Alternatives to CFI route..

[thee12nv]

Couple questions..
With the airline industry in bad shape and an apperant surplus of CFI's. What other alternatives exist to CFI'ng
Could you buy your own single engine plane and build a 1000 hrs on that then go to one of these flight schools to get 200 hrs mutli, CFI, Instrument, MEL, MEI, etc? I know it may take longer but I don't see a major rush as the industry needs some time to turn around..
How would a potential company view avoiding the CFI route.. basically I have a job paying pretty well now that I would be willing to stay at if it would help at my goal of a flying job..

Thanks in advance..

 

[bobbysamd]

Flight instructing

Instructing experience, but not too much of it, apparently, is seen as a positive. The airlines like to see instructing experience because it demonstrates communications ability, teaching ability and CRM. Not having instructing experience is not a negative, however. Plenty of non-instructors are hired at the airlines.

What you need to consider is whether you, as a new, 250-hour pilot, can find anything else but instructing as your first job. I submit that it is difficult and nearly impossible. This is because the market is flooded with 250-hour pilots, and there aren't many places that will hire 250-hour pilots. The reason is at 250 hours you just don't have any experience, and companies want experienced pilots. To be hired as a pilot only in a real pilot job you usually need much more than 250 hours. The exception to that rule is if you train at Mesa Airlines' school. Mesa Airlines hires its own grads. You are guaranteed an interview, but are not guaranteed a job.

Having mentioned Mesa and leaving out the sleazy P-F-T banner-tow operations, the exception to not being hired at 250 hours flight instructing. Flight instructing is the traditional entry-level job. New CFIs with 250 hours get hired much quicker than new, non-instructor, pilots. That's why so many new pilots get their instructing credentials.

The long and short of the situation is, yes, there is a surplus of instructors. But there is a greater surplus of new, 250-hour pilots. In my $0.02 opinion, you'll go to work much faster as a CFI than not. You can always keep your job, finish your ratings, and instruct part-time until you land a full-time aviation job. That's what I did.

Hope that helps. Good luck with your plans.

 

[banned username 2]

I agree with Bobbysamd, instructing experience is VERY valuable. You will learn far more being a CFI than you did during all of your training.

Also, don't fool yourself that 1,000 hours is some magic number that all of the sudden you will get hired at a regional.

I tell students that I mentor, ANY flight time until you have 1,500 hours is valuable, after 1,500 hours (and obtaining your ATP) then try to focus on getting primarily multi-engine only time. In other words, employers don't want to see 3,000 hours of 172 time either.

Get your CFI, CFI-I and CFI-ME... Then beat the bushes for a job, they are out there, it just takes some looking.

Hope this helps.

 

[stillaboo]

Could you buy your own single engine plane and build a 1000 hrs on that then go to one of these flight schools to get 200 hrs mutli, CFI, Instrument, MEL, MEI, etc?

Curious, if you did this route, why get your CFI, MEI and CFI-I in the first place? You would also want to get your instrument rateing before you built time in yur own aircraft. Your skill level will instantly double to triple simply b/c you have the rateing, and you will have the ability to fly more consistently than a PP. If you do go the buy your airplane route, I assume you have enough cash to do this, and would say buy a multi from the begining. Get your CMEL-I and then bulld time. 1000 hours in a 172 is only marginally cheaper than 1000 hours in a Dutchess or something when you own the aircraft. Do you understand how expensive aircraft ownership is? You might want to split it with another guy or two who wants to build time too.

If you insist on avoiding the instruction route, you could also try to do a bridge program through Riddle or something. Many of these programs allow 600 hr guys to get on at regionals after they intern for them or something.

To work at your job and build the time to be competitive is not an easy task. Most of the guys who you are competing against are flying (or trying to fly) every day, and maybe waiting tables to bring home some bacon.

After you have about 500 hours or so, you can sometimes land a job flying traffic watch, pipeline patrol, or sometimes flying checks or mail. Flying a schedule is good time, particularly if it's multi time. To get these jobs, networking is key. The industry is alot smaller than you think, and pilots will go out of their way to help each other usually.

Good luck, but don't be surpirsed if you run into alot of bumps along the way to that jet job.

-Boo!

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

It is quite possible to go other routes besides the CFI route. What I don't think any airline will like is that you never had a flying JOB. There are many people out there that did other routes (Skydive pilot, banner tow, pipeline patrol, traffic watch, box hauling, sightseeing tours, etc.).

Yet all of these routes including being a CFI teach you a lot about yourself and where to set your limits as a pilot. I do not believe you would get nearly the same quality of experience flying your own airplane. And I believe any airline will realize this. The big reason for taking the CFI route is that it will set you up better than most other paths for the type of flying done in the airline industry (flying and knowing the regs).

 

[dmspilot00]

Ehem... I don't think it's a good idea to try to convince someone who doesn't want to be a CFI to be a CFI. This is how we get such aweful instructors in the industry.

If you don't want to be an instructor, then, do us all a favor and DON'T!

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

Boo-

is there something wrong with my computer or did you nix your avatar? Tell me you didn't or at least that it was your wife/girlfriend getting mad and was going to hold out on you if you didn't ditch it.

 

[acaTerry]

Well, I don't think you should worry too much about CFI-ing. The airlines are hurting, but I don't think training is that slow. I'm freelancing and still have had to turn students away to other CFI's. You just have to know how to get them. Good luck.

 

[stillaboo]

Boo-

is there something wrong with my computer or did you nix your avatar? Tell me you didn't or at least that it was your wife/girlfriend getting mad and was going to hold out on you if you didn't ditch it.

It just up and vanished right around when you posted, I guess. I had thought it was a moderator issue.

I just put it right back up (interestingly, there are, by my count, at least 8 other guys using it now. Most of them PM'd me and asked for permission to use it too!).

I keep some pleasures from the lady. The avatar is one of them. She thinks it's 'some pervert's little picture'. She's right!

-Boo!

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

Yes I noticed some others using your girl and figured you were pimping her out. Do you charge hourly or per post?

I keep some pleasures from the lady. The avatar is one of them. She thinks it's 'some pervert's little picture'. She's right!

Sometimes there comes a time in a man's life when he has to put his foot down...