Hiring Instructors

[Colonel Sanders]

Flight instruction is not always rainbows and lollipops but there are times when it is very satisfying.

On friday, a student of mine - he's actually an ICAS ACE - flew a low-altitude formation sequence in the waivered airspace at Geneseo NY to qualify him for airshow formation aerobatics.

To look over, upside down at the top of a loop and see your student in position on wing, is pretty cool!

As someone pointed out, you don't need a class 1 instructor / class 1 acro instructor rating to teach a lot of stuff, but you should get it anyways because sooner or later you're going to end up training the new instructors. One could argue that it is probably the most important instruction you will ever do.

[Ruddervator]

Delay256's tale sounds all too familiar.

I'll talk specifically here about the school that I did my class IV at. I've since moved on, but this is how their Class IV supervision worked.

Sit downs: None. I submitted proposals for each lesson I would do with a student. They were critiqued for the first week or two, then simply signed off without a second glance after that.
PTR review: Never. Signed on dotted line when required.
Workload: approx. 300 hrs per year. Expected to be at the airport at least 8 hrs a day, usually stretched to 10-12 hrs. Paid for about 4 hrs on a good day.
Wages: Would have worked out to $10,000-12,000 for the first year. In the winter months look for a pay of less than $100 per week. With the cost of gas it would cost more to drive to work than you'd make that day.

So what's the solution? Don't make the mistake I made. If you're a class IV, do your research on the school you're working for. Are the Class IVs supervised correctly, and mentored by their supervising instructors adequately? If you're in this bad spot now, I feel for you. Get out ASAP and find a place that treats you better, that's what I did.

Later in my instructing career, I heard a story from a wise Class 1. When he began his first lesson of the instructor rating course, he would write the words "Be an Instructor, Make Money". He would begin the lesson by drawing a line between those two statements, and then explain that these are two separate courses, and they are mutually exclusive. Good on him for setting the expectations up front!

[Shiny Side Up]

Later in my instructing career, I heard a story from a wise Class 1. When he began his first lesson of the instructor rating course, he would write the words "Be an Instructor, Make Money". He would begin the lesson by drawing a line between those two statements, and then explain that these are two separate courses, and they are mutually exclusive. Good on him for setting the expectations up front!

Best thing said here in this thread. Unfortunately too many instructors get into the gig figuring they got the rating, they'll get hours and money. Too bad for them that instructing is more like farming and being a salesman at the same time, that is if you want to make money at it. One has to get themselves around the idea that there is working for free, which is bad, and investing time that will pay off later. Personally, I spend way too much time hanging out at airports, but its paid off in the end. If you begrudge every minute of doing something that isn't directly manifesting itself on a paycheck, then its not for you. Besides the dependance on weather, that's the part that's a lot like farming, sometimes you got to wait to reap what you've sewn. After all, you're not going to get these:

Flight instruction is not always rainbows and lollipops but there are times when it is very satisfying.

On friday, a student of mine - he's actually an ICAS ACE - flew a low-altitude formation sequence in the waivered airspace at Geneseo NY to qualify him for airshow formation aerobatics.

To look over, upside down at the top of a loop and see your student in position on wing, is pretty cool!

Without putting in a lot of work to get that result.

One could argue that it is probably the most important instruction you will ever do.

Its also I find some of the most interesting. Its also has the perk of being instruction where you choose your students rather than the other way around.

edit: emphasis added to avoid further confusion.

[Colonel Sanders]

Without putting in a lot of work

Not quite sure I get that. For my student to be eligible to add
"formation aerobatics" to his SAC card via the flight evaluation,
we previously had to fly 30 formation aerobatic flights together
as specified by:

http://www.airshows.aero/ViewDoc/583

In the past, I have taken a student from zero aviation experience
to RPP in 30 flights. Not sure I would classify either as
"not a lot of work"

[Shiny Side Up]

No, you misread me, I was saying that to get a student to that level is a lot of work, I realise I sort of uses a double negative there. New instructors often figure though that they're going to be doing this sort of thing relatively quick and that just ain't so. Even the type of instuction that happens with out a rating doesn't just come overnight either, so guys shouldn't be under the illusion that you get 50 hours on floats and poof you're suddenly Mr. in demand float teacher.

It should be added as well that just having a lot of hours doesn't magically make you an in demand instructor either. Neither does working for a flight school, though if you're savvy enough you can turn those to your advantage.

[bluenote]

No, you misread me, I was saying that to get a student to that level is a lot of work, I realise I sort of uses a double negative there. New instructors often figure though that they're going to be doing this sort of thing relatively quick and that just ain't so. Even the type of instuction that happens with out a rating doesn't just come overnight either, so guys shouldn't be under the illusion that you get 50 hours on floats and poof you're suddenly Mr. in demand float teacher.

It should be added as well that just having a lot of hours doesn't magically make you an in demand instructor either. Neither does working for a flight school, though if you're savvy enough you can turn those to your advantage.

I love reading all the comments from the 'lifetime instructors' and it's great info. Since I got a small taste of being employed as a flight instructor, is being a flight instructor today here in Canada this bad in terms of the pay, schedule, respect, etc. WAS it better before? I seem to read more negative than positive and I am not trying to be negative, just the facts from the lifetimers out there.

I talked it over with my other half and she thought that my next gig wherever that might be as a flight instructor she won't mind me being at the airport full time , great. I told her a bit about how aviation works and she still doesn't get it, oh well understood.

But really is flight instructing this bad?

My thoughts anyways and thanks once more

[Shiny Side Up]

But really is flight instructing this bad?

You misread me as well, flight instructing isn't bad - its work. That's the way you have to treat it. Now whether you equate something that requires work with bad is a different story. The other myth that many people get into instructing and are disappointed to discover is that it isn't all fun and easy, but then again those are relative terms. It is certainly a lot more fun and easier than say operating a goonspoon for a living - though most instructors I know haven't been subjected to that sort of real work, so they have nothing to compare what is often their first flying job to. Whether you percieve it as "bad" or not really depends on your relative experience.

Like a lot of jobs though, there are good days and bad. Bad days for an instructor revolve mostly around weather and students.

I told her a bit about how aviation works and she still doesn't get it

Don't get your hopes up here, it will be a rare person you find who will "get it", but on the flip side, I don't get how my wife spends her days either. She spends her time behind a desk, has meetings and somehow draws a paycheck, so I don't question it. My parents and siblings have never understood it either, I've stopped trying to explain. If I get asked "why don't you just go work for westjet" again, I think I'm going to strangle someone (not that working for westjet would be bad, its just not what I do.) so most often with strangers I still tell people I drive a bulldozer, then they don't ask questions.

[bluenote]

finished,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Shiny Side Up]

Finished what? You can't just ressurect a thread and leave us hanging like that, Inquiring minds must know!

[niwre]

Im with SSU, what ya finish? Unless we can speculate?

You finally finished dinner

[Shiny Side Up]

Nah, I think he finally finished that rubik's cube he's been working on.

[iflyforpie]

Actually, the 3x3x3 ones aren't that hard. I can solve one in about 10 minutes. It's those other ones that have more rows or go all diagonal and stuff that make my brain catch on fire.

Unfortunately, I think that Bluenote has realized after what.... five years or something of looking for an instructor job that perhaps it was more the about the journey than the destination...

[burninggoats]

What makes a good class 4 on paper?

On paper there's a few things. First at least have a good resume. I need to have all the pertinent stuff at the top. If I got to search through several pages for whether you even have an instructor rating, then I ain't going to bother. When I look through those things, I do look to see that everything is the way it should be. Hours should all line up and nothing should look fishy. Keep in mind we're talking right now not how to make it stand out, but rather how to keep in the pile. You really don't want to end up in my bad example pile - which if they are spectacularly so I will use as a demonstration to the CPL students we do have.

As for stand out points, I look for people who have time on different airplanes. Multi, IFR and Seaplane ratings are a plus, it doesn't say anything good about you if you flew one type of airplane for an entire 230 hours. Tailwheel time a definite plus, no matter how small, it says you at least went out of your way to try it. Make sure that time is real though, if I figure you padded some passenger time in there, its a quick trip to the discard pile.

Real work experience is also a plus. On that note, I do dislike resumes that have more volunteer work on them than real work, unless that volunteer work is aviation related, then its a plus.

Please avoid the use of the cloud paper.

That all said, the biggest way to make your resume stand out is to deliver it in person.

A little late in commenting, but i'll try and get this thread on topic as I think it's useful.

First off, I'm surprised then that you hired me at all!
I think the only thing I had going for me was an OK looking resume...

230 hours one mostly one type, no floats, tail, enough multi to barely get the rating and group 1, resume faxed in, no other experience flying, didn't know anyone at the flying school.... man... You must have been desperate.

There is something to be said for right place at the right time!

I think the biggest things a new instructor looking for the first job can do are two things.

First, Show that you're willing to WORK. as has been mentioned a lot, you have to work hard at establishing yourself. Some schools this is more important than others, but it remains true to some extent everywhere. Hang out, make yourself known, make people say "hey... he's an instructor, maybe I want to try a lesson or two with him." It starts out slow, getting your name known, getting people to want to fly with you, but it has a snowball effect, and as some point you will realize you are picking and choosing which students are filling up your schedule.

As was mentioned, there is a big difference between working for free, and investing time to establish yourself.

Second, you have to show you want to be an instructor. I always had the attitude that instructing wasn't my career job. but I also really wanted to do it. Being completely honest with everything, I think people knew that I would eventually move on, but I wasn't in it for hours as quick as possible, I was in it because it was something I really wanted to do as part of my career. With that attitude I believe that my students knew they were in good hands, and my CFI knew the students were in good hands, and to a small degree at the end, the class 3 and 4 instructors I worked with knew their students were in good hands with me.

You can't really fake that attitude, so if you don't want to be an instructor you wont do nearly as well.

[Shiny Side Up]

You must have been desperate.

Well there was that, but on the other hand yours did look golden compared to someof the ones I got. You also did get a stellar reccomend from one of your references though, you'll have to thank her sometime if you haven't already.

You're right that attitude was key, Its something that's hard to fake.

[burninggoats]

Interesting... To this day I didn't know that. I'll have to assume it was my Class 1 Instructor? As far as I can remember she was the only she on my references.