WWW,
I entirely agree with you that flying instructors should be paid more. But that is not the point. Students, who are paying a considerable amount to learn to fly, have a right to expect good service. Had I known when I was learning, and had I been given the choice, I would have been prepared to pay more IF it meant I got a good instructor. I didn't know how the system worked, and I didn't have that choice.
But I'm a more than a little worried by someone - especially someone who teaches flying - who decides how much to put into the job, by how much they get paid. From what I've heard of you outside PPRuNe I don't actually think this is true of you, so don't take it personally, but this is not an attitude that will get anyone anywhere, in flying or in life. The best instructor I had, f/w or rotary, believed that everything you did you should do to the best of your ability. He put a lot into his work, and demanded the same from his students. He got an airline job quicker than a lot of the instructors who didn't bother. I wonder why...
Nimbus,
I entirely agree. This is probably the crux of the matter. It should change soon though. While personally I'm complaining about the fact that I now have to get a CPL(H) and do 300 hours before I can instruct on helicopters, objectively I think it's a good idea. I think I'm right in saying that with JAR there won't be any more low hours f/w hour-building instructors, aren't I? This means eventually they'll have to pay the better qualified instructors - the only ones they'll have - a decent wage.
Whirly
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To fly is human, to hover, divine.