If you are using an airplane for transportation you will want to get your instrument rating. Without the IFR certificate your 500-mile cross-country trip could take a half day or half a week.
50 hours of cross-country
- 10 hours in airplanes
- 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time
15 hours of instrument flight instruction from an authorized instructor
- 3 hours a flight training in preparation for the practical test within 60 days preceding the date of the test
- One cross-country under IFR
- A distance of at least 250NM along airways
- Three different kinds of approaches