Should I become a FI?

[JumboBeef]

Hello all,

I'm new here and looking for some advice please.

OK, just turned 40 and having a mid-life crisis. I don't have a PPL but have always promised myself one before I turned 40, so I've missed that one.

Anyway, the point is I'm looking for a career change, and I would like to know if becoming a FI would be a wise move, are there FI jobs around, how much will it cost and how much does it pay (I know I'll never become rich).

I've been in light aircraft many times and have spent a number of hours hanging outside helicopters so I know I like it up there!

Thanks in advance! :ok:

[Whirlybird]

Is it a WISE move? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's badly paid, insecure, dangerous, and exhausting. You work weekends so it messes up your social life, and the only time off you get is when the weather is horrible.

I absolutely love it!!! I get paid to fly, and I get to fulfil people's dreams. At the moment, that makes up for everything...except when I'm really tired and/or a student has tried harder than usual to kill me.

If you REALLY like flying, and also REALLY like working with people, it's a great job, though you definitely won't get rich. But if you're not sure about either of those two things, forget it.

[Sleeve Wing]

[QUOTE=Whirlybird]Is it a WISE move? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's badly paid, insecure, dangerous, and exhausting. You work weekends so it messes up your social life, and the only time off you get is when the weather is horrible.
QUOTE=]
Hi Whirly.
Yes, you are so right .................and you could also be describing today's airline job !! ...........except you just work harder when the weather is horrible !
So, why do we do it ? Why do we take all the associated cr*p ?

Because we love it and we're good at it. Beats the hell out of being stuck in some office or on the motorway, doesn't it ?

Rgds, Sleeve.

[Esperanza]

Hello JumboBeef.

In answer to your questions. I love my job and intend to stay in instruction until I either retire, come to my senses, or win the lottery (it is after all just a job). However the pay can be pretty bad. See the "Search for the UK's best/ most poorly paid PPL instructor". The question you must ask yourself is this, can you live on approximately £10000-12000/ year? Some schools pay more, others less. If you do really well then you may reach the dizzy heights of +£18000/ year. There are jobs out there, but there's a good chance that you will need to move to find a suitable position. If you've currently got a "proper job", which is paying "proper wages" then I would advise you to give instruction a wide berth. Having said that you only live once and so it's really entirely down to you.

As far as costs are concerned I haven't got a clue. Somebody else will be able to correct me but I'm guessing that you won't get much (if any) change out of £30000.

Good luck with your PPL.

PS. Seeing as you appear to be a bit new to all of this please bear in mind that the hourly rates that you see in other threads relate to flight times. To give you a rough idea of how many hours you could expect to fly I can tell you that over the year I average 3.3 hours/ day. In the winter it's not at all unusual to have days where you will not fly at all. The only money that you will make on such days will be a retainer (£0-30/ day) and/or charges made for ground school.

[JumboBeef]

Thanks :ok:

As I've been self-employed for pushing 20 years now, I could move into this if I wanted to. Not too fussed about the money (always nice to have more but I'd much rather have a life I enjoy) and I have other internet-based interests which pay the bills (plus owning two holiday cottages).

How did you folk do it? Bit by bit, over time or slap £30K down and do it in as short a time as possible? (Is there an intensive course to get to instructing asap?).

Thanks again! :ok:

[VFE]

Another factor to consider is that the instructor wage has no guarantee's.

For example;

If you need to have at least £1000 coming in each month then instructing means you'll need to have a fallback plan unless you like living on the edge. If you have family then living on the edge isn't an option so it's not uncommon for instructors to have a side line business to contribute to their earnings.

If you are using instructing as a stepping stone towards the airlines then this changes your overall view on the project but bills still need to be paid and loan repayments will get bigger. Just make sure you do your best to evaluate whether you can afford the training and lost income - which means adding anything from 50% to your initial budget as a safety net.

If money is no object then go for it because the GA world needs more dedicated instructors who are in it purely for the love!

VFE.

[Whirlybird]

Helicopter instructing does pay more than f/w. In fact it pays quite well. But there are less schools, less students, and the same thing applies concerning winter and bad weather - and if there's no work, then there's no pay. Can you live off it? I'll let you know after next winter.

[porridge]

Try becoming a Microlight Instructor and make £60 per hour or even more (can be as much as £95/hour with your own aircraft!).
Also you only need a PPL ML with 200 hours - seems a no-brainer to me!

[JumboBeef]

Thanks for the replies.

I'd love to do the helicopters but it costs so much more. Mircolights don't interest me, sorry. I have been up in one and it is a buzz but I wouldn't want to do it everyday.

[porridge]

JumboBeef
Would you be happy to fly a C150/2 or a PA28 to do instruction in? Because that's pretty much what a great deal of schools still use.
If you are; then the new breed of Very Light Aircraft are much the same as these, they are just classed as Microlights. I'd be quite happy to instruct on some of these as they are less cramped then the ubquitous C150 and far more sprightly in performance too. However none of the hours you do in these will credit you towards flight experience for an airline - but you don't want to become a jet jockey so it's not an issue for you?

[JumboBeef]

Well, that will teach me not to read the posts correct! Sorry, when I though of mircolights, I thought of frame tents with engines on the back :oh:

[VFE]

less cramped then the ubquitous C150
Amazing how the 'cramp issue' disappears when an attractive young student is sat beside you. :}

VFE.

[EGBKFLYER]

Porridge - a VLA and a microlight are two different things. Often a particular design (e.g. the AT3 or Eurostar) can be built as either, depending on the options taken.

The flying school at Sywell (Brooklands) operate two VLAs for training - feedback I've heard suggest they are not as tough or easy to fly (and taxy!) as the 'classic' C150/ PA28s etc. As for 'sprightly performance' - they may exhibit awesome climb angles and use less fuel but the cruise speed of those I know is similar to the old tin cans. The relatively lower wing loading of the VLAs can also make them a little more uncomfortable on a thermic day...

[porridge]

EGKBFLYER
Yes, your points are taken on board, but it is the £60 per hour for the instructor that does it for me as it is more than I get as a Commercial, Instrument & FIC instructor! It's the money now, not the hours, I want!:ok:

[Jimbo & the Jet Set]

"The flying school at Sywell (Brooklands) operate two VLAs for training - feedback I've heard suggest they are not as tough or easy to fly (and taxy!) as the 'classic' C150/ PA28s etc"

The AT3 isn't that difficult to fly or taxy for that matter. It's all case of what your used to. Pilots who have had taildragger experience seem to have no difficulties, others with only Piper/Cessena experience take longer to convert.

It has plenty of shoulder room, is cooler in flight than a 152 on a hot summer day and is very, very fun to fly. The climb performance is good, but so is the cruise. It has a low speed cruise of 85kt (good for training) but will cruise at 110kts without gunning the engine and still gets 16lt/hr fuel econ. Not bad for a 2 seat trainer.

It isn't better than a C152, it has its problems. But on reflection at 6ft 2 I much prefer the AT3 to the C152 and its more fun.

And yes, your right about the sporting crosswind and turbulence performance. But then it only weighs 580Kg MTOW and aircraft engineering is about compromise.

[barney01]

Hi guys, I haven't looked at this forum much, but very interesting.

Very similar issues with instructing in Australia (weather not as big an issue though) but some significant changes in the wind.

Many instructors at larger schools are now on an actual regular wage with paid annual leave and sick leave! This applies mostly to those schools training international students. Starting wage seems to be about $32000australian (below national average wage which is about 45k) but with better rating it seems to go up to about 45+.

The other big change is sport aircraft. Traditional C172's etc are under pressure at private flying schools, being replaced by Jabiru's/Tecnam types. Pay in these types is getting better, but the hours flown are getting much better.

I am doing an instructor rating for a 46 year old at the moment. For him the future doesn't look all bad. He has a good chance of making a modest but liveable income.

I know our rules are different but plenty of chances over here for instructors of all ages/experience(but no it's not all handed out on a platter). PM me if anyone wants to know some more.

[plugg]

Stop thinking about it and just do it!!!!
I was a flying instructor for about 10 years. In that time my wages increased from £10 / hr (no retainer), to about £38,000 / year as a commercial FI.
I have worked all over the UK and spent a few years instructing in America. What a life!
You really need to target the big schools if you want to make a career out of it. You can also add examiners ratings etc.. if you really want to go to town.