MEIs..what would you charge for this?

[dhc8fo]

I have a 340 and there is this guy who wants me to fly with him for his 25 hours of dual so he can fly a 340 for some guy.

Thing is, I am willing to help this guy out, but I am not totally fond of him. I am expecially NOT fond of the broker he is working through and I think they will be signing my checks.

So, what would you charge per hour for this type of dual given? i don't need it. Don't particularly want it, but don't want to screw this guy over. I do, however, think I should make it worth my while.

Any thoughts?

(BTW...all in his plane)

 

[unreal]

I've never done instruction in a C340, but considering what it is I wouldn't bat an eye at asking $50/hour for it. I could be way off the average though.

 

[Pilot Doc]

I have a 340 and there is this guy who wants me to fly with him for his 25 hours of dual so he can fly a 340 for some guy.

Thing is, I am willing to help this guy out, but I am not totally fond of him. I am expecially NOT fond of the broker he is working through and I think they will be signing my checks.

So, what would you charge per hour for this type of dual given? i don't need it. Don't particularly want it, but don't want to screw this guy over. I do, however, think I should make it worth my while.

Any thoughts?

(BTW...all in his plane)

In my area, the going rate for any CFI is $40-45, which seems like a reasonable lower limit.

Is this guy competent in cabin class twins? i.e. will this be mostly babysitting or will it involve substantial instruction on your part?

Does the not fondness for his broker extend to a worry of not getting paid? If so, charge extra or get a lump sum up front.

On the whole, it sounds like this is a job you don't particularly need or want. You need to charge enough to convert it into a job you DO want. Say the thought of a nice, new, flatscreen TV at $1000 makes you happy and excited about the job - I'd then charge $90/hr - the $40/hr you could make as a CFI doing instruction in a situation you like plus $50/hr (*25 hrs = $1000) for your TV. Adjust as necessary depending on what will make it worth your while.

 

[siucavflight]

When I was instructing I was getting 70 an hour for primary and 95 an hour for anything advanced. I am assuming that you are just asking what you should charge for your time, and not the airplane. For just your time I would think about 120 an hour.

 

[siegelaviation]

When I was instructing I was getting 70 an hour for primary and 95 an hour for anything advanced. I am assuming that you are just asking what you should charge for your time, and not the airplane. For just your time I would think about 120 an hour.

$120 per hour? Are you kidding me?

$50-$60 per hour should cover it, and that is on the higher side of the average.

 

[Pilot Doc]

$120 per hour? Are you kidding me?

$50-$60 per hour should cover it, and that is on the higher side of the average.

Chances are this guy needs 25 dual with a CFI who has x-hundred hours time in type. There aren't that many people out there to do that work. $120 strikes me as high as well, but he should charge what he can get.

 

[dhc8fo]

Is this guy competent in cabin class twins? i.e. will this be mostly babysitting or will it involve substantial instruction on your part?

This is a good point.I don't even think he has his high altitude endorsement now that I think about it....

Hummm... you guys have me thinking. There aren't any Cessna 300-400 pilots in my area who are also MEIs which is why I got the call.

The broker bad talked me to a friend of mine (she didn't know we were friends) because I wouldn't demo flight a piece of $hit 340 to her client without disclosing what my opinion was of the aircraft (I am not a used car salesman).

OK, high dollars it is. Thanks guys.

 

[JediNein]

What's wrong with a fair wage? For the experience required, $120 is on the low side.

I charge $100/hr for my SEL instruction and I'm on the low side for my experience.

 

[mynameisjim]

You cost more than the airplane?

 

[Pilot Doc]

You cost more than the airplane?

Nope ... she instructs in $250+/hr Cirri. I suppose the ratio is about right

see here

 

[gsrcrsx68]

Basic house in California...500,000
A lot of the rest of the Country 200,000

100/hour there vs 45 elsewhere is about right...although I'd never pay that.

 

[unreal]

What's wrong with a fair wage? For the experience required, $120 is on the low side.

I charge $100/hr for my SEL instruction and I'm on the low side for my experience.

Yikes. My students get charged $49/hr for the "privilege" of having me in the plane, and I only see $15/hr of that. If other CFIs are getting $100/hr for the same job, I'm in the wrong racket.

 

[BluDevAv8r]

$120 per hour? Are you kidding me?

$50-$60 per hour should cover it, and that is on the higher side of the average.

I have a friend who is a HS teacher. She charges $100/hour to give basic english/lit tutoring...as well as $100/hour to give basic computer skills tutoring to adults. Another friend gives tennis lessons for $90/hour. I have many more examples...but I think this guy could easily charge $100-$120/hour for his services since he has something that most people in his area and industry don't. Let the market determine the price.

-Neal

 

[Princedietrich]

At the absolute bare minimum, I would say $75 but that would be me being very nice and charitable. Personally, for a job like that I'd do my best to negotiate at least $100. If the guy won't agree to $100, then just say "see ya" turn around and start walking. That usually prompts a change in attitude, especially since it sounds like you're the only one in the area that can do the job. Leverage is nice.

On the other hand, you could get the guy to pay you with a bottle of Louis XIII or something.

 

[siucavflight]

$120 per hour? Are you kidding me?

$50-$60 per hour should cover it, and that is on the higher side of the average.

Um, yeah, I think that you just said it all there. This is what is wrong with the flight instruction profession. 120 per hour was on the low side of what I think that he should get. And no I was not kidding, and no 50-60 dollars an hour should not cover it, not even close. 50-60 dollars an hour is less than what most people pay their personal trainers, and we are worth a lot more than that. Like I said, when I was doing free lance instruction I was charging 95 an hour for primary instruction, and I had more students then I knew what to do with, and I am still doing that part time, gives me a good second income(almost doubles what I make at the regional). I had one guy with a Columbia 400 get upset with me that I was only going to charge him 95 an hour and told me that he considered me a professonal and he expected to pay a professional fee and insisted on 150 an hour, and he flew with me for about 35 hours.
DONT BE SCARED TO CHARGE WHAT YOU ARE WORTH!

 

[mynameisjim]

gives me a good second income(almost doubles what I make at the regional).

DONT BE SCARED TO CHARGE WHAT YOU ARE WORTH!

Hmm. It seems to me that you need to take your own advice. Whoring yourself out to a regional for nearly nothing while 'raising the bar' at your local airport.

 

[siucavflight]

Hmm. It seems to me that you need to take your own advice. Whoring yourself out to a regional for nearly nothing while 'raising the bar' at your local airport.

Point taken. But at the regional I do not set the pay for myself, as a freelance instructor I could.

 

[svcta]

I wouldn't expose myself to anything like this for less than three figures an hour. Honestly I would approach this like a contract gig: Daily rate. Light jets that I'm typed in bring me $500/day plus expenses at least. For a cabin class piston twin I'd still be afer a couple hundred a day. Minimum. It's an insurance issue, and you're the man. If you look at the cost of an insurance checkout of a couple thousand dollars relative to the aquisition cost of the A/C you're talking about VERY small percentages. Don't be shy, get what you're worth. Anything less and you're not a professional, just a drain on the industry.

 

[siucavflight]

I wouldn't expose myself to anything like this for less than three figures an hour. Honestly I would approach this like a contract gig: Daily rate. Light jets that I'm typed in bring me $500/day plus expenses at least. For a cabin class piston twin I'd still be afer a couple hundred a day. Minimum. It's an insurance issue, and you're the man. If you look at the cost of an insurance checkout of a couple thousand dollars relative to the aquisition cost of the A/C you're talking about VERY small percentages. Don't be shy, get what you're worth. Anything less and you're not a professional, just a drain on the industry.

Yes, good point, think of it as a day rate. I had a client who bought a Malibu, and was looking for a pilot in it, usually about 3 times a month, paid me 400 a day regardless if it was an hour trip or an all day event.

 

[Princedietrich]

These two make excellent points.

How about a plan like this: charge him a flat daily rate of a few hundred that will cover up to a certain number of hours in the day. beyond that certain number, an additional hourly rate of "overtime" of 100 or so per hour.