Flight Instructor Course as a Placeholder

[QldPilotGuy]

Hi everyone,

So im having a hard time trying to work this out on my own and thought some of the other pilots on here who have made it to airlines or charter might have some insights.

Im a cpl, mecir holder with about 200 tt and have not been able to find work anywhere so ive started a FIC even though it is really not what im wanting to do but it is keeping me busy.

I am not sure if i should be continuing with it though as it is really not interesting me and ive only just started but seeing as instructors are generaly the one thing that has jobs around i feel as im being forced to do it to get work.

My other option is to just get non flying work, do some endorsements to keep the hours ticking over and try to just keep applying for charter work around aus.

Anyone else been in this situation ? Any ideas on what I should do ?

[solowflyer]

Your best to do yourself and any future students a favour and give instructing a miss if its not what you want to do. Unless you are very lucky it is unlikely you will get that first break unless you hit the road and knock on doors, sending CVs and making phone calls just won't work unless you have something more than the next guy with 200 hrs.

If you are not able to jump in the car and go problably your next best option is to do some more ratings and endorsments that will help get that first job and a few more hours to boot.

Sorry its not what you want to here but its a hard slog to the top.

[kalavo]

Pack up the car and go for a drive. Stop making excuses, do it.

There's still a lot of work around and people employing, but nobody who just emails a resume is getting it. Hit up Broome or the smaller places in NT and make yourself known!!

[prof_pilot88]

kalavo

I beg to differ on the above mentioned statement.


""There's still a lot of work around and people employing, but nobody who just emails a resume is getting it. Hit up Broome or the smaller places in NT and make yourself known!!"" -

I have been scooting around the smaller places in NT and have not heard of a person yet who is hiring. Seems there just isnt too much movement at the moment.

[The Green Goblin]

You've got to park up in a płace, learn to pour a beer and wait it out, might take a year to get work like The old days and 3000 hours single to get on a pn68 or a bongo!

I'd be heading to uni and getting a degree, by the time you're finished things will be fired up again

[coke drinker]

Green Goblin is right...althought I'd suggest getting a non aviation job and stabilising your finances until it picks up again.

[VH-XXX]

Be prepared to pour a beer or two at night even if you do score a gig.

[wateroff]

2 cents - klink

Save your money. Don't instruct if your heart is not in it. Too many out there rooting up students training because they are just there until the next thing. A contibuting factor to the dropping of standards, and dropping of pass rates.

[The Green Goblin]

I know a lot of guys who finished up North last season, couldn't get a Multi engine gig so are doing FIR at present.

Plenty of 1000+ hour junior grade 3's getting spat out, many ex turbo prop drivers went back instructing also when laid off, so bare that in mind!

[QldPilotGuy]

Thanks for all these responses guys, I really appreciate it. I think you are all confirming what I have been thinking.

TGG, I know what you mean, where I am doing it alone there are half a dozen pilots doing the FIR and some are ex Macair Saab and Metro Captains.

Is it a good rating to have though for these times ? for when the industry is doing it rough ? I mean lets face it the aviation industry is basicly a continues wave of ups and downs.

[The Green Goblin]

Kind of funny though isn't it, 12 months ago these same guy's paid out on instructing and considered it the lowliest job in aviation.

Now everyone is embracing it and considering it the saving grace. (while the indians and chinese are paying anyway )

[TSIO540]

Ask the people who hire pilots new to M/E flying!

Try asking operators who don't hire sprogs (I.e. no singles) about where they typically get their pilots from... they will know people who are hiring. The company I work for have been hiring a few over the last couple of months and that has created a couple of station pilot vacancies.

When times are tough its all about who you know. If you go and talk to people they might remember you if something comes up.

BTW, having an instructor rating will make you a better pilot, but don't let yourself and others suffer if you don't want to be there and therefore do a half arsed job of it. When instructing you will be judged by the quality of your students which is closely tied with effort on your part - a bad reference could follow you around for years!

[The Green Goblin]

TGG, I know what you mean, where I am doing it alone there are half a dozen pilots doing the FIR and some are ex Macair Saab and Metro Captains.

Having a chat to a mate of mine who is a CFI of a prominent eastern states flying school today and what he said was pretty interesting. The 1000+ hour guys who are coming through along with the ex turbo prop guys are not really what he is after. He knows as soon as things pick up again they'll be gone like a flash and as such, would much prefer to take the young blokes and build them up knowing he'll have them most likely until they are grade 1's with META and perhaps beyond.

So if you can get a rating done at a school who will give you work and offer progression onto ME IFR training then I'd stick it out if the work is there. I instructed, and I didn't like it that much at first but once I was up there sharing my love of flying with someone who wanted to learn, and was just as passionate as me....... well I kind of got a bit of a kick out of it. I look back now on instructing as some of the most rewarding flying I have done and also some of the scariest and most challenging. Instructing might be a lot of circuits, but charter will start off as a lot of bungles

Hope you make the right decision mate!

GG

[Howard Hughes]

Anyone else been in this situation ?

Yes me!

Get out of the city and get a job, it's that easy even in these tough economic times!

Don't be like me, I waited around for ten years (always looking up) waiting for a job to fall in my lap and guess what, IT DOESN"T HAPPEN!

PS: I think you would be better of getting an instrument rating, if you are not interested in instructing, either way you will have to get one eventually.

[BubbaMc]

How far are you into your instructors rating course?

If you stick with it you may find that it's thoroughly enjoyable, that's what I found as the course progressed. Your flying skills will improve immensely, I know mine did.

Howard - he's already got a CIR

[Howard Hughes]

Howard - he's already got a CIR

Oops, then what's he waiting for?

[manymak]

Wasn't it 12+ months ago that the industry was complaining about junior Gr3 Instructors having no 'real world' experience under their belts. Logic would say that these 1000+hr guys coming would have much more to offer when training a CPL trainee?

[pill]

Hey QLD pilot type, 20 years ago I was in your position. I drove 22 hrs nw, pitched a tent, got a job as a shelf stacker working nights in the first few days, went to the airport most days and washed a plane. Two weeks latter was doing enough casual flying to toss the woolies job. Havn't had a propper job since. And that was in the wash up of Paul Ketting's economic hic up "we had to have" and the pilots dispute. Stay safe, have fun, don't rush to heavy jets as flying lighties is more interesting and enjoyable. At the time I couldn't afford an instructors rating, so it wasn't an option.

[Stationair8]

Lot's of CFI's don't like employing people with more experience than themselves or have flown something bigger or faster than what they have flown, because they have fragile ego's. The reason they like new junior grade3's is that they are a captive audience to their war stories, can be bullied into doing things that more experienced guys would not do, and be the CFI's lapdog!

[glenb]

instructing

My personal opinion. Dont do the instructor rating. Instructing is something you should be quite passionate about ,or as a minimum, show some real enthusiasm for. To get any return out of the instructor rating you really need to put a few years into it, and get the Grade 1,the IFR training, and accompanying multi engine flying. If you are having doubts now, then you probably wont be able to stick it out with enthusiasm for 2 or 3 years. All the best whatever you do. Cheers. By the way, i suggest that you ensure you stay involved through whatever means you can. The industry is littered with guys that left to do another job for a year or so, and never come back. Personally i think you would be better pulling beers near an airport in a remote area rather than go into an IT job etc. in a capital city, where the city lifestyle and the more attractive income could make you lose your focus. Better to be toughing it out waiting for the break that WILL come.

Nothing personal Stationair, but i have to disagree. As a CFI its great having more experienced guys around. That way i get to keep learning, and its great to still be able to go to the staff for advice and guidance.