Questions for Instructors

[training wheels]

Hello .. I'm considering doing an Instructor's rating so I can start earning some bread in the industry that I love.

How many hours are u guys flying per month in this current economic climate?

How much dough can be earnt a month?

Is this the only type of perk u get as an instructor :yuk: , or are there other benefits too?

Thanks.

[Bula]

Mte depends on where you work. There are plenty of schools out there.

At the moment I'm doing 50-60 hours a months and earning about $2500 a month there (in a good month that is) adn in a bad month.. oh i dunno about $400 :)

But i know from experience that I'm in a better paid per flight hour school on the airport. Many other are $20 an hour plus no briefing while other are $27/hr no briefing. Very very poor.

Choose wisely, talk to the instructors and find the facts at every school you go to.

[Transition Layer]

G'day Training Wheels,

To start off with, the pay in instructing is not why you do it, in fact the money at all lower levels in GA is sh*thouse but thats a whole other story. As for perks, well thats what you make of it. The satisfaction associated with teaching someone to fly is definitely better than flying charter IMHO but I've only done limited amounts of both.

As a rule, the bigger colleges and universities will tend to provide better conditions than the smaller flying school targeting "Joe Bloggs" who walks in off the street. Also, generally speaking, these places have a more continuous stream of flying and are therefore more likely to employ you full-time. This is not the case for all smaller operations - some of them treat their pilots quite well, but majority are casual.

One problem however is that many of the larger organisations specifically require that you trained at their organisation in order to keep a certain standard they wish to uphold, unless perhaps you have a considerable amount of experience instructing (which doesn't really apply in your case).

Most flying schools will tempt you with offers of employment once you complete an instructor rating. This seems great, but as they are paying you a casual rate, it doesn't cost them anything if you aren't flying. If you are flying, then great, the company earns money as well as you. You will probably have to find your own students and spend many hours waiting around the airport for someone to walk in the door or jump over your colleagues to answer the phone in the hope it is a potential student. All unpaid of course.

Shop around, and don't be conned by offers of employment if you do the rating there. Speak to the guys working there, find out how much flying they are doing and what the employment conditions are like.

Cheers,
TL

[taresa_green]

That was good advise TL.
But watch those grade1's triang wheels, they can be real pricks