Instructing Hours

[Condensation]

G'day,

Is flying instructing a good way to build hours for the airlines or before going up north and finding a charter job?

Have heard that instructing hours don't mean anything to charter companies. Your inputs would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

[Chadzat]

Look mate, I am not a Professional Pilot yet so I can't comment on the best route to get to the airlines but the way I see it is why the hell bother "instructing" just as an hour builder. Is your heart really gonna be in it to teach OTHERS how to fly safely, efficiently and precisely?!

I myself haven't even contemplated doing Instructing as an hour builder because I know I am not a great teacher, and Instructing isn't exactly like teaching grade 7 engish, its teaching people how to be PILOTS.

IMHO people need to stop becoming instructors just to "hour build"

[Aussie]

Chadzat,

I couldnt agree with you more. However, thats ussually the easiest way to get a start and smoetimes the only way.

If everyone went bush becasue they didnt want to instruct (as most dont actually do it for any reason other than hr build) imagine how hard it would be to score a job bush...

Thats what i think anyway.


Aussie

[Cloud Cutter]

It depends on what sort of non-instructing job you can get. I think it's a bit different in Aus but in NZ I would say that 90% of first jobs are instructing. Any charter outfit that doesn't value an instructor rating and hours built instructing needs their head read. It's simply a very good way to develope your own skill and knowledge.

The way I did it was instructing, charter, then back to Multi IFR instructing then regional airline - I think instructing and charter both have different strengths so it's good to get a bit of both. At the end of the day, get what ever job is going to be more productive for you and don't listen to people who knock instructors - they often don't know what they're talking about.

Good luck, have fun

[Chadzat]

I wasn't knocking instructors, as we obviously need talented instructors to keep the industry going with trained pilots. I was saying that if your heart isn't in it then what sort of training is the student going to get? Ok perhaps you are a person who can really knuckle down to a task even though you want to be somewhere else, but if not then why do it? An outcome can be students who are taught how to get their CPL and not how to FLY at a CPL level.

[Aussie FI 3A]

One thought...

Multi Engine Check and Training Approval.

Does that help land an airline job?

Hmmm.

From what I gather all insturcting hours seem to be a waste if you dont get to this level as far as the big boys and the regionals are concerned.

[Cloud Cutter]

You can't have check and training approval until you are trained to that level on the appropriate category of aircraft buy your airline, and issued an Airline Flight Examiner Rating. So there are few parallels to be drawn with ab-initio instruction. In NZ to be a training captain under Part 125 (medium aeroplanes) you need an A, B or D Cat Instructor rating so it can be an advantage to have one of these going into it, but certainly not manditory as the airline is able to issue a D Cat.

Instructing hours are certainly not a waste of time, particularly Multi IFR instructing - airlines usually find that new hires from an istructing background have better legal and proceedural groundings than ex charter pilots. If that is the attitude in Australia, it is certainly not mirrored here.

Chadzat, that's fine in a perfect world, but as Aussie pointed out most instructors are there to build hours - as you say though, they do need to be focused and proffesional or it's not fair on the student.

[mattyj]

If your degree course gives you the option of 300TT with a multi IFR on completion or 300TT and a CCat on completion..

..for pitys sake do the CCat 'cause there isnt anything more useless than a 3 year uncurrent IFR rating