US CFI Shortage ?
 

Appears this issue is getting to be a "thing" here. I ran across the following article and thought it worthy of being kicked around. Perhaps those retired pilots sufficiently motivated to undertake this would've done it by now anyway ?:

"Why don’t we call on industry to promote hiring of experienced, retiring airline captains into the flight instructor ranks?

In addition to increasing pay to make this attractive, such a plan needs a high-limits instructor liability policy to cover the captains. One of the biggest disincentives for these folks to teach what they’ve learned in a lifetime of flying is that they usually have significant personal assets they put at risk if they instruct."


https://www.avweb.com/blogs/insider/...-230828-1.html

Speaking as a retired airline captain, while some guys just love flying and want to keep at, I don't need the hassle, the risk or the money.

Yep...and that's why they won't get enough of us old guys to make a dent in the problem.

An instance of the CFI shortage:

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/ne...tor-levels-und

Old buddy of mine, ex-Air Force and retired as a Check Airman on the 757, went back into what he thought would be a fun and relaxing way to occupy his time at a large airline training school. He was working ridiculously long hours without proper or planned breaks, teaching unmotivated students in plastic trainers that didn't perform well in the environment they were operating but he carried on, never losing his enthusiasm to pass on his knowledge and skills until the day he didn't come back and he, his student and another CFI that was with them that day were found three days later in the burnt out wreckage of their airplane following an impact with a canyon wall. Never got to enjoy his retirement.

[QUOTE=bafanguy;10152818]
"Why don’t we call on industry to promote hiring of experienced, retiring airline captains into the flight instructor ranks?

In addition to increasing pay to make this attractive, such a plan needs a high-limits instructor liability policy to cover the captains. One of the biggest disincentives for these folks to teach what they’ve learned in a lifetime of flying is that they usually have significant personal assets they put at risk if they instruct."

/QUOTE]
If you can find me some students willing to pay $1000/ hour I'll consider it.

Integrated EU ATPL students at places like CAE in PHX are paying around this per hour in the multi-engine phase, although the CFI only sees a very small percentage of that.

The article linked below is a pretty good one touching on a couple of choke points in pilot supply, the CFI situation among them:

“They said, ‘Please do not change the ATP requirement,’ because all of their instructors are students who are completing the program and [then] sticking around for about a year until they get enough time to go to the airlines. If you get rid of the [ATP] requirement that makes them stay here, then we won’t have any instructors. We are having to cap enrollment because there are not enough flight instructors—and aircraft fleets are ageing, and there are not enough Designated Pilot Examiners [DPEs] from the FAA. These three choke points are causing a slower throughput than what we need to meet the demand, none of which has to do with the ATP certificate,” said Collins.

At ERAU, high turnover of flight instructor staff has proven to be a turbulent problem. Byrnes explained, “it’s definitely not difficult for us to recruit flight instructors, because it’s a transient position that serves as a stepping stone to the regional airlines or corporate aviation. It’s not a destination career. I have more than 200 flight instructors at any given time, which creates a lot of training standardization. They come and work for us for about a year and then leave when they get their minimum requirements and move on to the next career step. We have about an 85 percent annual turnover rate of our CFI staff. We are definitely seeing that there is not a shortage of people, but an incredible amount of turnover and shortage at the upper end with CFIs and flight standards personnel.”

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-n...pilot-pipeline

I am looking for a job as CFI

Just need a sponsor!

LPA,

Are you an Aussie ?

https://www.afap.org.au/pilot-jobs/p...light%20School

Just a passing thought: Once they go in force, I wonder what effect, if any, the new SIC regs for Part 135 will have on the number of people opting for the CFI route as a time-building means between fresh CPL and 1,500 hours. Not everyone really wants to be a CFI.

Perhaps those aligning themselves with a defined CPL-CFI-regional pipeline will still go that route. But all those not so affiliated ?

That occurred to me as well. Who knows, it could even become "a thing" to work both tracks on the way to meeting ATP mins. Someone with both structured instructional experience and structured/mentored operational revenue flying experience in a multi-crew environment would seem pretty well rounded at an interview. Talking to some of the new CFIs at our place, I get the impression that many of them would, given the choice, prefer to avoid committing themselves to any particular regional airline if they can manage it. Several I've spoken with seem inclined towards keeping their options open in anticipation of a continued "pilot's market" condition. Can't blame 'em for that, but it's aviation and you're taking a risk whatever you do!

When asked, I suggest that a mixture of single pilot flying, dual instruction given and turbine SIC might be a good approach to getting the hours while making them count! It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

no

can I come as a refugee?