Great News- Don't Give Up Instructors!

[uwochris]

Hey guys,

I just received some great news today. My instructor just got the word that he will be moving out West and taking a job on the Metro. This is great news for me because the guy was an excellent instructor and I am really glad to see him get promoted. Sure I will miss him, but he deserves it.

As a CPL student, I have really been motivated to instruct after having someone like that. You CFIs out there may not even realize the impact you have on us students.... to all the dedicated instructors out there, I wish you all the best of luck. You guys are so underpaid and mistreated that it often makes me sick at the horror stories I hear. PLEASE do not ever give up on your students (unless he/she is a true jerk) and never treat the student as just another hour in the log book. If you are truly dedicated, I am sure you will have a successful career.

Also, as someone who is very supportive of instructing, I often get a lot of criticism. Many people tell me that there is nothing worse one can do for their careers than instruct... they see instructing as "useless" time, where you spend hours on end in the traffic pattern and get no hands on experience. A friend of mine, whose father is a major airline captain told me the same thing... other people told me that if I instruct, I can forget about ever flying for a major. I got discouraged a lot because I actually believed it... I now, however, no longer give a $hit about what other people think about my decision to instruct.

To all the instructors out there, don't give up! My CFI instructed for 3 years... it seems it paid off because now he is moving to a company that flies multi turbines, Lear Jets, Citations, and Hawkers. He could have easily gotten frustrated and quit (like so many people I know). I know another CFI that taught for 7 years in the early 90s.... now he is at Air Canada on the 767. Yesterday we had an Air Canada A340 pilot come speak to us about weather - he too was a former instructor.

Whoever out there thinks teaching is just another useless hour in the log book, I recommend you try it yourself. I realize it can get boring and frustrating at times, but I think it will be the most rewarding job I will ever have. After having a guy like the CFI I had truly inspired me to teach, even after I received so much criticism out there.

I hope all you teachers out there don't feel compelled to give up. Keep working hard and treat every student with as much enthusiasm as he/she is your first!

 

[Flic1]

Not sure why instructing always gets such a bad rap as far as time building goes. I gave over 1000hrs. of dual and really enjoyed it, although I did get bored in the traffic pattern at times. My problem was just the lack of steady pay and low pay but hell, I was fresh out of college where I had zero pay so it was an improvement for me. People who say instructing is worthless are fools. I learned a hell of a lot and I don't know of other way to get 1000 hrs in a year and get paid for it.

 

[flyhi]

uwo chris-

you have a great attitude, and you are right, instructing is rewarding and something to be proud of! i have been flying commercially for 4 years now and i'm getting my cfi/cfii (hopefully) in december. there is no doubt that instructing will make you a better pilot if nothing else. being able to teach someone how to fly must feel really good. It sounds like you are going to make a great instructor-good luck.

flyhi

 

[avbug]

Instructors dont' give up, because you can finally rid yourself of your private hell, use students as stepping stones, and then abandon them for your own selfish purposes. Is that what I'm hearing?

It's good news that instructors can now quickly build hours and move on again, or that your instructor left while in the middle of getting you through your commercial? Which is it?

Everyone should seek each opportunity to improve their position in life, but the sentiment that instructors shouldn't give up because they have a chance to get out of instructing and do something else, is all wrong. In fact, it's what's wrong with flight instructing in general. Far too many instructors who build hours instead of experience, and view students not as human beings, but as stepping stones to get what they want. If not a student, it might as well be an ATM that doles out money to pay.

Let people advance their careers, but let each person see their present station as the most important one in the world, for it is. Take it seriously; it is.

Chris, I'm happy for your instructor. I'm happy for you, because you are comfortable with your situation. I can't say I'm happy with the 9 different instructors I went through while working on my own private, each of whom bailed the moment he got enough minutes in his logbook. Personally, I'd like to kick their tails. To each his own. Myself...I like to instruct, and I find it rewarding. Those who don't really shouldn't be doing it, because they do their students and the flying community a great disservice.

For those who commit to their job and then move on, kudos. I wouldn't say that instructors should breathe a collective sigh of relief due to the promise of being able to rid themselves of their private instructing hell, however. That's probably just me.

 

[njcapt]

Hey, Chris. Don't apologize for your admiration of your flight instructor and instructing in general. I was an overworked and underpaid flight instructor fifteen years ago who thought I was wasting time dealing with students instead of moving up the aviation ladder. I got 1200 hours of flight instruction in 24 months (working in Chicago, where the instruction season runs from April to November). Only after I went to fly corporate, and especially after I got to the airlines several years later, did I realize just how valuable my flight instruction experience was.

As most airline new hires experience, I felt like I was retarded and unworthy of the job. The only thing that made me feel like I belonged was the experience and knowledge that came from instructing students.

All but the most unmotivated instructors feel the need to be able to explain every aspect of the flying experience to their students. I know I studied hard at night so I could explain all the intracacies of aerodynamics and attitude flying to my students who demanded information. A decent instructor needs to be able to explain how things are done, not just how to do them. In all honesty, the experience wasn't that rewarding at the time. I remember our main house examiner grabbing me by the shoulder after a student took their private ride and telling me that he thought I was suffering from instructor burn - out. That shocked me into converting my part time corporate gig into a full time position.

I don't know how the PFT and ab initio pilots manage to make it at airlines without an instruction background. Yeah, I've learned the majority of my aviation knowledge while airline flying, but the foundation of my experience was set by instructing.

You will naturally aspire to a corporate or airline position, but don't ever demean your experience as a flight instructor.

 

[njcapt]

Instructors dont' give up, because you can finally rid yourself of your private hell, use students as stepping stones, and then abandon them for your own selfish purposes. Is that what I'm hearing?

You need to lay off the firewater when you reply to the posts of others. During the time it took for me to make my post (which I spent a lot of time composing after reading Chris' post) you made a sarcastic response that totally misconstrued his original message.

He was happy for his instructor. He had received a lot of knowledge and experience from him, and though he was sorry to see him leave he was happy for him.

You need to get off the crack pipe (and your high horse).

 

[FR8dognit]

Avbug....you got burned at some time and I can understand your frustration with losing a flight instructor right in the middle of a rating...but what do you expect? Do you think that all flight instructors have every student done at the exact time he or she gets a job? I had many incomplete students at the time of my departure for something better that I worked dilligently with to make sure they had a fluid continuance of their education with another instructor.
Wake up man...students also have a responsibility to ask the instructor questions about their intentions...."are you going to be here long enough to complete my rating in a given time period"? Lets be real here...I assume you also intructed so you know how it is. Granted there were a couple of CFI's that I worked with that sharked students out of hundreds of hours of time, but most took pride in getting them done in a timely fashion.
Don't let your bad experience affect everyone elses opinion...there is enough negative right now in this industry.
Also...if you do hold a CFI certificate you should be promoting aviation and not put a bad taste in the mouths of the hundreds of potential students that read this board.
Just my two cents...you had a somewhat intelligent post and I would love to hear back from you...but I respectfully disagree.
-FDnIT

 

[House_X]

I've noticed the most admired Captains and the CA's everyone likes to fly with are those who can teach...F/O's are CA's in training...there is indeed a direct connection between instructing and being an airline pilot.

 

[MYFpilot]

Some of the perks of life as a full-time CFI

* 7 day work week
* In order to get 8 hours of billable time you must be at the school for 12
* Pay slightly above poverty wages (Although more than a regional FO)
* No Benefits
* No Overtime pay
* No Vacation pay
* No Sick pay
* No Holiday Pay
* No retirement plan


I know this discussion has been had before, but the way I see it, the instructors are not the bad guy for abandoning their students. If flight school owners treated their employees like those of any other normal company they might have an incentive to stick around. I think you would see a lot more career instructors if the pay, benefits, and working conditions were inline with equivalent professionals. I don't see to many golf or tennis instructors living of ramen noodles and mac-and-cheese. The simple fact is, to a flight school a CFI is a commodity. Who cares if the instructors stick around just so long as new $tudents come through the pipeline to replace them.

I've been at a flight school for over two years and I am so ready to leave, I only wish there was someplace to go.

 

[bobbysamd]

Instructing

I suppose that I speak with a bias because I have 3549 hours of flight instructing in my logbooks and never got past flight instructing during my "career." I really appreciate Chris' comments, though. I've never understood why so many are against flight instructing.

Could it be because they are only riding in the airplane and not having the fun of actually flying the plane? If so, that is exagerated. No, if you're doing your job properly you should not be demonstrating maneuvers constantly, but you can get enough stick time to stay proficient. You can get your takeoffs and landings. I never had a student get mad at me if I took a night landing so I could stay night current. I had plenty of other opportunities to demonstrate takeoffs and landings during the day to provide a service and to stay day current. I even took an instrument approach and landing from time to time for demonstration purposes.

Once more, don't discount the learning experience for you that flight instructing provides. You may feel that you had great flight instructors, but the truth is your students are your best instructors. You learn far more about flying through evaluating your students, correcting their errors and having to look up answers to their seemingly obscure questions than when you were taught how to fly.

I agree wholeheartedly with MYF Pilot, above. Of course, there are plenty of bad flight instructing jobs around. I spent a few 12-hour days at some decent organizations trying to get in five hours of contact time. There are some good jobs, though, such as IFTA in Bakersfield, ATCA in Goodyear, Arizona, and IASCO in Napa. These jobs pay decent money, i.e. a salary, provide nice facilities and the opportunity to fly good equipment. Check them out.