Will I be a good flight instructor?

[flying free.LEVC]

Hello, good afternoon, I am a student pilot starting my ATPL at London Met, got my ppl half year ago, and actually i m working full time as a nurse as well to pay the course.

My money is limited, and the chances to be hired by a big airline when I finish even more. Biz jets? not many chances with 200 tt either.

That´s why i am considering becoming a flight instructor but I ask myself, if I had to do this job for 3,4,6 years, will I be a good professional? Would I enjoy teaching? Being realistics, not many people spend 40 000 pounds to be an instructor forever.

I guess it has to be funny teaching someone flying, flying a few hours everyday, ...nothing compared with the stressing life of a nurse in a busy ward:p.

But what about the ground school? Aren´t the classroom hours boring for an instructor whose pasion is being in the air? 2-4 hours everyday teaching theoretical subjects...?:bored:

I often work with student nurses and enjoy teaching them in my ward, but I thing I would feel bored if i had to speak for hours in a class room.

How do you manage? If you could choose between aerotaxi or instruction for instance? What would you choose? There aren´t many chances for a newly qualified and modular pilot nowadys..

Qualities required for a good instructor?

Cheers ¡

[bingofuel]

Having read your post, I would suggest that if you have to ask such questions you will not make a good instructor.

If you do not have the enthusiasm and passion to teach and watch your students become pilots then don't waste your time becoming an instructor.

[dannyboy11]

To be an instructor, it has to be something you want to do. I'm still doing my PPL, I have had 3 instructors, one of which wanted to get an airline job ASAP. He was the worst instructor of the lot, he had no interest in teaching, and I didn't rate his ability. My current instructor has the passion for flying, and even the ground school is a laugh.
I'm thinking of doing my FI, however, I have interest in not just being in the air, but engines, aerodynamics, and all things flying.
If you have to ask yourself or others if you should become an instructor, then don't.

[flying free.LEVC]

Well thanks for your opinions.

I am 22 years old and left my country, family and friends 6 months ago to fulfill my dream, flying. My parents couldn´t afford paying my modular courses so that´s why I came to UK to work as a nurse.

I wouldn´t like to be a nurse forever because I found out quite early what I wanted to do with my life. However, I am considered a very good nurse in my job, hard worker. I might not feel the same passion as others, but asking myself all the time how I could improve looks to be "enough" to be a very competent person.

Sometimes it´s not all about passion, it can be as well about being determined and having clear objectives.

That´s why I´ve been thinking about becoming an instructor, my personality and background might be my best bet.
Other instructors might feel more enthusiasm for what they are doing, but the "ego", the need to be Good in what I am doing, might be worthwhile.

Don´t you think?

[bingofuel]

No. If the deep desire is not there it will show very quickly.

You do not really want to be an instructor, you want to be an airline pilot.

[fa2fi]

Sad thing is he'll probably walk straight into an FI job whereas other people who would love to teach get nothing

[flying free.LEVC]

You are right bingofuel but I don´t see many other chances of building time after finishing school. The step between a newly qualified pilot and an airline pilot is too big and becoming an instructor looks the perfect bridge.

I don´t know british aviation very well, what are normally the first jobs for pilots without experience?

All I want is the best for my future, and paying an a320 type rating is not one of my plans by the moment.

[RTN11]

Flying instruction is something you have to be very passionate about to do well.

It's hard enough getting out of bed at 7 on a sunday morning, having missed a good night out with your mates so you can get in early to de-ice an aircraft and teach a very frustrating student how to land the aircraft when all they really want to do is crash the aircraft. Without the passion to see a student develop, I don't see how the job can be done effectively.

And the bad times can be really bad. When the weather just isn't on your side for weeks at a time, and you spend all day sitting about the clubhouse. Or when your students just keep cancelling lessons on you because they do have other things going on in their lives, or when you simply don't have any students (when you get 3 or 4 go through a test in one week), you really need something to keep you going and that is where a passion for the job really helps.

The high parts are amazing, sending people on their first solo, the views, the people you meet can be incredible, but it's not something to be taken lightly and simply as a means to an end.

[bingofuel]

what are normally the first jobs for pilots without experience?


At the present moment in time, none!

[flying free.LEVC]

Then I have not other chances ¡

Considering options for a new pilot:

- Airline jobs are for people from integrated courses from big schools
- General aviation: very few jobs
- Bush pilot in Africa. far away...
- Instruction
- ¿ Anything else ?

Honestly, between working in Africa for a few years while seeing my family only once a year, or working as an instructor somewhere in Europe, near friends and family...I think I wouldn´t hesitate.

Aviation is not giving me many chances and definetely I am NOT the kind of person who waits at home the phone call from an airline.

Instruction is therefore the best way, improving my cv, flying regularly, having fun with the students, FLYING, meeting people and networking...did I say flying?

I will do my best and will try to enjoy my work, exactly as I am doing now.

Good night.

[hobbit1983]

- Airline jobs are for people from integrated courses from big schools

Not true. I have 4 friends who have gotten airline jobs in the last year who do not fit this category.

[Parson]

It's all very well saying that potential instructors need to have a passion for the job etc - I don't disagree with that, but cast your mind back to pre JAR. The way most got a CPL then was through instructing up to 700 hrs and am sure a fair proportion didn't have the 'passion' and just saw it as a stepping stone.

I learn't in the 90's and all the instructors I ever flew with, bar a couple, were using it as a means to an end. I couldn't fault the instruction, though.

[long final]

Why is it that, for so many people, someone cannot possibly be an instructor and still have a longer term aim of commercial flying?

I got an FI to progress because the other options certainly didn't fit my aim. Instructing was the best fun flying I ever had and the job itself was very rewarding. It also got me my first commercial job and started my career in aviation proper.

Go for the instructors job, understand your responsibility therein and have a great time.

The industry is set up for that progression, and until schools change and students want to pay more for their training, ever it will be.

Good luck.

[mad_jock]

At least the OP is actually thinking about if they are suited or not to be a FI. which to be honest is a significant step up from alot of the others.

Being a nurse means you will emphathise with the Student. You have a bit of life experence behind you as well. You will have also been exposed to teaching before in nursing.

I never wanted to be an instructor all my life but did always plan on being one for a bit.

I would say you have more boxes ticked than most for becoming an instructor.

Compared to some intergrated tosser who can only teach persudo airline ops I would employ you before them.

[WestWind1950]

I have to agree with a lot of the above. If you are only doing instructing as a means to an end, then you will most likely not be a good one. I experienced a couple of those types of instructors....they didn't care about their students and often left the school, not caring if there student ever passed any exams, let alone even soloed!

On the other hand, you just may find out that it can be challenging, fun, and you learn a LOT more about flying when you instruct! You must realise that you cannot get rich in instructing, but you do collect flight time on someone elses pocket. You will experience good students and bad students and if you are a caring person (and as a nurse I guess you are) then CARE about your students!

Not all instructors do both practical flying and ground school. I knew one instructor who was an excellent teacher in a plane, but he just could not talk in a class room! So it is possible to not have to teach ground school, or at least subjects that you are good in (like human factors?).

Whatever you decide.... good luck with it!

[Whopity]

Only time will tell if you will be a good instructor. There are many good aviators who would never make good instructors. Until you have instructed for a while you will not know. As an Instructor you have to have something to give; Knowledge; Experience and Enthusiasm are all necessary. To begin with you have little or no Knowledge or Experience though you might have plenty of Enthusiasm, rest assured you will need it to keep you going. You cannot make much of a living from instructing alone therefore; you either need another source of income whilst you indulge, or you will be forced to move on to areas of aviation where the remuneration is better. If you are concerned about boredom then you should be aware that sitting in a long haul cockpit can be equally as boring as can sitting at an airport waiting for your bizjet passenger to pitch up, or waiting all day whilst they go about their business.

If you want to be a pilot concentrate on that, if you take up instructing on the way, you may grow to like it or equally to hate it. Most people aspire to a standard of living or style of life, where luck is quite often the arbitrator. If you do well in life, you may find instructing a rewarding way of giving something back but, very few find instructing a means to achieving their ultimate ambition.

[blagger]

Some good advice above!

Ignore those who go on about how aspiring airline pilots can't be good instructors - it is all about the individual. I've flown with young, inexperienced, recent CPL/FI graduates who are excellent instructors and multi-thousand hour career instructors who are little better than useless at instructing.

[RTN11]

I agree that not all pilots who use instructing as a stepping stone make bad instructors. However, the worst instructors I have seen fall well into this category. Three students I inherited from one such instructor had each done around 10-15 navigation flights each, and none had covered anything further than basic nav. No airspace crossing, no diversions, nothing above following a basic route. This type of lazy instructing where all you are worried about is your hours at the end of the month means you do not want the student to progress too far, becuase then you won't have a student anymore since they will finish the course.

I have met a few guys who were honest from the onset that instructing was purely a stepping stone, who then went on to be amazing instructors for the year or so they were in the game. However, I think these are fairly rare these days, and most guys who are purely using instruction as a stepping stone and have no intention of continuing to instruct once they get into an airline make fairly poor instructors.

[high wing harry]

If you dont truly want to instruct other than just to gain hours you will drive yourself crazy and your students will be the poorer for it.

Some people are suited to instructing and some aren't. Nothing against those who aren't suited!

There are other ways of gaining experience such as glider towing etc but instructing is probably the best for actually getting paid (well, kind of!) at the same time.

It sounds very sappy but you need to want to instruct to give something back. It's great to see someone on their first flight , first solo, get their licence etc etc etc but it is a balance between those and the rainy days, ground briefings and the "if I see this circuit pattern one more time..." moments.

Do it if you will love it. If not, find something else.

Good luck with your choice