What makes more sense in todays market?

Instructor Rating:
Job prospects 50%... None of the schools are really looking...
Olympics... That will close the schools from Jan 24 - March 24...
I can work part time so I can be with my son
I make some money to fly

Share in plane:
I make no money to fly
I can fly whenever, but it will cost money
I can hopefully get my money back when I am done using it
I don't have to do another damn flight test!

Those are my thoughts... What are yours?


Wolfie

If you buy a share are you planning on continuing your flying career?

Remember shares are always harder to get out of, because you need to sell to a local pilot.

Lurch

If you own the a/c can you free lance as a pilot and plane comes free if ya know what i mean?

Make a bit of extra $$ here & there to offset the cost?

They will both suck $$ out of you, which one will bring you more joy?

They would both give me joy, its just more about what is "smarter"?

Someone voted neither? At least say why :/

I doubt I am the only person who could learn from this... Or maybe I am

If you want to advance your career, instructor rating.
If it's just for fun, buy a share.

I think for me it comes down to economics. If you can get a decent job with decent hours while you build time on your own plane then generally it makes more sense than instructing. If your non aviation job doesn't pay well enough then your better off teaching.

Someone voted neither? At least say why :/

That was me Wolfie.

The reason I do not advise you to do either is because an instructors rating will cost you a lot of money with very little monetary return.

This is a very bad time to buy into an airplane as no one knows where this economy is going and you could really get burnt money wise.

Best advice I can give you is do what I did when I was first starting out.

Find one or more airplane owners and talk them into letting you fly their airplanes to build time and you will keep the airplane looking real good by fixing little things that go wrong and keeping it clean and waxed etc.

Be sure to tell them that airplanes have to be flown to keep them working properly, so you are also helping them by flying it.

There are owners who will let you do that, you just have to find them.

I have a couple here that pay me to fly their aircraft.

I am doing an annual right now on a 1960 172A that has been sitting outside for three years since its last flight. The bill is going to be more than a regular annual because of the damage from neglect (unserviceable tires, jammed bearings, more odd electrical problems )--and we haven't even seen the cumulative damage to the engine yet. Most likely it won't make it to TBO.

It is a great time to buy an aircraft if you are planning to keep it for a long time; but trying to sell it will be tough. As for an instructor rating, I'll sell you mine. I can't afford to use it...

It is a great time to buy an aircraft if you are planning to keep it for a long time;

That is true.

However Wolfie can use her money for her family and have a better lifestyle by using someone else's airplane with her only investment being her time and effort looking after an airplane someone else paid for.

The bill is going to be more than a regular annual because of the damage from neglect (unserviceable tires, jammed bearings, more odd electrical problems )--and we haven't even seen the cumulative damage to the engine yet. Most likely it won't make it to TBO.

This is the best selling point as it benefits both the owner and her.

I don't know if you have owned before Wolfie but I have lost quite a bit of sleep over UBC and that was even after I knew everything was fine. The expensive parts that might break always run through my mind.


LOL.....like there are anything but expensive parts on an aircraft

That said, I wouldn't go any other way, but again I don't have a kid, and I bought it before the economy nosedived. I also was able to live at home and save up ~$20K for a few years so I didn't have to worry where I was going to come up with the shekles.

Thank you very much for your sincere replies!

I think I might get the Instructor Rating...

However... Cat - I really like your thoughts... How in the world would anyone want a 250 wonder on their plane?

I talked my way out of a speeding ticket yesterday, but I don't know if I could talk my way into a plane



Wolfie

However... Cat - I really like your thoughts... How in the world would anyone want a 250 wonder on their plane?

Wolfie it does not require a doctorate in aeronautics to look after a private airplane any more than it does to keep any other possession clean.

If you are unable to safely fly someones private single engine airplane after 250 hours of experience you best stay out of all airplanes.

I talked my way out of a speeding ticket yesterday, but I don't know if I could talk my way into a plane

What you do is get to know the owners and demonstrate to them that you are trustworthy. It may take some time but you can look at it as time working towards a goal that did not require you to waste money.

It is that simple.

I did exactly what CAT said in early 90's with a C177, talked to the owner of a C177 that was sitting - a lot,
I'd wash & polish it, keep it clean, fly it for fuel/oil cost only and was an excellent experience, I also paid for the IFR cert.
Went to Belize, Mexico & Honduras with the thing & clocked 200hrs that way over 2 1/2 years.
He sold it for a reasonable price and me looking after it I'm sure kept the value higher.

If you're really stuck on buying, get 1 partner & split the costs.

Gabe

However... Cat - I really like your thoughts... How in the world would anyone want a 250 wonder on their plane?

Keep in mind that some of the people who own these planes are 45 hour wonders too, you might actually do them a favour and lower their insurance rate.

On the pro instructor side of things, being an instructor is also a good way to get the trust of those you might want a share of an airplane with, and is also a good bartering point when it comes to that point.

As per moving on in the industry, the reccomendation of one of your students, is a good way to get that first multi or turbine job. You never know who might want the services of an instructor.

Looks like over 90% of the voters here disagree with my vote Wolfie, so maybe you should pump more money into flying in the worst down turn in the world economy since the great depression.

I think its really up to you. There are pro's and cons of both. Cat driver's idea works great if you can track down an airplane that someone doesn't fly and you can sell them on the idea. If you buy a share, you have the obvious bonus of an airplane that is almost at your disposal and as long as you have the cash to go bomb around any time you want thats great. Obvious downfall is the cost of flying your own plane. Instructor rating is good, you can keep it through out your career and it will help you down the road in other ways you won't plan on it until it happens. I started out instructing, and in every job I have had I have done some instructing as a training pilot. Obviously the cash out put , serious economy problems, and low pay are not enticing at all. I guess it depends on which way you feel like going.

Well, in all truthfulness, I would prefer my call back from Nav Canada with regards to training. That would be the best.

But one always need their plan B... And not the birth control...

So... I like Cats idea best, but it seems the hardest to get to, but I guess I should start to wander around the Delta Airpark!

I think I will get my instructor rating if plan A has a bump. I think I would end up further in the hole with a share in a plane...

Thanks for all the advice!

Wolfie

PS... Cat, when ya coming to CZBB?

If you get an instructor rating, for the purpose of building time, the only way to do it properly is to go full board. like 7 days a week, be as available as you can. You will get tons of students like that and build tons of hours, and during the good weather times of the year it even equals out to a good amount of money.

So it really depends on how available you are, if you cant be there often it wont pay off nicely. i mean you wont build students if your not around to pick them up

PS... Cat, when ya coming to CZBB?

In the next two weeks as I am going to get MichaelP to give me recurrent training for my Canadian license.

By the way I will be using the Husky now that the amphib float installation is finished.

hew44 wrote:i mean you wont build students if your not around to pick them up

While it's not entirely false ("closing the deal" with a prospective student is always a good thing, and you are likely to end with said person) did it ever occur to you that a school might assign students to its instructors, spreading the jam so to speak?

The school I worked at did so, and I never really lacked business. So I flew roughly the same amount of hours as many colleagues in the neighboring schools who had to log way more couch time. And yes, I did hang out at the airport, but not solely because I was waiting for potential students.

While there's a balance to be had, this whole "thou shalt stay at the airport waiting for new clients or they shalt not be yours" attitude is just more of that "dime a dozen" bullshit some school managers excel at.

my 02 cents

If you go the instructor route be very carefull who teaches you. I did mine with a very crusty old x-military guy. I thought I was a pretty good pilot after my CPL but I was ready to shoot myself after the first instructor lesson. He rode me every second but at the end of the course my stick and rudder skills were an order of magnitude better and that paid huge dividends on every subsequent flying job I worked at.

I really enjoyed instgructing and found watching someone learn and get better was very satisfying. However the FTU grind got old fast and after just under 2 years I moved on and vowed I would never work full time in an FTU again. However I have kept up my rating and do occasional part time instructing. This to me is the perfect gig as I still love instructing but can do it on my terms.... So the secret to aviation happiness for me has been.....get into a situation where flying is not your primary income stream ... and do a little instructing on the side

I thought I was a pretty good pilot after my CPL but I was ready to shoot myself after the first instructor lesson

Learning and ego gratification rarely occur at the same time.

Learning is about making mistakes, which most people
find painful, unpleasant, and quite unenjoyable.

Spending time learning is like spending time earning
money. Most people don't enjoy it - they only want
to enjoy the benefits of labour - not perform it.

at the end of the course my stick and rudder skills were an order of magnitude better and that paid huge dividends on every subsequent flying job I worked at

Indeed.

One of the most difficult, dangerous and unpleasant
skills I ever developed in an aircraft was the ability to
fly wing during a line abreast outside loop. If you
bank away from the lead to instinctively gain separation,
you surely will move in and hit him - the effect of bank
is reversed with a negative angle of attack.

Most people don't think that expending that amount
of effort is worthwhile, which is why nobody else does it -
they'd rather watch Mork and Mindy on the TV for 5
hours every evening.

Hedley wrote:they'd rather watch Mork and Mindy on the TV for 5
hours every evening.

There's a marathon?

Hedley wrote: Most people don't think that expending that amount
of effort is worthwhile, which is why nobody else does it -
they'd rather watch Mork and Mindy on the TV for 5
hours every evening.

They would also rather spend their money on moon pies and penny whistles.

Cat Driver wrote:

PS... Cat, when ya coming to CZBB?

In the next two weeks as I am going to get MichaelP to give me recurrent training for my Canadian license.

By the way I will be using the Husky now that the amphib float installation is finished.

Need anyone to care for your Husky?

A girl can dream can't she??

Niss: I think we need more pet rocks these days...

Wolfie