Kenny Keller says helicopter pilots should get an instrument rating between Private and Commercial certificates instead of waiting. It saves money, builds required pilot-in-command time, and teaches skills that could save your life in bad weather. Keller waited until 800 hours to pursue it and calls it a mistake.
Questions this video answers
November 22, 2025.
40 hours (minimum).
50–70 hours (he cites ~50, 60, 70 hours as typical).
150 hours of flight time (and pilot-in-command time).
Around 800 hours.
Chapters
Number one reason why you should get an instrument rating, it could save your life. If you get into some bad weather, you can go on the instruments, call for help, and you can actually save yourself. So that being number one, number two, it makes you a better pilot. It teaches you the basics of the helicopter instruments, takes you to advanced level with the instrument rating. So number one, it's going to help you save yourself. And then the next big reason is money. Private pilot, when you go for that, it's going to be a minimum of 40 hours. So the average person takes more like maybe 50, 60, 70 hours. And then if you want to be a commercial pilot to where you can actually be paid, you need 150 hours of flight time and also what we call pilot and command time. So the beauty of doing the instrument rating, if you do it between the private and commercial ratings, you're going to save money because you're going to do your private pilot, get your rating, 40, 50, 60 hours. And then as you build your time for your instrument, you're then pilot in command as you're with the instructor and you're building the almighty pilot in command time that you need to go for your commercial pilot. And let's say that's all you're ever going to do. And you didn't need the instrument rating. If you just want to be a commercial pilot, that would be okay. You wouldn't necessarily need the instrument rating. But if you're going the professional pilot route example, flying helicopter ems, which is the dream for most people, you're going to need that instrument rating. So if you do it in between private and commercial, you're going to save a bunch of money because you're going to do your private. Start working on your instrument rating. You're building that pilot in command time as you get to the 150 to then take your commercial checkride. And then most people get certified flight instructor after commercial and that's how you start building your helicopter time. Mistake that I made, I guess I won't really call it a mistake, but I did my instrument rating after I went and got private and I got commercial and I got certified flight instructor, got out in the world, started building my time and then I knew at some point I was going to move on from being an instructor, advanced jobs, and I knew I would need an instrument rating. So at around 800 hours I started pursuing the instrument rating. So you can just do the math here. Every penny that I spent after the fact, I could have saved a whole bunch of money if I would have done it in between private and commercial, it would have been a big savings. And also I'm out in the world, got 800 hours or so. Then I got to go back to studying again. I'm a commercial pilot, cfi, building my time. But I got to go back to the books again, start studying, take lessons from an instrument instructor, and spend all that time and energy and money so I could get that instrument rating. And some people do it the way I chose to do it. For me at the time, I just was so excited to get started. I wanted to get my cfi, I wanted to start building my time and I thought I'll just do the instrument rating later. Hindsight, if I would have found the money and I would have just went for it, I could have got that instrument rating in there and it would have just been less money, would have saved me time. So it's a super smart idea to do the instrument in between private and commercial. And I get that question a lot. And they're like, well, should I pursue the instrument rating? Yes, number one, because it makes you a better pilot and you can save yourself if you ever end up flying into bad weather. And a lot of pilots get killed, fixed wing and helicopter and otherwise. By flying into bad weather with an instrument rating, you can go to the instruments, call for help, and get a clear path to the nearest airport to get you safely on the ground. So if you want any of these ratings, private instrument, commercial, cfi, we have courses down below. I'll put a link for everything down below this video, all the monthly courses or monthly options for all those courses. Have a 24 hour test flight so you can sign up, go in, start checking out the training. If you decide it's right for you, just keep it. Go month to month, cancel anytime, come back anytime. In that 24 hours you decide it's not right for you, you simply unsubscribe and you won't be billed. We part as friends and then you're always welcome to come back. So we'll put all those links down below us, A comment down below the video and we'll see you in the next video. Peace out.
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