I have been instructing for a couple of years until three weeks ago when I decided I had had enough for the time being, so am getting my MEIR current with a view to airline flying.
Don't get me wrong, I WANT to be an Instructor. I initially wanted to be a schoolteacher but Mum said "don't be stupid, you'd get much more money being a pilot" thanks mum.
I don't however want to struggle financially, never be able to ask someone out and pay for their meal as well as mine, or send them flowers, or buy a TV or house etc.
So I have decided to go for the money for the next few years (read airlines or steps towards airlines) and collect stories, dosh and chickies
and then go back and run a flying school that gives people the fun of flying and gives aspiring airline pilots their first steps like I got mine.
What does that make me? A money-grubbing hour builder? A career instructor? A dreamer? When I instruct I do the best I can like justwannafly. When on a charter, I give the best service I can short of pulling out a thermos full of coffee mid-flight and providing a toilet half an hour of seatbelt pressure later. There are only two reasons I am moving on from instructing. One is to get stories because I found the best instructors I had were the ones who had done the work, not just been teaching for ages. The other is to get some money and look after myself, otherwise I can't look after other people the way I want to.
Of those reasons, I was getting stories at my previous job, but not money. I have found that if you frame a question properly it answers itself, so the decision was made.
As for flying for free, I wouldn't if it was in a commercial place. I did a week at an ATC navigation course and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although I missed out on a perfectly fine week of paid flying at home
I still enjoyed teaching keen young minds the fundamentals of navigation. And for so-called 'unpaid' flying the accommodation was free and I still reckon you can't beat military cooking (or bar prices) in the Officers' Mess!
Just one other thing to add, if you are thinking of flying for airlines and instructing on weekends (and getting paid) you'd better make sure your rostering people know about it because flying for hire or reward relates to the pilot in all their jobs. As far as I am aware, a pilot cannot claim that Job A does not have any relation to their fatigue levels in Job B. So part-timing may affect your breaks.
You go away for one week, and an eight-pager comes from nowhere. Sheesh. Good thread though!
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Confident, cocky, lazy, dead.