Part time instructor rating
 

Hi all - just hoping to get some advice on where, preferably in Sydney, it would be possible to do an instructor rating part time (on weekends, specifically). From the investigation I've done it seems like the majority of schools offer it only as a fulltime course, which makes it a bit tough when one is working a fulltime job already!

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I'm only guessing, but Whitworth Aviation at Bankstown might be worth a call.

Pearson Aviation at Essendon Airport, Melbourne do part time ratings.

In principle there is no difference doing an instructor's rating either full time or part time and every flight school with the appropriate teaching capacity should be able to do it.

The length of the course will ultimately depend on how much time you can spare for the course, as well as the availability of the school's resources in terms of instructors and aircraft.

I did mine part-time due to outside commitments and it took me 10 months to complete the rating. Another guy I know in a similar situation took 14 months. How long's a piece of string ? It's entirely up to you. Good luck.

Melbourne Flight Training run a part time Instructor Rating course on weekends.

I don't know of any schools in Bankstown that run them on the weekends.

It is worthwhile to note that if you train part time for your FI rating you may have difficulty being matched up with another trainee to do the mutual (20 hours) component of the training.

You should ask the school about how they deal with the mutual component if you do not have another trainee to share the cost of the mutual. The ultimate price of the course could vary considerably. Also, you should make specific enquiry about how the school delivers the Principles and Methods of Instruction (PMI) course. Some schools will just give you a book to read and do not give a face to face 12 hours of instruction in the PMI.

All the best! An Instructor rating is a great choice.:ok:

If you cannot do the mutual flying with another trainee it will have to be done with an instructor i.e. you pay dual rates vs solo hire of the aircraft. Depending on the school this could add anywhere between $50-$100 per hour to the cost of the rating, therefore an additional $1000-$2000.

Working 5 days per week then completing the FIR on weekends is hard work, trust me! You will be fatigued and your partner will be on the verge of leaving you unless they are very supportive. If possible try to take some annual leave from your work, even if it is just a week or two. This will help with the timeline and improve your output as a trainee. The flying component is very small - there is a lot of hard work in preparing and presenting briefings.

Any school that gives you a book to cover PMI/IPM isn't complying with the CAOs - CASA would love to find out about them!

If you can get holidays from work, at least try and do 2 weeks worth full time and the rest part time. That way PMI can be done properly and hopefully you will be starting to get the briefings under control.

In the meantime, open that BAK book and start refreshing your principles knowledge. Things like, "why is lift less than weight in a steady climb?" or "what is half rho and do we have control over it?" etc etc. You will be surprised how much you have forgotten.

Good luck with it and believe me, you won't be first to question your sanity half way through the course. Just keep on truckin'

In-cog

P.S. - Do you have your NVFR? Has to be done prior to the F.I.R. test.

Schofields at Bankstown will allow you to do the FIR part time - that's precisely what I'm doing next year :ok:

Climb performance depends on available thrust :ok:

Try Warnervale Air at ywva. Call and ask to speak to Wayne or Andrew. Know of two guys doing this recently and possibly even another one or two at the moment. Close to SDY, after T/O you are almost immediately in the training area etc.

All of those characters advising Melbourne......??? Pretty sure he said at or atleast close to SDY. Tad off the mark??

Maybe you're a tad off the mark with your comprehension.

He said
preferably [ˈprɛfərəblɪ ˈprɛfrəblɪ] adv ideally; by preference; if one had a choice

Preferably 'ideally; by preference; if one had a choice' i believe there's numerous choices close to sydney for the part time course, so as i said, probably a tad off the mark with the recomendations for melbourne...

Anyhow mcrosswind, how did yo go? Find anything yet?

Best of luck!

Rossy I think mcrosswind was a hit and run kinda guy. Pity people no longer have any courtesy taught them.