Regeneration of career instructors

[Ian_Wannabe]

Hey

I know this has been discussed in length on here before but i cant find the thread.

I've been hearing/reading that the new licencing body are thinking of bringing in a "new" CPL level for people who wish only to instruct as a career.

The idea being that everyone has to get a CPL regardless of their intentions as a pilot, i.e Squeezyjets or just a 172 for the rest of their life, only the Cessna172 option has very low wages so in turn, the career instructors opt for the airlines because it pays better.

Any idea whats going on with this, time scale, what kind of depth to CPL will be involved?

Thanks

[S-Works]

The current proposal is not to require a CPL but allow remuneration on a PPL for flight training the same as it was in the old days.

[TheOddOne]

Bose,

I think the sticking point for quite a few people won't be the 'theoretical knowledge' side of things but whether or not you'll be able to instruct SEP on the equivalent of a JAR Class 2 medical. A number of people who can't get a Class 1 but are Class 2-compliant would like to instruct, this is still a very grey area.

Actually the present EASA proposals for medicals look absolutely horrendous and if rumour is correct, these come from a UK doctor!!!

As to timescales, my guess is it'll be at least 2-3 years before we see actual changes; lots of talking and wishful thinking in the meantime.

TheOddOne

[timzsta]

I would say time and cost are an issue as well. Your looking at £6000 for an FI course now, plus test fee and rating issue and medical. So realistically £7000. It is going to take a month doing a full time course if the weather is kind, much longer part time.

Given the state of economy at the moment how many PPL's have got that £7000 plus the time to spare to earn not a lot as an FI? PPL FI will only be allowed to teach ab initio. No IMC or night and certainly not teaching for CPL etc.

Many small flying clubs are sadly going to really struggle for Instructors as the big schools are starting to pay decent money for FI's now.

[Ian_Wannabe]

well what im worried about now is when/if to start the ATPLs?

Because if I go spending lots of money on getting a CPL to only have the authorities saying "oh you dont need one anymore" then should I wait a few years?

[S-Works]

PPL FI will be able to teach IMC and night, just as they can now. A CRI can teach IMC and IR with an IRI rating all as a PPL.

They will not be allowed to teach for CPL as ICAO requires you to hold at least the level you are teaching.

[TheOddOne]

Given the state of economy at the moment how many PPL's have got that £7000 plus the time to spare to earn not a lot as an FI?


timzsta,

People in their 50's who get made redundant, that's who! Maybe the 'state of the economy' will generate more of these.

Actually, this 'state of the economy' thing has got out of hand. There WAS a 'credit crunch' which hopefully will take some of the heat out of the housing market but there's no recession at the moment, unless we talk ourselves in to one.

TheOddOne

[timzsta]

People who are in their 50's and who get made redundant may not necessarily be able to afford to support their families on FI wages! Not unless they have received and exceptionably good redundancy package.

I think a lot of people in the flight training industry are kidding themselves the PPL FI thing is going to solve the Instructor shortage.

I heard Mervyn King quiet clearly the other day - "the good times are over".
A recession is about to hit us, if it already hasn't, and it is going to be a bad one.

[Legal Beagle]

Timzsta,

Steady the ship, there is no need for us to talk ourselves into a recession!

Some of us will remember how we did that 20 years ago and many paid the price.

Conditions are different now. We are just going to have to get used to things being a bit less easy for a while than they've been for the last 10 years.

Yes, of course GA will suffer, as will any industry that largely depends upon the size of people's disposable income. So now is the time to make sure we are as efficient in what we do as we possibly can be, stick to our core businesses, and hang on in there until things inprove again.

As to whether a return to PPL/FI will help or hinder the lot of the career instructor I think I would simply comment that the change is long overdue, as without it the career instructor - at least at PPL level - would become an extinct species within not very many years.

[Viola]

timzsta - Mervyn King actually said the NICE (non-inflationary consistently expansionary) times are over, which means in simple terms the long period of growth without inflation has finished.

Generally speaking Economists (non-government) think the economy will grow (only slowly), we shouldn't have really high unemployment, but that we will have inflation because of world food/oil prices.

Where there may be a problem is in falling house prices. So far the only people really affected are those who have bought in the past year or who need to re-mortgage. They are either worse off or feel worse off. Many people however have cheaper mortgages (like me) and so more disposable income, but they might not feel as confident. Demand for lessons will depend on how this balances out.

How all this will affect the future supply of potential instructors in their 50's I am not sure. People in their 50's have usually paid off their (low) mortgages on houses bought 20 years ago.

However, the growth of the airline industry worldwide might slow down (because of rising costs) which will mean less demand for airline pilots. This could have an affect on the supply of instructors.

(Sorry for the slight thread drift, but it does help to know what might affect jobs in the future.)