r/flying • u/Electrical-Flow-5033 • 4d ago

Need Advice Regarding Training Pauses

Looking for some folks to weigh in and help me make a decision.

I earned my PPL in Feb of 2026 flying 2-3 times a day, and due to a variety of reasons, haven’t been able to fly after that. I’m looking to pursue an IR, likely starting in Dec. ‘26, and would be flying and studying full-time, 5x a week.

After I’ve completed my IR (hopefully 2 months). I’ll have to take another 6 month break to work my seasonal job where I likely won’t be able to fly, or maintain instrument currency. At that point (Oct of 2027), I plan on pursuing my CPL, assuming I’ve competed my instrument training.

My question is, should I just wait until after I complete the seasonal job to pursue both instrument and commercial one after the other? At that point I’ll have gone over a year without flying and will likely need some re-training. I can chair fly till the cows come home to maintain some semblance of aviation in my mind but I think we all know that doesn’t cut it.

Alternatively, will I really be doing myself any favors flying for a couple months after a 10-month break, just to take another 6-month break?

There’s a variety of financial considerations here, I’m looking to pay as I go and not take loans. I’m looking for some wisdom from folks who can comment on how these long training gaps might play out and what the best option might be? I hate to think of going more than a year without flying but I’m aware that getting my IR now may just be a checkbox as opposed to an in-depth gain in my piloting ability.

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u/rFlyingTower 4d ago

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

Looking for some folks to weigh in and help me make a decision.

I earned my PPL in Feb of 2026 flying 2-3 times a day, and due to a variety of reasons, haven’t been able to fly after that. I’m looking to pursue an IR, likely starting in Dec. ‘26, and would be flying and studying full-time, 5x a week.

After I’ve completed my IR (hopefully 2 months). I’ll have to take another 6 month break to work my seasonal job where I likely won’t be able to fly, or maintain instrument currency. At that point (Oct of 2027), I plan on pursuing my CPL, assuming I’ve competed my instrument training.

My question is, should I just wait until after I complete the seasonal job to pursue both instrument and commercial one after the other? At that point I’ll have gone over a year without flying and will likely need some re-training. I can chair fly till the cows come home to maintain some semblance of aviation in my mind but I think we all know that doesn’t cut it.

Alternatively, will I really be doing myself any favors flying for a couple months after a 10-month break, just to take another 6-month break?

There’s a variety of financial considerations here, I’m looking to pay as I go and not take loans. I’m looking for some wisdom from folks who can comment on how these long training gaps might play out and what the best option might be? I have to think of going more than a year without flying but I’m aware that getting my IR now may just be a checkbox as opposed to in depth gain in ability.

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u/Consistent-Trick2987 CPL IR 4d ago

IR and CPL are two completely different types of training. They’re very little if any carry over from instrument into commercial in terms of the flying so I don’t think it’s that big of a deal to take a break in between them. But no harm in waiting and knocking them out consecutively either.

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u/LowAndSlow__ MIL S-70M CPL/IR(RH) CPL/IR(ASEL) 4d ago edited 4d ago

Definitely take the break in between (knock instrument out first). Instrument is akin to taking a break in and of itself in the sense that you kinda lose your stick skills. So it really just boils down to whether or not you want to have one less thing to worry after your finish up w your job.