Pilot Rating Courses in New Jersey: Instrument Rating and Multi-Engine Rating

Century Air offers FAA Part 141 Approved pilot rating courses at Essex County Airport (KCDW) in Fairfield, New Jersey, approximately 30 minutes from New York City. The ratings below represent the two most critical steps for any pilot focused on an airline career, and both are available as standalone courses and/or as part of our Professional Pilot Program.

Instrument Rating

An instrument rating allows you to fly under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), operating in reduced visibility and clouds where VFR pilots are not permitted. For any pilot pursuing an airline career, an Instrument Rating is a required prerequisite. To earn an Instrument Rating at Century Air, you must have at least 35 hours of instrument instruction under our FAA Part 141 Approved program (non-Part 141 schools require a minimum of 40 hours). A realistic completion average is approximately 50 hours. You must also pass an FAA written examination and a flight test with an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE). Century Air instrument students train on our Garmin G1000 glass-cockpit flight simulator before transitioning to the aircraft. Most students complete their instrument rating in 3 to 4 months when training consistently at our Essex County Airport facility. We also feature a Full Motion MCX Simulator which is an exceptional training platform for both G1000 and classic instrument training. Accelerated courses are also available to reduce the overall training period.

Multi-Engine Rating

A Multi-Engine Rating authorizes you to act as pilot-in-command of aircraft with more than one engine. It is a required qualification for any pilot pursuing a corporate or airline career, and is a key component of the Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate pathway. Unlike most other ratings, the FAA sets no minimum flight hour requirement for the Multi-Engine Rating, and there is no FAA written examination requirement. Qualification is based entirely on a flight test with an FAA Designated Examiner (DPE). Most pilots complete their multi-engine rating in 10 to 15 hours of focused training. At Century Air, multi-engine training is conducted in our Full Motion MCX Redbird Simulator prior to flying the Twin Comanche Aircraft at Essex County Airport (KCDW) in Fairfield, New Jersey. The Multi-Engine Rating is an optional component of our Professional Pilot Program, however, including it in your professional training is a great choice in preparation for your future, and eventual interview opportunity with Republic Airlines or any regional carrier.

What makes Century Air different from other NJ flight schools? Century Air offers a level of experience, professionalism, and in-house testing capability that sets us apart from other flight schools. The owner and Chief Pilot of the flight school are both FAA Designated Pilot Examiners (DPEs), bringing exceptional knowledge of FAA standards and practical testing requirements directly into our training environment. All FAA practical testing for pilot certificates and ratings, as well as FAA knowledge (written) testing can all be accomplished conveniently in-house at our training facility in New Jersey.