Expert: D. Norkus - 2/25/2010

Question
What ratings do you recommend getting first after the Private the IR or commercial Do you recommend getting CFI
Do you have to have a CFI before you can get you MEI?

Answer
Jeff


After the Private, you should start working towards your Instrument Rating. It will help you build time towards the Commercial certificate requirements while getting something accomplished in the mean time. The requirement to get the Commercial is 250 flight hours (if done via Part 61), so odds are you will have to fly at least 150 hours more till you can begin to come close to the hours needed to take the Commercial flight test, depending on the amount of flight time you finish your Private with. The national average is close to 80 hours, so if that is the case for you, you will need to log about 150 more hours to get the the point where you should being your Commercial training.

It is possible to get your instructor certificate for multi-engine prior to an instructor for single engine, however that is a very unlikely scenario unless you have the ability to fund your instructor training in a twin as the hourly cost can be twice the expense. For this reason the logical progression is the single engine first.

Regards,
Dottie