:sad:When I sat my commercial flight test, the examiner said to keep up my instructor rating to keep contact between airline and flying club, but unfortunately the CAA makes this almost impossible now. I would have to jump through numerous hoops, financial and training wise to re-validate, when all I should need is half a day with an examiner.

See Cabair have an advert up the top of the main forums page now asking for instructors. Nice to see PPT's suggestion being implimented!

VFE.

It's actually a very simple psychological hurdle for them to have leapt mate,

Having advertised here for students over many years the big, residential schools know that public access machines are locked into PPRuNe - it's right in front of their eyes. I've found this at every school I've visited. In truth the place we are weakest is within the FBO/Bizjet world as I pass through and inspect the bookmarks:}:}

It's folks like those at Nottingham's Truman that made the leap of faith last year and included an intructor ad as part of their general promotion. They paved the way.

Rob

Try with Sabena Flight Academy. www.sfa.be Good luck!

I work shifts and would happily do a sponsored FI course in return for my services to a particular club. Anybody know of any clubs oooopppp north doing that?

I've been working for the airlines for several years now, and always had good intentions to keep up instructing, which ever materialzed. To be honest I decided not to, as especially after 9/11 I thought the last thing FIs at a local club would want is an off-duty airline pilot to come along, take some of their work, when they were looking at a long future in a C152. I know I would have felt frustrated in their position.

However reading these posts it looks like times are a-changing and the part-time instructor can work without upsetting too many people. Is it worth revalidating my FI rating? Is most of the work around ab-initio PPL stuff, or is it the qualified pilot looking to add ratings? Also where is the pleasant airfield in the West Midlands?

regards

AVCP
(from the West Midlands!)

FI shortage not just UK
 

Don't know if it is a sign of the industry taking a leap forward but it does seem like a significant amount of instructors have been sucked into "proper" jobs all over the place (Sweden for example). I'm starting my FI course two weeks from now and the school I'll be working at eventually already has students planned for me! :ooh:
I'd be the first in line for a career in instructing if they could provide a decent salary - got the house full of kids and instructing does bring you home each night (almost) but I'm worried about eating crumbs, specially come winter...
Just out of curiosity, how many would accept instructing as a career instead of 6-8 short legs per day to and from the same locations? Is the "proper" flying job really more fun, or is it just the pay?

VFE

... and to think you suspected me of "sniffing the bostik" when I predicted this scenario a little less than a year ago! :p

Without thread wandering.....

People that are interested in becoming Flying Instructors to build hours for airlines, go and do it!! I did - well worth it

and when the time comes to line training, lots of the training captains are ex-flying instructors themselves and you will earn alot of respect from them!!

Good luck!!!

In the airline industry you are restricted to 900hours per year, does instructing eat into this 900 hours as it is for reimbursment or does it not restrict your airline hours? Are the airlines happy for you to have this side job?

Yes, 900 hours limit. (As my lot send us around in taxis all over the place, there is very little chance of getting near 900hours, more like 500-600)
Yes, paid instruction counts for flight time limitations. (Unpaid beow 1600kg doesn't, I think).
Yes, airlines do allow it, usually just ask the fleet manager or chief pilot for permission.

Cabair
 

Cabair FI option sounds interesting provided it is not just another marketing campaing. :mad: Has anyone tried it?
I couldn't see requirement for number of hours flown or qualifications.
You would expect them to specify the type of pilot they are looking for?

It is not often I am happy to admit being wrong Blacknight! :)

VFE.

Cabair Sponsorship
 

All very well to offer - but do they have the resources to do the FI training? Not at the moment I believe!

The CAA now frown on paid instructing during your days off or certainly the FOI that my company deals with certainly has taken a firm stance on the matter. It is a clear sign of how unimportant the CAA see the development of G/A in this country and with the Multi Pilot commercial licence on the horizon, it is clear that the CAA now see that G/A plays no part in the development of our industry as a whole.... How wrong can they be?

As time goes on I have been requested to jump through one hoop and then another as dictated by the CAA and now I am forced to instruct for free - which does not bother me personally but there will be some out there who would like/need the money! Paid instruction on a day off is no longer counted, as a day off which is ridiculous! I find instructing falls into the category of being a pastime and not a job or else I why would I be doing it my own time. If the CAA are so worried that I may tire myself out whilst instructing then why can I still be (for example) a adventure sports instructor on my days off and tire myself out doing all manner of lively activities yet I can't do a single trip in a light piston single? It is just ridiculous! Do the CAA actually think that we will be willing to flog ourselves to death on our days off so that we start work absolutely knackered... or perhaps those in the CAA that have flown have forgotten the responsibilities that are placed upon me when I sign the skippers acceptance at my 'day job'. I am certainly not going to risk loosing my little green book for being too tired due to instructing when I am on a day off!

Park in the Belgrano and switch modes - why should GA be developed?

Effectively, what proportion of any of the last ten years of CPL/ATPLs spent any time in GA?

Is there a case to be made that as the vast, vast majority of pro pilots trained will go into an airline flight deck farting around with pretending to be a self briefing, route planning, met gathering single handed IFR pilot a completely invalid and expensive exercise?

A one arm Florida suntan hour building doesn't count as developing UK GA.

Pro flying or qualifying for it is totally and utterly divorced from GA. The fact is that airline guys like me with a foot in both camps are complete freaks and statistical anomalies in the CAA's eyes - and they are right.

Anyone who works in a significantly sized UK airline knows that the guy who flies anything, anything at all, outside of work forms the tiniest of minorities.

Lets train for reality not how we wish it was. That means a different track for PPL/IMC/IR GA CPL versus what the rest of us do.

You'd never accept an astonomer as also being an astrologer as anything other than a joke about a dyslexic but that's exactly what Issac Newton was if you actually read his works rather than revised and respectful history. He saw them as part and parcel of the same thing. It's now impossible to take someone seriously if they claim to be both.

GA doesn't do anything in their eyes and it's perfectly understandable. The numbers do not lie. There are very few GA savvy blokes there and they aren't in sexy departments. Meanwhile the Jumbolina accident report put paid to any flight ops inspector loudly encouraging us to put time back into training. The liability effect, legal or career wise made it a non starter even at companies where you fly nowhere near 900 hours. End Ex.

Rob

Why should the CAA care about GA? How about the fact that the vast majority of a/c they are responsible for fall under the category of a "GA machine."

Airliners make up a very small proprtion of the Bitish "fleet" and anyone who thinks that your average Boeing or AIrbus is "sexy" needs their head examining!

If this is the case (as it seems to be) then that is a very sad state of affairs.

Having the odd airline jockey do some part time Instructing can only be a good thing. I like to think of all of us as part of a community of like-minded individuals. I couldn't care less what someone flies, if they are an enthusiast and do what they say, then they are welcome.

A pity this attitude doesn't seem to extend to our regulators or management, flying is changing from the exciting career it once was to a grind and the more I think about it, the happier I am that I have left the airline world behind me.

Based on current demand for PPL, would your average club be able to afford to give more wages to its instructors? Pay more to achieve better retention might be feasible, but is it affordable?

How many of your airline colleagues spent time as an instructor... A sizable proportion and not a minority and asking new F/Os that have just joined is unfair since the self-improver route no longer exists.

With the self-improver route now gone and with modular trained pilots now being able to walk into a job after a few hundred hours, there is no need for new guys to grab a FI rating and built their experience. End result is that flying clubs loose business, customers get brassed off and in the worst case flying clubs close and people loose jobs.

Not quite... remember that to start your ATPL exams on a modular course who need a PPL and a 100 hours and this is where the local flying club comes into play. There is no point getting FTOs to advertise for instructors since there is simply not enough out there. At my flying club there are no full time instructors... just airline chaps doing their bit for G/A. The PPL industry will fall flat on its face if airline pilots who wish to instruct are restricted from doing so.

Unfortunately true since outside that grey building... is a large world that they are sadly not in touch with!

I was in Jerez last week with BM Aviation. They were looking for instructors there and I had to point out their requirements are wrong - they should be looking for instructors with criminal records - they can't move on to the airlines!