The deal?

[B737Dude]

I'm considering the FI route to gain experience at my local flying club on the C152's but what is the average take home per month after tax in the UK? I would be greatful If anyone can give me a approx idea please :O

[RTN11]

Very inconsistant as you are usually paid only per hour flown. In the summer, maybe £1500, in winter as low as £150.

Lucky to net £12-15k a year.

[Mickey Kaye]

Personally I think you would be better off aiming to work the weekends only. Such work is easier to find and it also allows you to hold down a mon to friday job as well.

You can then step up to full time when someone leaves or when you build up a big enough student portfolio.

In my part of the world most instructors have moved on after a relatively short period of instructing around 18 months and 500 to 700 hours and I haven't seen any advantage given to the full time boys.

[hobbit1983]

I understand that in the SW of England roughly 15-20 pounds per hour is average, BEFORE tax as you're a contractor more likely than not.

Hours flown? Depends, but as RTN11 says you'll struggle to make more than £12k pa. overall.

[B737Dude]

Thank you very much for your inputs :-) I have to say the instructors forum is much more friendly than the others on here.
I think the weekend only is a good way forward that way I also keep my full time job Monday to friday..
Also while I'm on the subject what's the chances going into airline flying after being a FI? I'm only 21 but I heard airlines want fresh's like me but I can't afford sitting and waiting for a jet job!

[Mickey Kaye]

In the Twenty years I have held an instructor ticket I have only known two instructors who haven't gone onto the airlines and remained as instructors. One was for medical reasons and the other preferred to stay as an instructor.

And I would like to add two points

1 - By and large the only ones who seem to be happy are the two who stayed as instructors

2 - Airline wise some are on superb BA/Virgin contracts with all the strings attached while others are not and as far as I can tell there is no rhyme or reason as to who has done well and who has not.

[RTN11]

Weekends only can work, but it will be 90% trial lessons, which become very tiring when you have a full day of 30 min trial lessons.

Also, once you've got someone to take up the course, they will inevitably want to fly at least one weekday. Another instructor will then start to fill in, and over time with weather cancellations and other factors there's a high chance the student will end up with the full time instructor.

Unless you're the most charasmatic person in the world, you will struggle to get students to stick with the weekend instructor alone, so you may be better off committing to as close to full time as you can, maybe then taking on a part time job, e.g. bar work in the evenings. That way, month on month your average hours will be far better, as will your job satisfaction.

The other consideration is that you will intially be a restricted instructor, needing 25 student solo sign offs to get your full ticket. This is very difficult to build up with weekend work alone, and once unrestricted you could usually expect a 25% pay rise.

[mrmum]

I think the situation is not quite as bleak as that. What you will earn will almost certainly vary enormously throughout the year, you'll mostly be on pay by the hour, maybe with a retainer if you're lucky. Probably as a self-employed sub-contractor basis, although this should mean you don't pay much tax if you do it right. I would say it would fluctuate between £800-£1800 pcm, or that's what I've seen in the last couple of years. As a hourly rate, mid to high teens seems about right to me, with a 20-25% increase once de-restricted. If you get a retainer, expect the flying rate to be less.
If you're available for weekend work it will make it easier to get that first job. As has been said the weekend trade is heavier on TLs, but there's also plenty of "proper" students as well. Some instructors complain about having to do TLs, but here's nothing wrong with doing a lot of TLs initially, as it lets you settle into the job as a new FI(R), you normally get more actual handling time yourself and it's an opportunity to get new students. You may lose some to the full-time guys, but plenty will still just want to have their lessons at weekends.
Instructing is about personality as much as ability, you have to engage with customers and enthuse them. If you're doing that with TLs on a weekend and converting them to full PPL courses at a good rate, I guarantee you'll get offered a full-time job pretty quick.
People often quote the 25 solo sign-offs to de-restrict, about 3 full PPL course students will give you that, the hours is never an issue, but you do also a recommendation that you're suitable and ready from your supervising FI.
I'd also second what Mickey said, in my 18 years of instructing, everyone I've worked with who wanted an airline job has got one. However, once they've been doing it for a few years, they almost all eventually complain about it and drift back to GA in one form or another to do some real flying again, which is why they got into it in the first place.
I would say go for it, I love instructing it's brilliant fun, but if you've got real world bills to pay (mortgage/wife/kids) do it part-time, although as you're 21 I guess perhaps you haven't yet.

[RTN11]

mrmum, you're very lucky if the lowest you've earned in a month instructing is £800.

Last winter, the GA strip I was working for was snowed in for 3 weeks, leaving us with no prospect of flying. I think I managed 12 hours that month, and had to supplement my income with temp work.

During the peak months, you can easily hit 70-90 hours, so it does balance out throughout the year. You just have to squirrel it all away so you're not stuck with no money at christmas.

[mrmum]

I totally agree. But as I said, that's just my personal experience and of course the kind of aerodrome you're flying from and it's susceptibility to weather will have a big effect. You can help things along a bit if you can teach the NQ and for the time being the IMCr, which all add to your ability to earn over the winter months. Also doing some structured paid for groundschool lectures for your PPL students is good and gets them to know each other, helps the social scene and puts some foundations down for flyouts together in the spring/summer,