I often linger but don't often reply!
But on this occasion I feel quite strongly that it's worth the effort!
I am one of those guilty of instructing on days off.
Firstly the benefits:
Keeps me a bit sharper-ie eyes work outside the cockpit/hands and feet still
do what they were trained to once upon a time,brain can still compute the basic holds,ADF,wind corrections,do the radio and teach at the same time etc,etc,ie it maintains a reasonable degree of capacity which is an essential trait in modern commercial flying-almost makes me feel like I am a pilot!
Believe it or not,I actually read notices and keep up to date(eg ATSOSCAS)-you have to if you instruct/examine.Occasionally I may have to refer to some of my original flying notes/books in order to answer a question by a particularly awkward/inquisitive student,to which I cannot give a full and satisfactory answer-we both learn and refresh our knowledge together.
I'm convinced that this makes me safer,more allert and adaptable than would be the case if I didn't do it.
This type of aviation enabled me to do what I do now-it's my roots if you like.I get a degree of satisfaction knowing that I am putting something back into flying,and at the sametime setting an example and acting as a bit of a mentor for the pilots of tomorrow.
There are probably more good points if I really thought long and hard about it.
What about the bad points?
I do have to think about duty times/flying hours.Not a problem as I am aware of the rules and why they exist.As far as I am aware I have never broken them.
I have to think about two different forms/types of flying.Thats my choice and I can cope with it.
Occasionally my family life suffers,but they know that this is what I do and that at the end of the day my flying is important to me.
In summary-learning to fly and the motivations for doing so are different for every individual.For me,becoming an instructor was a major leap forward at the time and it also cost a few quid!I thoroughly enjoyed doing it full time and got a lot from it,and so wish to continue to keep my hand in so to speak.When I bacame an airline pilot,that was also a great leap forward but as a lot of people know,you tend to miss 'real' flying.
If the rules need tightening by the powers that be,then that must be for a good reason.On the whole,the people that I know who both instruct and fly the public about are pretty dilligent and probably manage their time and life to a fairly tight degree allready.I don't think that the rules need looking at or tweaking-if anything the exct opposite is the case.