How To Survive Being A Flight Instructor

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Shtinky
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How To Survive Being A Flight Instructor

Post by Shtinky »

Here I am staring at the screen. It's very early in the morning but I can't sleep. The 'video tape' of our instructor meeting at our flight school is playing in a constant loop in my mind. The thought that someone else can take such liberties with another's livelihood is making that vein in my forehead pop out. I wonder if those taking such liberties have trouble sleeping like myself.

Since becoming a flight instructor I've neglected many important things in my life, including my family. Because of my erratic work schedule I rarely visit them and they think that I'm ignoring them. All this time I've been serving a harsh master and he has just kicked me in the ribs while I'm still down. All of our intelligent arguments and observations at this meeting just went down the drain. Nothing really was solved. The inequalities are still causing resentment amongst us. Why the injustice?

There are many injustices in the world today. With some of them you have to grin and bear it. Aviation is no different. From now on I'm going to stay clear of company politics. I have to do this by necessity. After all what is worse: Ignoring the injustice and keeping your sanity or losing sleep and doing yourself harm? Not only am I going to ignore the inequalities(which by the way doesn't mean I'll forget) but I'm going to tend to the more important things. Am I going in to work today? F*** that! I'm going to visit my family and tell them that I still love them.
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scm
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Post by scm »

I'm not sure of what happened exactly - but it sounds bad.

Why not transfer to a different flight school? You will only become more resentful...

Do all the instructors feel this way - are some taking advantage of others? Surely there must be a resolution.
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Shtinky
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Post by Shtinky »

scm wrote:Do all the instructors feel this way - are some taking advantage of others? Surely there must be a resolution.
Thanx for the reply scm. I will leave the name of the flight school out because I don't want the company to look awful. Also I don't want the students at our school to feel bad nor do I want to drag them into the internal politics. Instead I want their flight training to be a positive experience.

There's nothing wrong with the other instructors. In fact for the first time in my life I'm employed at a place where I actually like the people I work with. The problem is that there is a disconnect between the management and the entire body of instructors. Solution? There is none.

Transfer to another school? Nope! I will not run away from a bad situation.

P.S. Within the last hour I've heard that JetsGo has turned into JetsGone. My sympathies for the pilots. Getting to that position was stressful enough and now this. I wish all you guys the best and hope that you'll be 'sailing' the skies again soon.
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Last edited by Shtinky on Fri Mar 11, 2005 7:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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hz2p
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Post by hz2p »

Years from now, the company you work for, and the Dilbert management will be long gone and forgotten, but your family will still be the most important to you.

The solution to Dilbert management is to go out on your own. This is the American way ... in the USA, any flight instructor can buy a C150 and he's a flight school - compeltely legal. After all, he earned his flight instructor certificate from the FAA, and the mechanic that works on his C150 earned his A&P from the FAA, so the FAA is happy.

But not in Canada. A flight instructor cannot buy a C150 and instruct, despite the fact that Transport has issued a flight instructor rating to him, and an AME to his mechanic. Transport doesn't think the certificates it issues are worth anything.

In Canada you need an FTU OC and an AMO with an MCM, etc ad nausem. Transport Canada squelches free enterprise quite happily - this is not a safety issue, some of the worst pieces of airborne junk I've ever seen were "commercially" registered at an FTU with an awesome pile of paper. ATAC lobbies fiercely to keep the regs this way.

So I'm sorry about the Dilbert management, but Transport wants you to keep working for the idiots with the paper. Welcome to the People's Republic of Canada, where the people exist to serve the rulers.
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Post by Cat Driver »

Actually you can freelance, there are several ways this can be done.

It is all explained in CAR's, the only problem is TC will figure out a way to deny your students their licesnse.

Cat
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Shtinky
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Post by Shtinky »

Cat Driver wrote:Actually you can freelance, there are several ways this can be done. Cat
Freelancing is definitely one solution. However I think pay equity amongst the instructors is an even better solution to my dilemma. We're not living in the 70's.........Equal pay for equal work!
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wha happen
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Post by wha happen »

BAck to the orriginal post. I love flying, period. But the bullshit that we must put up with to simply just fly planes is unbelievable. We get these pompous assholes as bosses, that for one reason or another, maybe their mother coddled them to much as children or stayed to long on the teet, get this attitude that does nothing for morale in any situation. I for one am sick of it. Now this kind of ass probably exists in all aspects of aviation, im not denying that. But who keeps hiring these guys, they do nothing for the business. I for one think that we should start weeding all these guys out of our industry. You ask the major reason for the industry being in the state that it is in, look now further than your asshole boss.

Im off my soapbox
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Shtinky
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Post by Shtinky »

wha happen wrote:I for one think that we should start weeding all these guys out of our industry. You ask the major reason for the industry being in the state that it is in, look now further than your as**ole boss.
Wha happen you probably come from a similar environment and I appreciate your comments but I never intended to slag bosses in the industry. I simply want them to make decisions that(Sigh!)...F*** it!!!.... I'm going to sign off and draw a warm bath and soak for awhile. Too tired to write.
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EPR1.6
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Post by EPR1.6 »

Shtinky, you are definitely not alone in your situation. I once worked at a flight school where the owner and the CFI encouraged discord amongst the instructors. They liked it because they felt it kept everyone on there toes so to speak. Instead it lead to some really low morale, and eventually the school went under. There are people in management who don't have a clue, and this will unfortunately always be the case.
You know the solution to your situation already. Do your job to the best of your ability, avoid BS company politics entirely, and go home and spend your spare time with your family.
And most of all best of luck. Its like a real life game of survivor in that business.
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Post by 3juggs »

It must be a universal thing about management. What pisses me off is they work forty hours a week at best, get paid twice as much as us instructors and we end up doing up reports for them to help them do even less.Heaven forbid they might actually have to do some work and to add insult to injury they can't understand why you can't go in the circuit with a 200 foot ceiling. If the weather was suitable for the lesson with a student we would be in the air making money instead of being on the ground with those yahoo 's making nothing!!!I hate being on the ground, the only thing that makes all this worth it to me is the people you meet in the industry.Nothing worth having comes easy but there is no greater reward than helping people reach there own dreams and if that means putting up with a little shit from management then bring it on!!!
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Shtinky
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Post by Shtinky »

EPR1.6 wrote:I once worked at a flight school where the owner and the CFI encouraged discord amongst the instructors.
Sometimes I wonder if this is true but because I'm very trusting I can be naive sometimes and think that that sort of thing can't possibly happen. One way to introduce discord is pay inequality. I don't mean between a Class III and a Class I instructor. I mean 2 instructors with the same class but making disparate wages.

Something else too that introduces discord is by hiring on more and more instructors. Why should I see my instructor friends starve because they have very few students and then see even more being hired? Don't get me wrong I myself am probably a thorn in the side for some of the senior guys but everyone hired after me I've welcomed with open arms and assured them that I want to help them anyway I can. However can I keep on doing this if 4 or 5 more are hired? Makes it very difficult that's for sure. I look on one side and my friends are begging for a student base of some sort. I look on the other side and see 5 more being hired.

Sometimes I place myself in the other person's shoes. "What would I do in this situation if I was the CFI?" My goal is not to be anti-management and I try hard to be objective and I realize that by myself I cannot see the entire picture. Would anyone like to offer a different perspective to my observations?
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Post by 3juggs »

There are some unwritten rules instructors should live by, never @#$! with other instructors students.I've seen this in the pass and nothing destroys moral quicker then unhappy instructors in a FTU. Believe it or not I onced turned down a position at the time because I knew it would cut into other instructors time at that FTU at a very slow time. Those instructors were buddies of mine and it made more sense to me that its better to have three instructors surviving than four that are starving. The CFI agreed with my point and a month later things picked up enough for me to get hired without stepping on anyones toes. This is a very small industry, remember that. Never burn bridges, keep your nose clean and besides I rather have the respect of my pears. If you screw someone over they may do the same to you down the road, say when they are a hiring Captain with a major airline or maybe when they turn TC and they have your pilots # watching every move you make waiting for you to slip up. Words of advice for new instructors, eat a little cat food everyday so when you have to live on it durning those bad weather weeks it won't be such a shock :!: :!: :lol:
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Post by 5x5 »

shtinky - here is a different perspective.

It never ceases to amaze me that so many people seem to have the opinion that all bosses are #$&$#& while they (and by inference) and all other workers are hard-working, true-blue, salt of the earth folks who can't catch a break from "the man".

Anyway, perhaps the situation of two FI with the same class being paid differently is in fact an attempt at being more fair than niormal. Are both of them actually doing the same work? Does one perhaps do extra projects, put in some effort over and above the norm? Be as objective as possible when you are evaluating the situation. Why should two people get paid the same simply because one measure - their rating - is the same? This concept is based on the assumption that the rating is the only measure worth considering in the evaluation and the resulting remuneration for a job - which is what I think is really unfair. It tends to promote a lowest common denominator type of work ethic.

As for the number of instructors - perhaps it's a case of the ones who are there having developed the above mentioned attitude. Running a flight school is a very difficult business. Traditional methods of increasing business - mass advertising, discounts/sales, added "features" - don't work very well. In a service business that is so dependant on word of mouth and reputation, it is of paramount importance that the service provided is a key differentiator. And that comes primarily from the instructors. Having instructors that sit around and wait for new students to come walk in and ask for training rather than doing anything to spread the word themselves, complaining about the business, the boss, the industry, the lifestyle within earshot or even directly with students isn't exactly great service. Sure flying is a tough business and many will argue that this is merely presenting a "realistic" view of the industry. There's a fine line that many cross between realism and cynicism. Talking to and encouraging a cynic to try and get them to change is often impossible and one way to try and change the atmosphere is to bring on new people with enthusiam and an eagerness to help pursue new business.

As for bosses working short hours and taking home big pay - I'd like someone to point me in the direction of that FTU. I think it's more likely you'll find that the hours are actually quite long, many of them not at the school. Trying to keep a business running while the bills mount, the planes break, the weather goes sour, the instructors continually complain about everything is far from easy-street. Running very skinny, if any, margins in order to keep it going and providing jobs for low-time pilots while being frequently dissed by the very people who are taking advantage of the opportunity isn't easy or that enjoyable. There are way easier ways to make a lot more money.

As a pilot starting out you feel that you have to put up with all this BS because you love to fly which is the same basic reason the boss is in the business. (Remember that at least you do get to fly.) And with a few more hours under your belt, diligent hard work, a positive attitude (see above) you can move on - your position improves and the rewards increase. Until you get to the point that you think - hey, I should do more in this industry - maybe start my own/buy into a flight school. You think you'll make all this money, have lots of time off and be on easy street. You'll run things so well, be so fair, that success is just around the corner.

And you know what - all you've done is become an asshole. Because everyone knows that's what all bosses are.
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Shtinky
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In Response to 5x5

Post by Shtinky »

Thank you 5x5 for your objective reply. I've read it with keen interest and I picked up some points which I can use. I agree with you that promoting the business on your own is sure going to go a long way. I would like to clarify some things though.

1. Ever since new management stepped in about 6 months ago he automatically cut the wages for the new but already existing instructors. This cut was not based on any special projects or ratings. It was a "take or leave it" thing. I get discouraged when my friend with the same class of rating and not working at all on any special projects etc. is making $5 more per flight hour than I am. It probably makes him/her feel uncomfortable too.

2. My instructor friends and myself included are starving not only because we don't have a sufficient student base but it's winter and it also takes TIME to build that student base. The management and to a greater extent the other elite members have an impression that we are lazy. Hire a hundred more instructors and every second one gets only one flight per day. Face it they'll all starve while the school is making money. Thanks! Thanks alot!!!

3. In all honesty the management at our flight school does work long hours. He's there all the time plus he has to manage another flight school. To be fair his work ethic isn't lacking.

I hope I've cleared some points up. I still encourage additional objective input just like 5x5's.
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Post by Switchfoot »

No doubt being a flight instructor is a hard road. My first gig was at a school in CYYC/CYBW which is now out of business. It's really tough when you spend hours, days, weeks with no flying and all that time waiting at the airport or for the phone to ring. Combine that with 10 other staff members who are waiting for the same thing. So you sit in the office without pay for weeks on end....you do everything you can to stay awake and not be bored (clean airplanes, prepare groundschool notes, PGI's, chat with the staff, send e-mail, etc.) and all without pay just for one student or flight. It's not right and it's not fair. But then again, life's not fair. Then one afternoon you get up and go grab a coffee and are gone for five minutes away from the phone or office, a call comes in and the instructor who recieves the call or talks to the student gets the business. It's unbelievable!

For me, the next best option was to get a part-time job and instruct only on certain days. Take it or leave it but that's what pays the bills and puts food on your plate. Eventually when business completely died off, I had to make the decision to leave. And believe me, when all you want to do is fly, it's a hard choice to make. But you know what? I did get pushed to the ground. And I got dirty. But you pick yourself up off the ground, dust yourself off, and go on. It's not the end of the world.

Three months later I was flying again (with better pay and equipment). Those who are determined enough will not let anything get in the way of them flying. They find an honest way to get in the cockpit (without paying for PPC's or working for free). It's damn hard and the decisions don't come easy, but keep your attitude focused upward and your eyes forward and you'll find yourself in a better place.

Good luck!



Switch. 8)
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Shtinky
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Post by Shtinky »

Switchfoot wrote:No doubt being a flight instructor is a hard road...But you know what? I did get pushed to the ground. And I got dirty. But you pick yourself up off the ground, dust yourself off, and go on. It's not the end of the world.....It's damn hard and the decisions don't come easy, but keep your attitude focused upward and your eyes forward and you'll find yourself in a better place.Switch. 8)
This is a very good post. Thanks very much. Although it doesn't remove the problems but it's comforting to know that there's others who are or were in the same position but then overcame the adversities. :smt023
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