This is quite a touchy subject. Money always stirs up feeling with people, But instructor pay is crap. There is no other way to put it.
I found myself reading an article about the PFA coaching scheme in popular flying this weekend. It made my blood boil.
The CAA has in its wisdom authorised the PFA to designate coaches, who need not hold anything more than a basic PPL, to teach and check pilots on PFA or permit aircraft. This in it's self is quite a good idea, why not allow someone who knows an aircraft for example a Europa help another pilot learn to fly his/her new plane.
The part that gets my goat is they get paid for it. Thay have had no formal instructor training nor do they hold a licence that allows hire or reward flying. We have all had to splash out thousands to get and maintain our instructor ratings. We have also had to study hard to get our commercial licences inorder to do it, paid or not it now seems under JAR.
How much do we get paid £5 or £20 if your very lucky per hour. Then the tax man comes in. The PFA coaches take £35 per flight or per hour I don't know which, of which £10 goes to the PFA for admin (nice little earner) and the remaining £25 is for the coach for expenses! Does the tax man get any? Well he can't because PPLs are not allowed to fly for hire and reward and if they did it would be illegal.
So what do we have? We have the PFA trying to do the right thing with PFA type a/c safety, but they end up rubbing every instructor in the countries nose in it. They get paid more than us, possibly don't pay tax on it and they didn't have to pay for a CPL or FI rating. And what do we do? NOTHING.
Isn't it time we all got together and fought for a better deal? How about a British version of the American NAFI (National Assoc of Flight Instructors) to help instrucots with problems such as this one or pay perhaps.
Let me know what you think.
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AP