes at least--
Ten hours of instrument training using a view-limiting device.
10 hours of training in an airplane that has a retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller.
One 2-hour cross country flight in a single engine airplane in daytime conditions that consists of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure;
One 2-hour cross country flight in a single engine airplane in nighttime conditions that consists of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and
Three hours in a single-engine airplane with an authorized instructor in preparation for the practical test within the preceding 2 calendar months from the month of the test.
Ten hours of solo flight time in a single engine airplane or 10 hours of flight time performing the duties of pilot in command in a single engine airplane with an authorized instructor on board (either of which may be credited towards the flight time requirement under paragraph (a)(2) of this section), on the areas of operation listed under §61.127(b)(1) that include--
One cross-country flight of not less than 300 nautical miles total distance, with landings at a minimum of three points, one of which is a straight-line distance of at least 250 nautical miles from the original departure point. However, if this requirement is being met in Hawaii, the longest segment need only have a straight-line distance of at least 150 nautical miles; and
5 hours in night VFR conditions with 10 takeoffs and 10 landings (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower.
