[captainbluesky]

Hi

I am considering a Flight Instructor course in the future.

Can any current Flight Instructor (single or twin) - PPL, CPL, and/or IR related please tell me:

a) the pros and cons of being a Flight Instructor?
b) why you chose to be a Flight Instructor?
c) if you are generally 'happy' with being a Flight Instructor?

Thanks in advance.

[David Wood]

Well, the pros are that it's immensely satisfying. The sense of privilege I get from sending a student off on his/her first solo, or teaching them to do something that they never thought that they could do, is incredible and it doesn't fade.

The cons is that it's all-but impossible to make a living out of being an FI. I do it for love, as many do. But if you want to do it as a living then you'll need to confine yourself to commercial training (ie, training CPL, IR etc) which is probably not as satisfying because you aren't teaching ab initio flying.

Why did I choose to do it? I chose to do it because I love flying and I love teaching. I had the time and the resource to be able to devote to it, and so I did. A no-brainer really.

Am I happy doing it? Emphatically yes. There are ups and downs, of course. You get some students who are hard work and there is a lot of hanging about. But the sense of satisfaction has not dimmed.

So, go for it. Just don't expect to get rich on it!

PS: it also massively improves your own flying. There's an old adage that says that you don't REALLY understand something until you have to teach it to someone else.

[captainbluesky]

Thanks for your advice David - this is really helpful for me to hear some further context.

In your experience, is it a relatively easy or straightforward transition from being e.g. a SEP Flight Instructor (say with 500 to 1500 hours) to a MEP CPL/IR Flight Instructor i.e. with a view to making a salaried living from it?

[David Wood]

I'm not really qualified to give that advice as I 'only' instruct for non-commercial (ie, recreational) licenses and ratings (LAPL/PPL/IRR). That was a concious decision on my part: I instruct for the joy of it and I'm not sure that I'd get that sort of pleasure teaching, say, IR or CPL. By way of illustration I had one instructor apply for a job a couple of years ago after some years teaching commercially because he found that, whilst it paid relatively well (relative, being the operative word!), it was just rather boring sitting in the RHS teaching already-qualified pilots. But it's horses for courses. Whatever floats your boat.

With an FI rating you can instruct any rating or license that you hold. So if you have a CPL/IR and MEP then you can teach that with your FI(A) rating. It's then a matter of getting a job at one of the larger commercial training schools.

It would be worth making enquiries with some of those schools if that is where you want to work. They may have their own base-entry requirements in terms of prior FI hours. Almost certainly they'd want an unrestricted rating, and probably an IRI. If they do then the strategy would presumably be to get your FI rating, do a few hundred hours at a 'simple' ATO and then work up to a 'complex' ATO in due course. Remember (and I'm sure that you know this) that when you first get your FI rating it will be restricted in certain areas and you'll need to gain some experience to get that restriction lifted.

Hope that helps. Where are you based?

[Balliol]

There are considerable extra hours / courses / qualifications required to teach CPL, IR and MEP - it is not just a case of having an FI and having the qualification yourself!

[David Wood]

I don't think that there is a course per se to teach for the CPL or MEP. There is a course required to teach applied instruments (or more specifically to have the restriction lifted from the raw FI rating). But the point I was making was that in principle (and with appropriate training etc) you can teach any rating that you hold.

[David Wood]

And yes, I know, you can't teach PPL students if you hold a PPL and FI rating unless you also have CPL TK. But I'm trying to keep these answers relevant to the OP's question.

[Cessna57]

My instructors all said that they absolutely hated it, but the money was so unbelievable,.... they just couldn’t stop doing it. ...

Oh no hang on, in the style of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka..

“strike that, reverse it”

[Balliol]

I don't think that there is a course per se to teach for the CPL or MEP. There is a course required to teach applied instruments (or more specifically to have the restriction lifted from the raw FI rating). But the point I was making was that in principle (and with appropriate training etc) you can teach any rating that you hold.

CPL you need 500hrs total and 200hrs instruction, then have (d) privilege added and complete ATO standardisation / be nominated in the ATO approval.

For MEP you must have 30hrs PIC on MEP, then complete the CRI(ME) course (5 hours on MEP) and pass the assessment of competence.

To add instrument privileges you need 200hrs IFR

I'm not being difficult but just want people to realise that moving up from PPL level training to commercial is not an easy or certain step - the MEP PIC time in particular is a big stumbling block financially for many people.

[David Wood]

To add instrument privileges you need 200hrs IFR

...and complete an IRI course (or whatever it is called) and assessment of competence.

[carlapilot]

I am only a student, so flight instructors are like a good example for me, for knowledge and achieving goals.
Question is if you like teaching, Patient enough? even when someone is slow in the head, not a brilliant mind?
I think as an instructor you need to find a way to every student personally

Many of the guys on our airport are teachning as part time job, and some of them is fulltime, all day there.

Hi

I am considering a Flight Instructor course in the future.

Can any current Flight Instructor (single or twin) - PPL, CPL, and/or IR related please tell me:

a) the pros and cons of being a Flight Instructor?
b) why you chose to be a Flight Instructor?
c) if you are generally 'happy' with being a Flight Instructor?

Thanks in advance.

[captainbluesky]

Thanks David (and others) for your very useful advice.

I am based near Farnborough airport.

[Shiny]

captainbluesky

I’ve recently qualified as an FI and have started instructing at our local club.

a) Pros - hugely rewarding, lots of interaction with hugely different people/personalities ( first timers/students/already qualified pilots), seeing and feeling the excitement and satisfaction in people’s faces
Cons - money - no one does it for the money. You’ll either need a very low cost life style or a second income
b) why did I do it? Because I love flying and a enjoy teaching
c) am I happy? Certainly, for the reasons listed in a) above

It’s a great time to become an FI - there’s a general shortage of instructors, so at the right clubs, there’s plenty of good instructing to do as opposed to the “scraps” that newly qualified instructors used to be thrown.

Good luck!