Becoming a Flying Instructer UK?

[ATMLboro]

Was just wondering what the minimum requirements are for becoming a flight instructor in the UK.

Cheers

Will

[FlyingForFun]

One of the pre-requisites is the ability to look things up in obvious places such as LASORS, since any prospective instructors must expect students to ask them questions and must know where to find the answers. :rolleyes:

If you were to acquire this skill and look in LASORS, you would find that before starting the course you must have 200 hours total time on aeroplanes, of which 100 must be P1 if you hold a CPL. (If you don't hold a CPL, 150 hours must be P1, and you must have completed the CPL or ATPL written exams.) There are a number of other smaller requirements, after which you take a flight test, and if you pass the flight test you can start the course.

FFF
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[Foz2]

The guy asked a question!! Isnt that what this forum is for??!! Im going to have a little rant now because the aviation snobs on this forum really annnoy me.

There are so many replies to questions asked on the forums that are quite frankly arrogant and patronising. I have found 90% of the people on this forum to be really helpful and interesting but there are some that just sit in front of their computers telling people off for not knowing exactly where to look for information regarding flying careers.

Drop the attitude!!!

Thank you and good night!!

Foz

[tacpot]

FFF a snob? :hmm:

Anyone who has been browsing the forums for any time will know that FFF is the least snobby person about flying - even his handle says it!

He answered the question didn't he? The original poster could have found out the answer to any number of previous threads, and from any number of other threads they could have found out about LASORS.

The forums isn't necessarily here to ask easy to answer questions - the forums are here for us to make of them what we will (thanks Danny :-)), I think the quality of the forums is kept high by keeping spurious and repeated threads off them if possible. Regular members of the 'community' do get frustrated by repeat questions, but will still answer them because they wish to encourage flyers of all levels.

[Foz2]

Tacpot,

I am not aiming this at anyone in particular, Im just suggesting that if you are going to answer a question why do it in a borrish way. Sure the question was answered ( and very accurately at that) but why bother with the stuffiness? What does it acheive apart from making people feel unwelcome at PPrune?

Foz

[FlyingForFun]

Foz,

As Tacpot has said (thanks Tacpot!) I'm always happy to answer questions on these forums (or anywhere else, for that matter). I always try to provide a reference, too, so that others can not only check that my answer is correct, but also find the answers themselves in future.

Questions such as this pop up regularly on both Private Flying and Wannabes, but from the short time that I've been reading the Instructors forum regularly I would say they are quite rare here. The reason for that, I would guess, is because part of the job of the instructor is to know where to find the answers. Not to know the answers, but to at least know where to find the relevant documents (they are almost all on-line now) and how to use them. That way, when a student has a question, you are in a position to not only give him the answer, but to help him find the answers to future questions himself, much as I try to do on the forums.

I hope ATMLboro found my answer useful, and has gone away to LASORS to look up those requirements which I referred to but omitted the details. Once he has mastered the trick of finding the information himself, I'm sure he will be in a good position to be able to pass the skill on to his students in his future career as an instructor. I hope I haven't made him feel unwelcome on PPRuNe - that wasn't my intention at all, and if I've done so then I apologise - but I don't apologise for the tone of my first reply, because I think that finding information is an essential skill.

FFF
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[Foz2]

FFF,

You are quite right and as I said please dont think that what I said was aimed at you in particular, it was an observation of replies that id seen all over PPrune from various people recently.


but I don't apologise for the tone of my first reply, because I think that finding information is an essential skill.

You could say that that was exactly what he was doing couldn't you?!;)

By the way I enjoyed your CPL diary very much.:ok:

Cheers

Foz.

[tonker]

What you really need is a good stash of cash to get you through the tough and sometimes lean times ahead.

I had all the hours etc but started instructing with little money left after everything including the move, this meant i started out with with financial issues that you really don't need when being payed per hour to fly.

I know this reply is not an answer to any pre course hours exams etc but nonetheless if i had to start instructing anew, i would have ensured somehow that i would have had at least a few months grace to get me going.

For the first time you will actually be payed to fly, this you MUST enjoy

[whatunion]

dont be put off Will, flying for funs attitude isnt universal.

you dont need to know were to look things up, you just need to know that in every flying school there will be a ********, a self appointed expert whose only pleasure in life is to put others down to boost his own ego.


ps Will if its any consellation, i have an atpl, 16,000 hours and an instructor rating that expired 14 years ago and i do not even know what LASORS means but thankfully the definition of ******** remains unchanged!

whatunion says, never be rude to your student, he may be your fleet manager one day!

[FlyingForFun]

Whatunion,

Interesting words of wisdom there - thanks! Out of interest, how do you know that the "********" (seems to be a favourite word of yours, you've used it on a couple of threads!) is giving you the correct information? Isn't it far better to point your student to a written record? This has the benefit that a) you know the information is correct, and b) your student knows where to find the information himself in future.

LASORS comprises two sections. The first of these, LAS, is described as "a ready source of advice for individuals who are: commencing or engaged in flight training, upgrading flight crew licenses, revalidating or renewing their ratings or seeking to add ratings to existing licenses."

No reason you should know of its existance if you've been out of instructing for 14 years, since it only appeared for the first time a couple of years ago, but I would suggest that the vast majority of people who are currently involved in flight training (whether an instructor or a student) would know of it, and it is generally accepted that it can be treated as definitive since it contains relevant sections of legislation (both the ANO and JARs) - indeed if you contact the CAA with a licensing question they, too, will often give the answer "look in LASORS". For the benefit of you and anyone else who isn't familiar with it, though, the on-line version can be found here (http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/LASORS.PDF). I normally post this link whenever I refer to LASORS, but I seem to have omitted to do so in my earlier post - sorry.

FFF
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[whatunion]

i thank you flying for fun, i knew you were a nice guy really.

whatunion says, after Adam all knowledge was taught!

[Kellvin]

Ummmmm can somebody answer the original question. Becouse although I will stay a simple VFR pilot for a long time and don't intend to become an instructor I am interested in the answer.

[tacpot]

By the power of "Cut and Paste" :p

Before commencing a Flight Instructors Course
(FIC) an applicant must satisfy the course pre-entry
requirements as per JAR-FCL 1.335: -
a) Hold either a valid UK CAA or JAR-FCL aeroplane pilots licence, which includes a valid
Single Engine Piston (Land) Class or single pilot, Single Engine Type Rating.
b) Meet the knowledge requirements for the grant of a JAR-FCL Commercial Pilot Licence
(Aeroplanes) as per AMC FCL 1.470(b).
c) Have completed at least 200 hours of flight time on aeroplanes of which a:
i) PPL(A) holder shall have at least 150 hours as PIC or
ii) CPL/ATPL(A) holder shall have at least 100 hours as PIC.
d) PPL/CPL/ATPL(A) holder shall have completed:
i) At least 30 hours on single engine piston powered aeroplanes of which at least 5
hours shall be in the six months preceding the pre-entry flight test.
ii) At least 10 hours instrument flight instruction in aeroplanes of which not
more than 5 hours may be instrument ground time in a FNPT or a flight simulator.
iii) At least 20 hours of cross-country flight as PIC of aeroplanes, including a
cross-country flight of at least 540km (300nm) in the course of which full-stop
landings at two aerodromes different from the aerodromes of departure shall be made.
iv) Pass a specific pre-entry flight test with a FI qualified as per JAR-FCL 1.330(f) based
upon the proficiency check as per JAR-FCL 1.240(b), within the six months preceding the start of the course.

An applicant for the FI(A) rating shall have completed an approved course of both flight and
theoretical knowledge instruction training at an approved FTO.

An applicant for a FI(A) rating shall demonstrate to an examiner, notified by the
Authority for this purpose, the ability to instruct a student pilot to the level required for the issue of a
PPL(A), including pre-flight, post-flight and theoretical knowledge instruction.

[Kellvin]

Only one man could answer the question!

bom bom bang bom

and his name was TACPOT.

;)