Instrument Rating Instructor (IRI)

The IRI authorization is governed by FCL.905.IRI (privileges), FCL.915.IRI (prerequisites), FCL.930.IRI (course requirements), and FCL.940.IRI (validity and revalidation) within Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 as amended. The IRI(A) — for aeroplanes — is the most common form; IRI(H) covers helicopter instrument rating instruction. The IRI's privileges extend to delivering the theoretical and practical training components for both the traditional IR(A) under FCL.610 (multi-engine IR) and FCL.605 (single-engine IR), as well as the Competency-Based IR under FCL.605.A introduced by Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/539. The IRI may also deliver instrument instruction within FSTDs up to and including FFS level.

The prerequisites for IRI(A) initial issue under FCL.915.IRI are the most demanding of the non-TRI instructor authorizations, reflecting the high-stakes nature of instrument training in actual and simulated IMC. The applicant must: hold a current and valid Instrument Rating (IR(A)) on multi-engine aeroplanes (for IRI(ME)) or on single-engine aeroplanes (for IRI(SE)), have accumulated at least 800 hours of flight time under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) including at least 400 hours in actual IMC, complete a course of at least 25 hours of theoretical knowledge instruction in instructional techniques delivered by an FI(I) or IRI, and complete at least 10 hours of instrument flight instruction with a qualified FI(I) or IRI for the purpose of IRI training — assessed in a final competence check by an IRE or FIE. The 800-hour IFR minimum and the 400-hour actual-IMC requirement distinguish the IRI pathway from the FI(A) route significantly; the FI(A) basic prerequisite is 200 hours of flight time, of which no specific IFR minimum is required at the time of course entry.

The IRI's authorization is specifically bounded to instrument training. Unlike the FI(A), the IRI cannot deliver VFR dual instruction toward a PPL or CPL, cannot supervise solo cross-country flights toward licence issue requirements, and cannot sign off first solo flights. The IRI instructs only on the instrument elements — actual and simulated — of the training programme. This creates an operational configuration common in EASA integrated programs where an FI(A) or CRI instructor delivers the VFR elements of a training sortie and an IRI delivers the instrument elements, with careful time-split logging for each segment.

The Competency-Based IR (CB-IR) under FCL.605.A, introduced to provide a more accessible modular IR pathway for PPL holders, relies heavily on IRI delivery. The CB-IR requires a minimum of 80 hours of instrument flight instruction (rather than the 115 hours required for the full IR course), of which at least 50 hours must be in an approved FNPT II, FTD Level 5, or FFS with an IRI. The IRI is therefore central to the CB-IR value proposition: more simulator-based instruction, fewer aircraft hours, lower total cost — but requiring an IRI-qualified instructor throughout rather than a general FI.

IRI validity is 3 years under FCL.940.IRI. Revalidation requires demonstration of at least 3 hours of instrument flight instruction on the relevant aircraft category (SE or ME) during the preceding 12 months, plus a standardization check with an IRE or Head of Training. An IRI who fails to meet the 3-hour minimum within the validity period must renew through an IRE assessment rather than simple revalidation. For the IRI(ME), the recency requirement is specifically ME IFR instruction — ME IFR line flying by the instructor does not substitute unless it includes an assessed instruction element.

The FAA Certified Flight Instructor — Instrument (CFII) under 14 CFR §61.183 and §61.195(d) is the closest functional equivalent. The FAA CFII allows the holder to give instrument flight instruction in a single or multi-engine aircraft and in FSTDs. The key distinction is the experience prerequisite: the FAA CFII requires only that the applicant hold a current instrument rating and a CFI certificate, with no minimum IFR flight time beyond what was needed to obtain the instrument rating and commercial certificate. The EASA IRI explicitly requires 800 hours of IFR time including 400 hours in actual IMC before the IRI course may be commenced — a substantially higher barrier that reflects EASA's more prescriptive approach to instructor qualification.

For EASA ATOs offering integrated CPL/IR programs, the IRI authorization is a staffing constraint distinct from the FI pool. The experience thresholds — 800 hours IFR, 400 hours actual IMC — mean that newly qualified CPL/IR holders cannot immediately become IRIs; they must accumulate a substantial IFR career before qualifying. An ATO that relies on recent CPL/IR graduates as instructor-pilots will have a workforce of FI(A)-qualified instructors but an IRI pool that consists only of more senior, more experienced (and more expensive) pilots. This creates a two-tier instruction cadre for integrated programs: the FI handles VFR phases, the IRI handles the IFR phases, and the scheduling system must ensure that IRI-qualified instructors are assigned to the correct lesson types.

The 3-hour IFR instruction recency requirement for IRI revalidation is an active management concern at ATOs where IRI-qualified instructors also fly the line. A senior instructor who is flying 70–80 hours per month on an airline type is accumulating substantial IFR hours — but airline line flying does not count toward the IRI recency requirement unless it includes logged instruction given. An IRI who moves from full-time instruction to part-time instruction and full-time line flying may inadvertently allow the revalidation-required instruction hours to lapse, particularly if the ATO's revalidation tracking relies on the instructor self-reporting rather than the training management system automatically counting the logged instruction-given entries.

Aviatize's training management module enforces IRI authorization as a mandatory constraint for all instrument instruction sessions. The lesson type taxonomy distinguishes VFR dual, IFR dual, FNPT II instrument, and FFS instrument lessons; each IFR or simulator-instrument lesson type requires an IRI (or FI(I)) credential for instructor assignment. The scheduling engine blocks non-IRI instructors from instrument sessions at the booking stage, and the lesson completion workflow captures both the instruction-given hours and the specific IFR flight time character of each lesson — building the per-instructor IFR instruction record that the compliance module uses for revalidation tracking.

For CB-IR programs specifically, the training management module supports the 80-hour minimum structure with the 50-hour simulator minimum as a hard gate: the system tracks total instrument instruction hours, total simulator instruction hours, and progress against the CB-IR standard course syllabus items simultaneously. The Head of Training can view each CB-IR student's progress against all three dimensions in a single dashboard, and the system flags students whose simulator-to-aircraft ratio is running below the 50-hour simulator minimum before the course is complete — enabling corrective scheduling before the student reaches the skill-test stage with an unmet minimum that would void the skill test application.