A CAREER AS A FLYING INSTRUCTOR

[oceanicclarence]

Hi all just looking for some advice on my plan to become a flying instructor !, i have at present PPL/IMC/NIGHT, 150 hours total 80 pic, and i want to instruct and teach ! i was doing my ATPL studies with PPSC b4 they folded and am now looking to claim my money back from my flexible friend and do another correspondance course with another firm,while building up my hours to the basic level needed, i work as a Mechanic and as a Retained Firefighter and while cash is tight i am managing to keep all my ratings and experience current, at the moment i want to do the ATPL exams and then a CPL and instructor rating, so that i can teach for reward, before adding multi and instrument ratings. while i would love to end up working for an airline, i am also very much a realist and would be very happy to instruct for a living (i know it doesnt pay much but try mechanicing for a while)! any advice, encouragement, help,or words of wisdom gratefully received!am i better just doing CPL exams? full ATPL exams? getting future ratings abroad? making full time instructing a goal then going from there? there must be many people in my situation out there and i am willing to learn from other peoples experience both good and bad, happy new year to you all and may the new year be the best yet for all of us.

[eyeinthesky]

I'm sure many people will have plenty of advice about what they think you should do. Don't expect to make anything like a comfortable living from flying instructing until you get up to instructing CPL/IR students.

As an aside, don't forget that as a flying instructor you need to be able to present the subject verbally and in writing. If your post is a true indication of the standard of your written English in terms of punctuation and spelling I suggest you splash out on a couple of English lessons as well before you go much further.

[rebeccadblake]

First and foremost piece of advise week people will always put you down I.E eyeinthesky, Ignore him.

I have never heard of such crap anyways.

I am training to be a pilot, and I only want to be an instuctor, as far as I am aware...

If you did CPL only you could never become a Captain, so as long as you where happy being a straight forward PPL FI you would be better of doing it that way..

However if you did want the title someday (which my FI +E has becuase he has every rating going) the you would have to do ya ATPL's..

[redsnail]

Well, it took me a few read throughs to understand exactly what he wanted.
Brevity and clarity is vital.
I believe there are no more CPL exams. I may be wrong there. Therefore, most people do the ATPL theory. Bear in mind the time limits on them re Instrument ratings. Surf the CAA SRG's website for more info.
It is better to have all the qualifications ready to roll so when you get "tired" of your current job you are in a good position to advance/move.
Some of my friends are doing some hour building in Oz and adding a multi engine endorsement to their licences.
There is nothing wrong with instructing. However, quite often people burn out. Instructing for a good school can be a great start to your career.

For what it is worth, don't get into too much debt.

[eyeinthesky]

Cheshire Cat: Thank you for your positive response! If you check my profile you will see that I already hold the licence and ratings to which you aspire, as well as another pretty demanding job. Quite how you figure this as weak (note the spelling) is beyond me. The time I spend part-time instructing has left me in no doubt that the general level of remuneration in Flying Instruction is appalling, particularly given how much it has cost you to get the ratings in the first place. If you know better or have a firm offer then I suggest you hold on to it because I suspect they are hard to come by.

The point of my post was that you should not expect to make a lot of money from doing it, but if, like me, you find it rewarding to teach people and see them grasp a concept of which they had no idea before you told them, then go for it.

Oceanic Clarence (the cross-eyed lion?): You might get some more detailed advice regarding the exam options from the likes of Noggin or BEagle if you post on the Flying Instructors Forum.

[RVR800]

Eye in the ski ..

Much to negativ in your aproach

Their is know impotance at al in the writing
of the flyin instruktor as is it knot all
multipul choiwce in the exams my friend?

You bring the profession into a disgras.

[oceanicclarence]

basically the spelling is ***** coz i waz tappin out the post aftur a ard day, dont want any lectures on spellin as ive been published in several newspapers and both flyer and pilot , so yah boo sucks, thanks for the positive feedback guys, and eye in the sky , i can spell and write corrrrextally so wind yr neck in, (and thanks for the feedback).

[driftwood]

Today received a letter from a flying instructor friend. I quote "The hours are very long 10 hours + a day was the standard. Within these 10 hours you could instruct up to six students both on ground and in the air. By the end of the day you were half brain dead. However, UK weather doesn't help: on bad days it was 10 hours+ reading the paper and greeting every mournful face that came thru the door. At the end of this, you were 100% brain dead. For these long days and no weekends off, no pension plan or insurance you'll receive £11,000. Think twice before joining. AeRoFot

[eyeinthesky]

Oceanic: Fair enough, I'll retract the neck.

Perhaps the following link will give you some idea of what I have been trying to say.

<a href="http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=5&t=000857" target="_blank">http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=5&t=000857</a>

[eagerbeaver]

i am training for my FI(R) and i thought i would hate an initially thought the same old things 'build hours, wont be doing this for too long' and so on and in all honestly it is the most rewarding part of my flying career to date and i could well see myself intstructing for a long time. Bare in mind i am 22 and ex OATs so any flying after that is gonna be fun (Tee Hee). Its tough training though!

If u want a little more knowledge on the thing the please email me and i will be glad to help however i can.

Ta Ta

[oceanicclarence]

Thanks for the link eyeinthesky, v informative !