Individual CFI - Private or Hire

[172_driver]

Hi,

I am a foreigner living in the US. A friend of mine, also foreigner, wants to do his Private Pilot License. As a personal friend, I can offer those services to him "for free". But I have no intention of busting any labour/immigration laws. The visa I am here on allows me to work for compensation at the company I am at, a flight school. So the question is, would working as an individual CFI for a friend classify as working for compensation? I am not charging him for my service, he simply pays for aircraft rental and all other costs involved with the operation. We rent an aircraft from a flying club which are OK with us doing it that way. I am just asking about the labour/immigration elegibility. My employer is OK as long as it doesn't affect my regular job (Max 8 hrs a day, 900 hrs a year, as specfied in OM etc). I am also aware of TSA clearance and have started to investigate.

If anyone has any experience they would like to shed on this, I would greatly appreciate. I am asking here since I don't know what authority to start at, Immigration, FAA, AFSP etc.

Thanks

[172_driver]

Thanks for the answer!

- Yes, FAA CPL and CFII/MEI holder

- I signed up as Flight Training Provider with the Alien Student Flight Program. But I should probably contact them and ask, since the registration was done and admin rights were issued 5 min later. Could it be so easy?

- I should contact FAA about the security awareness. I have done it (the online course) with my employer, but not sure that would be enough.

- Renters insurance is arranged with min amount as specified by the airplane provider.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I don't know the FAA rules on this, but if your employer is okay already, will they let you do it through them, just waive your pay - you don't get paid, your friend/student saves by that amount, your employer still gets aircraft rental, and you don't violate any visa laws?

Just a thought.

G

[172_driver]

Genghis,

The facility I am working for charges $140 per hour versus $80 at "the other place". We also have very limited aircraft availability for outside rental. So despite all extra's which are required he will get a cheaper deal at the end.

SoCal App,

Thanks for the advice. I just read through AOPA's "The Comprehensive CFI policy". Which includes:

a) Liability for bodily injury and property damage
b) Physical damage to your non-owned aircraft

I have no health insurance deal with my employer but a "working abroad" insurance from my home country (Sweden). They cover bodily injury up to a certain amount. If I would have an accident and be hospitalised in ER for weeks, it won't cover that much of course. But life is a bit of a gamble itself.

In the eye's of the IRS, would individual CFI work be considered commercial operation and thus I have to declare my income? Or in my case, if I do it free of charge, just private operation? Once again, not trying to bend the rules, just interested to know I don't break any

[172_driver]

I was surprised myself the renting school was OK with our arrangement, since they have their own instructors too. And for $80 per hour for a C172 (old one though, 1967) it sounds to good to be true... doesn't it? I was very honest with our intents though and they were fine.

But I do need to figure out if this will be within my legal rights on the visa

[Zamfire]

Getting free flight time is already considered "compensation" by the FAA. The most you can do is share the cost of the aircraft between you. So by getting flight time that is paid for by somebody else, you are "working" in the USA, as the FAA sees it and if your visa limits your employment to that with the flight school, then you'd be working illegally.


Don't you wish we could all back to 1923?

[172_driver]

Yeah, there are rules for everything now!!!!



Thanks for the input though Zamfire, it was a bit as I expected. Sad but true.