"I'll just be an instructor"

[Cows getting bigger]

As someone who has jumped through the vast majority of ATPL hoops (stopped short of MCC/JOC) I find the comment "If I don't get a job I'll just get an instructor rating" rather irritating, especially from a 5 hr PPL student.

Next one may well get a bit of counselling from the 'just' instructor.

Rant over.

[BoeingOnFinal]

So how will you feel when the question: "Are you a real pilot or just a co-pilot?" comes up? :)

Just enjoy it no matter what people thinks..

[bfisk]

When can you start flying real airplanes then?

(I fly a King Air now)

[Nearly There]

Chatting with misses boss yesterday explaining no airline jobs etc, and trying to educate him about instructing and the fact we are proper pilots!, he said, well why dont you just go with easyjet for a bit build hours and wait till things pick up:ugh: then the old classic, suppose you could always fly cargo for bit till the jobs begin to appear:ugh:

[ReverseFlight]

Newbie approaches flight instructor : "So which airline do you work for ?"

Happens quite a lot.

[VFE]

A fave of mine:

"So is this your hobby or do you work here?"

:}

VFE.

[dartagnan]

a dad telling me about his son with 200h cpl.


"he is not very picky, when his training finish, he will be happy to fly a corporate jet (instead of an airline jet like the 737...)"

get a clue daddy!

-----------------

and this one:

"are you a real pilot or do you pay a company to build time???"

[Cows getting bigger]

Today - "So what's your real job?'

"Actually, I'm a full time instructor. Why would I want to be a bus driver?"

[expedite08]

Very worrying isnt it! The total lack of understanding, more often than not displayed by those actually training for a particular type of licence, be it PPL or ATPL than joe public.

The average wannabe hasnt got a clue about the training and lack of jobs and the scale of financial disability they are placing themselves in to. Lets look at it this way. Im having trouble getting a mortgage with a small loan to pay back and an absolute squeaky clean record! God help a lot of these with 80k plus to pay back over 50 years or what ever it is these loonies take loans out for.

Its unbelieveable it really is. :ugh::ugh:

As for the comments as mentioned above, its highly irratating and I cant be arsed any more to explain! I just say I fly for a hobby and thats it!

[BelArgUSA]

Being a flight instructor is a specialty.
Holding an ATPL does not make you a good (and experienced) instructor.
All you do with ATPL is to impress aspiring PPLs with your aeronautical expertise.
Such expertise has no value to train student pilots for PPL level.
You could handle a 737 - But are you a competent PA-28 teacher...?
And such expertise has often no value.
xxx
My favorite PPL instructors...? Those with 5,000 hrs of lightplane instruction.
And able to educate flight safety in light aircraft and general aviation environment.
xxx
A retired captain with a few jet ratings (and ex-training manager) I own an old L-21 Super Cub.
Yes, I enjoy teaching PPLs to fly taildraggers. I am not an expert.
Every time I got a pilot "ready to solo", I pass him to an instructor taildragger expert.
Just a second opinion... I think he has instructed some 10,000 hrs in small planes.
A flight instructor is not less of a pilot - it is a specialist...
xxx
:D
Happy contrails

[Charlie Foxtrot India]

Well said!

[Big Pistons Forever]

A story related to me by a friend.

Son (age 6): "Daddy when I grow up I want to be a pilot !"

Father: "I am sorry son, but eventually you will have to choose one or the other "

:E

[belowradar]

a local pilot kept asking me "when are you going to get a proper job?" for quite a while I think it was a case of sour grapes - now the credit crunch has hit the comments have ceased.

Just solo'd another student pilot after a winter of hard slog and it was a fantastic feeling ! Reminded me why I love to teach and how rewarding it really is. Have had a taste of other types of flying but nothing compares to being a flying instructor and seeing the big grin when a new pilot is created.:ok:;)

[VFE]

Quite a few recently made redundant newbie airline and corporate guys sticking their heads in at the airfield lately asking for instructing work.

They don't seem to be viewing instructing as just a stepping stone now.

VFE.

[excrab]

Vfe

They are viewing instructing as a stepping stone to keep current until the job market picks up.

Life goes on, nothing changes - having left the industry once they will leave it again.

[Sporadic E]

Some of the best comments I received;

"My husband was an instructor before he became a pilot"

"What do I have to do to become a proper pilot?"

"Are you ever going to become a pilot?"

I got the "why don't you go and work for easyJet?" too, as if it were a paper round or pulling pints. I also got the "When are you gonna get a proper job?" more times than I care to remember (from fellow professionals, mostly). This total absence of respect for FIs from within and without the industry was partly what led me to stop instructing, because I couldn't just let it wash over me like others could. The thing is, without FIs there would be no pilots at all. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Nyet.

[DFC]

During Flight.

The PPL instructor in a Piper Cub looks up and sees a Twin Piston passing overhead and thinks "I wish I was there".

The Twin instructor looks up and sees a Turboprop Airliner passing overhead and thinks "I wish I was there".

The Turboprop Pilot looks up and sees a B747 passing overhead and thinks "I wish I was there".

The B747 pilot looks up and sees the Space Shuttle passing overhead and thinks "I wish I was there".

The Space Shuttle Pilot looks down and sees the Piper Cub and thinks "I wish I was there".

Nothing wrong with reaching for the stars. Just remember whose shoulders you are standing on when you get there.

Regards,

DFC

[BetpumpS]

:yuk:
:yuk:

[GIZZAJOB]

The higher a monkey climbs , the more you can see its arse

[Pugilistic Animus]

Folks, don't let the muppetty ground people get you down with their ignorance,...they're very simple and can not see much past their noses,...they react loudly and vociferously to the slightest stimulus, but without any factual basis and once they get an idea in their heads it can not be changed,...:ugh: so next time you're out flying ask yourself do you really care what those little microscopic dots have to say about what you're doing?

Don't let the ground get you down:ok:

PA

or for ground people

Lester:E

[BetpumpS]

Live to fight another day

[BetpumpS]

If you want to see a rainbow, you have to put up with the rain.

Dolly Parton

And people say she's just a big pair of (.)(.)

[NorthRider]

I get a lot of "wow"s when they hear I am a pilot... Then comes the dissapointment when they hear I "only fly domestic"

[Lazy Gun]

One of my friends:

"You are going to be instructing on THAT? I thought you were training to be a real pilot."

Followed by...

"I think you aught to take this more seriously and instruct for KLM instead."


Hehehehe! :}

In general I have discovered that people don't have a clue but I never let it bother me. If you know the deal and you are happy (I know I am!) then just keep smiling.

"Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave." - Skipper the Penguin

LG